SO YOU THINK YOU CAN DANCE BIDS ADIEU TO ARIANA AND BRANDON

It was quite a night -- a whole new season with 20 talented competitors on So You Think You Can Dance! And just as home viewers were getting used to new names and new faces -- and the dancers were getting used to their new partners, two of the dancers were to be sent home!

With the season just getting underway, already the show has suffered two casualties -- 19-year-old Billy Bell from West Palm Beach, considered a strong contender, left the group due to illness. And 18-year-old Noelle Marsh from Sanford, NC suffered an injury that prevented her from performing, although she still was expected to dance next week.

The couples whirled, twirled, jumped and twisted in various dance styles. Ashleigh and Jakob performed a Broadway routine, Ariana and Peter drew a hip hop, Russell and choreographer Melanie, a substiture for Nicole, performed a fox trot and Bianca and Victor really impressed with a Travis Wall choreographed routine.

Karen and Kevin did a sexy cha cha -- which garnered Karen a ride on the hot tamale train. Ellenore and Ryan did a commendable contemporary jazz. Brandon and Pauline, with only a day and a-half of dancing together, did a waltz that seemed good considering their brief preparation. Channing and Philip performed a jive; Kathryn and Legacy hit a home run with their hip hop and youngsters Mollee and Nathan impressed with a super energetic disco that had even Adam Shankman, who admits that he is not a disco fan, saying that he loved the number!

It almost felt too soon for an elimination -- as if everyone deserved a bit more time to strengthen their fundamentals and a bit more time to adjust. But rules are rules and a boy and girl were to be sent home by judges Nigel Lythgoe, Mary Murphy and Shankman.

Chosen to dance for their lives were Brandon Dumlao, 21, from Concord, CA; Pauline Mata, 18, from West Covina, CA; Ariana Debose, 18, from Raleigh, NY and Russell Ferguson, 20, from Boston, MA.

The decision of the judges was unanimous, said Lythgoe -- first eliminated was Ariana, and second was Brandon. And Lythgoe reminded the dancers and viewers that all four dancers were incredibly talented to make it all the way to the top 20.

So the remaining dancers will need to work hard to keep improving, stepping up their acts. Lythgoe said that all of the dancers must really excel to remain in the competition to the end because the level of talent is so high this season.

Without Ariana, Brandon and Billy -- the remaining dancers will return for another round as they try to become America's favorite dancer!

VIVA LAS VEGAS -- OR SAYONARA TO MANY DANCERS

This week in Vegas promised to be fun. The further along in the "So You Think You Can Dance" season, the better the dancing and the more heated the competition!

Over and over dancers practiced, lined the stage to perform routines -- and then a few were praised while others were told that their SYTYCD dreams had reached the end of the road.

By 4 p.m. on the initial Vegas day, 41 dancers had been told that they would be heading home. Another 111 competitors had made it through -- but were counting their lucky stars and holding their breath that they would stay.

And by 9:30 p.m., the judges had eliminated another 21 dancers.

For many, the heartbreaking elimination was Ryan Kasprzak -- whose brother, Evan, was a finalist last season. During Ryan's initial audition, he had wowed the judges with a tap dance routine that judge Nigel Lythgoe had called one of the strongest auditions in the history of the show.

But in Vegas, Ryan faltered. After an initial audition, he was told that his hip hop performance was not strong. But since hip hop was not his favored dance style, he felt confidant that his remaining routines would be better. "It's only up from here," he told Evan during a phone conversation.

However, his next routine was not an improvement -- and Lythgoe said that while it hurt them to cut him from the competition, they indeed were cutting him. So Ryan was left to call Evan to report that it was over for him. He told Evan, "I was cut." And he said that he "didn't deliver" -- disappointing because, "I know I can do better."

By the end of episode, hopefuls had been pushed to the limit -- and only 77 dancers remained.