One of the criticisms from knowledgeable dance aficionadoes regarding FOX's So You Think You Can Dance? is that less traditional routines tend to garner a disproportional amount of endearment from the masses.

In other words, hip-hop, contemporary and even disco routines get votes while choreography centered on waltzes, tangos and fox trots, perhaps, do not.

Well, score one for traditionalists as the Top 18 fought for survival Wednesday night.

Two couples continued their collective ascent to the top. Twitch and Kherington Payne executed a Viennese Waltz to near perfection, scoring points both technically and emotionally, while Joshua Allen and Katee Shean demonstrated their breadth of skill by killing on a Broadway number.

Jean Marc Generaux choreographed his waltz for the high school blonde and mildly geeky hip-hopper in honor of his daughter, who lives with Rett Syndrome, which causes motor function loss. Generaux said artistic movement, namely dance, brings smiles to her face.

And then judge Mia Michaels promptly criticizes Kherington for smiling throughout the routine, noting that she should have taken a more realist approach.

Bah, humbug.

Luckily, Mary Murphy and Nigel Lythgoe completely disagreed, and I think Twitchington won over the crowd and America both emotionally and technically.

Nevertheless, my favorite dancer so far, by a ton, is the popper from Fort Worth, Texas. Joshua has been questioned ever since the show began as to whether he could even pull off anything without a hip-hop beat.

And, boy, did he prove folks wrong tonight.

Tyce Diorio drew up a Broadway piece that was more Vaudevillian than it was anything the pop culture masses would recognize as Broadway. The routine was quirky and super fast, requiring a lot of running and some tricks with canes, and it was even a little silly.

But as a couple, Joshua and Katee not only reinforced their greatness from Week 1 to Week 2, Joshua got some acknowledgement that his future on So You Think You Could Dance? could include a spot in the finale.

Is he that good? Yes.

However, Will Wingfield is also an early sure-thing for the finale, as sure as shows like this can get in an early stage. His hip-hop routine with Jessica came off as pretty week, mostly due to her inability to hit her marks hard and keep up with Will when it came to unison dancing.

Let's just say the untraditional dances were particularly poor this week.

Comfort and Chris performed this routine from Li'l C, a crump routine they called it. Kind of like a militaristic hip-hop set, pretty aggressive with lost of pops and locks but without a lot of the waves and fluidity of other types of hip-hop.

Given that hip-hop is a strength for Comfort, she disappointed, while Chris looked like the tall, lanky white boy he is. It was awkward to watch, and while Mia Michaels commended Chris, Nigel called it like it was: Weak, weak, weak.

Courtney and Gev made a nice rebound this week, garnering little praise last week for their disco and fairly decent marks this week with a contemporary piece drawn up by Mandy Moore.

Part of the show tonight involved dancers revealing what they like and hate about their partners. And, Gev reveals that he hates the fact that Ms. Galliano has a boyfriend.

Dude, true THAT.

Their number was kind of a sweet caretaker, caretakee piece in which he seemed more like the woman in the relationship, judges said. This was a completely logical response given his admission, an indirect one albeit, that he has a crush on Courtney.

Technically great? No. Endearing? Heck, yes.

Chelsea Traille and Thayne weren't booted from Mary Murphy's hot tamale train but were kicked to the caboose after a jazz number from Mandy Moore. It looked disconnected, and any chemistry between the two seemed to be lost. Judges were underwhelmed and disappointed given their strong showing last week.

Chelsie Hightower and Mark performed an Argentinian Tango that got high praise from the judges, particularly in Mark's ability to go from quirky odd guy to leading man. One of the requirements for a proper tango is for the man to be uber-strong to the point of condescension toward his partner.

He did it, and between his personality and Chelsie's technique (best legs in the competition), it worked.

Almost but not quite there was Kourtni Lind and Matt who did a 1940s style fox trot to a Michael Buble rendition of "Foggy Day." Judges criticized the tall, lanky Matt for not extending his arms enough and both dancers for not accentuating key parts of their dance.

That's my technical description. Pretty pathetic, no?

But worst of the night came from Susie and Marquis who sleepwalked through a Cuban/Puerto Rican salsa that should have been hot, hot, hot. Instead, judges said, it was stale, stale, stale.

Given that Latin dancing is supposedly a Susie strength, this couple could be in mega danger. Then again, results night solos determine so much that it's still too early to say.

However, they're a sure thing for the Bottom 3, I think, as is Jessica and Will (primarily due to Jessica) and Comfort and Chris (primarily due to Chris). It wouldn't be a huge shock if Chelsea Traille and Thayne made a Bottom 3 appearance given the lukewarm reception to their jazz routine and that they went first, but neither would likely go home.

If I were a betting man, either Susie and Marquis, as a couple, will be eliminated Thursday night -- OR -- judges will send Jessica and Chris home. Neither has had a good first couple of weeks, and it seems pretty evident that neither is a real threat to win the whole enchilada.