It was a good week for Sanford's Noelle Marsh.

The "So You Think You Can Dance" contestant won raves for her Afro-jazz number, and sailed through to the next round.

It was a nice change from her shaky start.

It began with an injury that almost put her out of the competition and then a hip-hop number that the judges very much disliked.

Our gal Lenni G. is back with the 411 on the dancers, the dancing, and the judges:

No venting this week for me, though the stage is still too big and glitzy.

Thought I'd change the review a bit this week by starting with the really good couples at the front and the rest after. Why would I do this - cuz our local cutie, Noelle, who danced last, was fan-freaking-tastic last night.

Guest blogger Lenni G is back, helping us with SYTYCD coverage. And today, she is not happy:

Time to vent about this season.

Judges-only voting should stop after the top 20 dancers have been named - the audience should be voting from that point forward. The judge's critiques have become so technical that we ordinary hoofers have no idea what they're talking about - it's depressing to really love a couple's dance and then have the "experts" tell us it was awful.

Our guest blogger Lenni G. is back, reporting on the dance and the drama:

If last night is any indication, this is going to be a weird season.

First, we found out yesterday morning that Billy Bell, one of the best dancers, is out - we don't find out what's wrong with him, just that, "His doctor won't allow him to continue."

So the show brings in hip hop guy, Brandon to replace contemporary Billy - not exactly an even, or really fair, replacement.

Next, shortly after the show starts we see Noelle Marsh (our Sanford girl) with a huge brace on her knee - Nigel announces that they are not sure whether she will be able to continue but they are giving her a week to find out.

Guest blogger Lenni G wraps it all up:

And we have a winner!!!!

But
first we had lots and lots of really good dancing. The seven judges present - Lil C, Mia, Tyce, Debbie Allen, Adam, Mary and Nigel - selected their favorite routines from the season and we got to see them all again.

Guest blogger Lenni G shares:

The Top 4 dancers' final competition last night took place in front of 3,000 people at the Kodak Theater. 

The judges, Mary Murphy, Nigel Lythgoe and Adam Shankman, told Jeanine, Evan, Kayla and Brandon to "Bring It" big time and feed off the energy of all the fans in attendance. We were so psyched! We were so ready for a "fan-freaking-tastic, buck evening." And, for the most part, it was.

Guest blogger Lenni G shares: 

Who made it to the finale?  In a stroke of genius, the guest
blogger became the "guessed right blogger" for both the girls and the guys. But enough about me, otherwise known as "GB". There was more to Thursday's show than just the results.

I loved the opening group number, "Send in the Clowns", from Tyce Diorio. The ending, with Evan standing alone and waving, painted tears on his face, was a very poignant one.

Guest blogger Lenni G shares:

With only 14 dances (not the 17 we've become used to) last night, the evening flew by! Joining
Nigel and Mary as a guest judge was Lil C who was asked by Cat Deeley, "to pontificate on the preferences of the population."

So, joining Lil C, here's my pontification of the evening.

Lenni G. tells what happened and how Katie did:

To celebrate its 100th episode, SYTYCD revisited some of the best routines and moments of the past five years. We saw "Hummingbird and Flower" from Wade Robson featuring Jamie and Hawk, "The Bench Routine" from Mia Michaels featuring Heidi and Travis, and the incomparable "Ramalama" (Wade Robson again) featuring the season two contestants. That season totally rocked and, judging from last night re-performance, those now older kids still rock too!

Lenni G. hits the dance floor, to report:

So, once again, we had 17 dances to watch last night. Of those 17, probably more than half were pretty average, or "flat" as Nigel would say. It is, after all, down to the final eight and we expect spectacular. So we waited and we waited, and then we got incredibly spectacular. But, let's go back to the beginning of the show and work up to, imho, the best dance ever on this program.

Judges for the night were Nigel, Mary, Mia and Ellen DeGeneres, who declared she had no formal dance training, but had "street smarts," albeit in a gated community.