increases mainly because of the wear

and tear on the bodies.

The one good thing that they have going for them this

season is the fact that they got a break.

They get to rest their body.

We're two weeks off during the Olympic Games.

So again, the first time in So You Think You Can Dance

history, dancers will be able to heal themselves.

DANIEL BAKER: I almost got a concussion the other day

because I went to do one of my moves on the

pole and hit my head.

It was just hard because we didn't have much rehearsal

time with the prop, so we really had to

get it together quickly.

TIFFANY MAHER: It's been really tough.

I mean, slamming yourself on the floor over and over and

over again.

It's really hard.

And you get bruises and things like that.

But every night you got to go home and ice yourself.

But honestly, it's all worth it.

It's all worth it, and once you get on that stage, every

time you perform, all of the bruises, cuts,

scars, they all go away.

GEORGE LAWRENCE II: The first time I was just breaking into

Sonya's style, it was so much.

My body was breaking down.

Second week, I felt like it flowed naturally.

Her connection between her students and--

it was just amazing.

Everything she gives to us is so genuine, and it just makes

you want to please her and the audience.

TIFFANY MAHER: What she brings out of you, you can't even

believe it.

Like, when she first taught us, I was like, I don't know

if I can do it.

But she brings it out of you, and she makes

you grow in one week.

SONYA TAYEH: The first minute they walked in,

they were so invested.

So it was nothing but an amazing, really calming

experience.

Her effort, and her stamina, she is such a beast.

And she's two and half feet tall.

You know what I mean?

She's just compact.

But she's so loving and giving.

And her eyes are really wide and big, and there

are stars in them.

And she just wants to learn.

She's just a sponge.

And she's one of the most humble people

that I've ever met.

JANELLE ISSIS: There were points where we had to do this

routine four times in a row, two-second break between.

And by the end of it, you're like, OK.

DAREIAN KUJAWA: Yeah, you're so toast.

JANELLE ISSIS: You're literally dizzy, blacking out.

Your body is just falling apart.

But it made us so strong.

I feel so good.

Yeah, I feel like a warrior.

DAREIAN KUJAWA: Feel like a straight-up warrior.

When we found out we were paired and that we got African

jazz, we were like, oh my god, this is perfect.

And so we worked so hard on the routine.

We put so much into it.

And then you do it on stage and it goes by in a second.

You wish it could last longer.

JANELLE ISSIS: Like, can we do that again?

TYCE DIORIO: It was tough to find the right piece for

Cyrus, considering he's never trained--

and balancing him with Eliana who has.

I think we found the right combination within the music

and the storyline and all that.

And they delivered it within performance quality.

And it was a victory.

So I'm really happy about it.

ELIANA GIRARD: It was the perfect medium between the two

styles, and we got so lucky.

It was an incredible experience.

And we got to do based off of Hairspray.

Our piece was based off of Hairspray, which is an

incredible movie and play.

CYRUS SPENCER: Yeah, definitely.

It was a really, really great piece.

It was very tiring, I tell you that.

You had to have stamina to conquer that piece.

And you had to live in the piece.

You couldn't just do the moves--

you have to become it.

WILL THOMAS: Every lift that we did, Tabitha did with me.

She does not care-- well, she cares.

And Napoleon's saying, you're carrying my baby, you're

carrying my baby, freaking out.

It was so cute to watch them in rehearsal.

It's like, oh my god, stop it!

They're so awesome.

They're so genuinely nice and everything you'd ever wish for

to work with

TABITHA DUMO: I mean, I try to be as full-out as I can be.

But I am very limited at this moment.

But then I forgot that I am.

So then I go full-out.

I'm like, it should be like this.

And then I'm like, OK, you got it?

Because I can't do that again.

BRANDON MITCHELL: It didn't even change anything.

She was eight months pregnant, and she still moving like the

best of them.

Such a huge fan of Nappytabs.

It was an honor to work with them.

They were my first big choreographers that I wanted

to work with on the show.

Got a chance to do it, dream come true,

amazing, had a blast.

NIGEL LYTHGOE: The choreographers

help a great deal.

But the dancers, too, just stand out.

Witney is still the star for me.

And that's the hardest point, to open the show with a Samba.

Samba never normally gets a lot of votes, anyway.

People don't get it.

But you've got Witney there and Chehon.

Chehon is a brilliant ballet dancer.

He could be in trouble this week because he was in the

opening number doing a Samba, for goodness sake.

CHEHON WESPI-TSCHOPP: I think that's really hard, especially

for your first show.

I think it's important to get people to like you

immediately.

And for me, I open up more the more you get to know me.

But I guess on this show you just have to be yourself

straight from the beginning and not be afraid of letting

people know who you are.

NICK BLOXSOM-CARTER: The first day, our lesson, when we

learned the routine, it was just a smack in the face.

Like, wow.

Let's get it together, Nick.

Come on, let's do it.

And I'm like, you know what?

I can do this.

I'm going to be positive.

This was rough, but I'm going to practice my heart out, and

we're gonna do it.

And we did it!

MATTHEW KAZMIERCZAK: Everybody's routines looked

amazing tonight.

AUDREY CASE: I loved the Broadway one.

I loved the African one.

I loved the Cat one.

I just loved all of them.

MATTHEW KAZMIERCZAK: Yeah, I don't know.

I don't have a favorite or anything.

During rehearsals for all this when we were finally able to

see everybody's pieces, I was just in shock at how strong of

an episode this was.

Nobody's pieces were weak.

Nobody looked bad.

Everybody looked fantastic.

Even though people were out of their element in some things,

nobody looked it.

It was amazing.

KENNY ORTEGA: For me the biggest stand out of the

entire night-- and I think in part because the night built

on itself, and it just kept building on itself--

but the very end, Jason's piece just

electrified the room.

COLE HORIBE: We're so lucky to have got Jason.

When we found out, we were like, thank you.

Thank you so much.

He is brilliant.

LINDSEY ARNOLD: Going last, it was hard sitting there and

just watching and being like, I want to go.

But at the same time, it was awesome because we got to take