Step It Up & Dance: Modern Meltdown (Episode 6)

So who's left? Miguel, who is still wondering why Michael is around. Michael, who can't quite defend himself against Miguel's attacks on his non-existent technique, tries to ignore him. Mochi and Janelle are the only ladies remaining, while Nick and Cody are alone in the penthouse. Which, sadly, doesn't look like much of a penthouse to me. If SIU&D makes it to a second season, do you think the dancers will get better digs?

Audition: Modern dance master Jacques Helm, founder of modern dance company Diavolo, creates a challenge where the contestants, working in pairs, improvise movement... in a mattress store. Each couple will be like newly in love couples shopping for new mattresses.

• Mochi & Miguel: They take a playful, teasing romp through the store, first jumping then rolling. Both of them being smaller in stature, they get a lot of high jumps before rolling into semi-seductive though still playful poses. They even strip down to their underlayers. Cute sexy.
• Janelle and Michael: Same idea, though their bouncing and rolling is not quite as graceful or coordinated. Michael said he had no idea what they were gonna do before they started and you know what? It showed.
• Cody & Nick: In a talking head, Nick voice some apprehension, though once they started, they created a very specific, vivid image of a couple bickering as they shopped. Cody would start with a specific posture, and Nick would respond with another pose, or a move. At some point, they ended up in a 69, and I swear to jebus i gasped before they rolled out. Ooh.

After the audition, Jacques splits them into the usual two teams: Cody, Nick, and Mochi on one team, and Michael, Miguel, and Janelle on the other. Who's the elimination group? They'll find out the next day at rehearsal.

Rehearsal: Rehearsal is at the theater, where they find two huge props from Jacque's company: oversized stairs with trapdoors, and an "atom", which is a huge hanging ball made out of curved metal bars. The teams each get two hours to work with Jacques on a 2-minute routine. They won't know what their music is until they do their callback performance. Oh, and the're all up for elimination, except for Cody who won immunity in last week's Broadway challenge. D'oh!

The team of Cody, Nick, and Mochi have little difficulty coming up with a routine where Mochi is like a little sister to Nick and Cody. Scampering up and down the stairs. Leaping off the stairs, and clambering onto the ball for the finale. But all seems lost when Mochi bangs her knee on the ball, and has to take off for the hospital. It's just a bruise, though, so she can dance on it as long as it doesn't hurt.

Michael, Miguel, and Janelle don't really have a narrative. They do have, as ever, tension between Miguel and Michael. Which nobody really seems to care for in rehearsal, as there is no time for more of M & M's bitching at each other, so finally the boys realize they have to suck it the fuck up and just work. And they do! But will it be enough to send them to victory?

Callback: The music is Gwen Stefani's "The Sweet Escape", which is perfect for Cody, Nick, and Mochi's whimsical performance. Though Jacques dings Mochi for modifying the routine so that she didn't, like, you know, do more damage to to her knee, the team are safe. And even with immunity, Cody wins the damn thing. The other team is not so lucky, as Janelle and Michael are sent to the bottom two. After considering Michael's lack of technique and Janelle's failure to bring it enough for Nancy, Michael is sent off for his last dance.

Next week: Cody and Nick finally make out. Mochi realizes that a 30 year old woman has no business going around as Mochi. Just kidding!