Last night’s performance show was a pivotal episode of “Dance” this season.

After tonight’s contestants are booted, we’ll have our Top 10, the dancers who get to go on the national tour, which kicks off this fall.

Not to mention that all bets are off after this week, because the current partners will be split up and the dancers will be relying more on their own individual charisma and talent.

Which is a good thing for dancers like Comfort, who’s been pretty lazy lately, but she’s also been saddled with the worst guys in the bunch week after week. It’s a bad thing for gals like Jessica, who—as Mia Michaels so bluntly pointed out last night—has been carried by her partner, Will, since the start.

Of course, that’s if Comfort and Jessica actually make it to next week—and I’ll bet one of them says bye-bye tonight. And unless one of the other boys kicks Nigel in the head during the solos, we all know Thayne is going home, too.

Which means, obviously, that my guess is that Comfort and Thayne, plus Jessica and Will, will be in the Bottom 3 couples tonight.

As for the other two in danger? Anything goes at this point, who—despite the harsh criticism—are pretty amazing. And much will depend on the popularity of the couple—or the hatred of any individual in a pair.

If you go by the judges’ comments, every couple except Chelsie and Mark and Courtney and Gev gave uneven performances. Then again, C & G have been in the Bottom 3 before—so does America just not love ‘em enough?

What do you think, fans? Let’s review the guys and girls to get our brains pumping…

CHELSIE and MARK

These two were smokin,’ yet again. Both of their dances—a salsa and Broadway routine—were hot little numbers, which showed off their awesome chemistry. (And their great bods: I think Mark was showing almost as much skin as Chelsie in that cut-to-the-navel jumpsuit.)

Mary called Chelsie a “beautiful firecracker” and Mia said she was so gorgeous, she wanted to “stab her.” (Down, girls.) Mark is probably the weak link in this pairing, but as the judges pointed out, he’s such a great performer, his attitude glosses over any technical flaws. I’d be shocked if they didn’t sail through to next week.

COMFORT and THAYNE

Another new pairing, another disaster for Comfort. And I think she might just be disgusted as we are, because no matter what she says, she doesn’t even seem to be trying anymore. She got a hip-hop routine, for goodness sake! She should have blasted Thayne off the stage, even if it meant risking the judges saying she should be a better partner. At this point for her, whoever that partner is doesn’t matter anymore.

Neither routine—the second was a Mandy Moore contemporary—showed any kind of connection between the two, so both Comfort and Thayne should have just danced well individually. Yet they couldn’t even do that.

Ah well, it was nice knowing you, Thayne. And the ONLY way Comfort is squeaking through this week is if she tears up tonight’s solo—and the judges think she may have something more interesting to offer than Jessica on her own, now that the partners will be split up next week.

WILL and JESSICA

Thank God Will and Jessica had that first routine, a sparse but incredible take on the Garden of Eden. When Will stepped out in a loincloth, you knew it was going to be good. And it was: As Nigel said, the piece was erotic and stunning. It reminded me of Katee and Joshua’s number by Mia last week, when they were able to capture the audience by barely moving. Mary called it one of the best numbers ever on the show.

Eek! Then all that goodwill (no pun intended) got shot to hell with that revolting quickstep: Maybe Cat Deeley jinxed them by calling the genre the show’s “kiss of death.” (And hello, Cat, we knew that already, you didn’t have to make the dancers more nervous by pointing it out to everyone beforehand.)

I didn’t think they were as awful as the judges made it seem—the American Bandstand, ‘50s vibe was sort of cute. But they got slammed on all counts, and Mia was ruthless: She may as well have said that Jessica needs to go home.

But will America agree? I don’t think Will’s charm will save them from the Bottom 3 this time, but he’s surely safe from getting cut. The judges love him—just not THEM—too much.

COURTNEY and GEV

Unlike Chelsie and Mark, who are consistently great week after week, Courtney and Gev just keep improving. I’ll wager last night’s performances were their best so far: That cha-cha was sultry enough to put them on Mary’s Hot Tamale Train. (And again, a plunging neckline on a guy: Between Mark and Gev, the stylists were ga-ga for man cleavage last night.)

Nigel called them the “best suited couple” of the bunch. Mia called their cha-cha “fabulosity at its best.” (P.S. Anyone else think that Mia’s just desperately throwing out made-up phrases and hoping one catches on, like Cat’s “jidges” and Mary’s HTT?)

And that “lost in the jungle” jazz routine was dynamic and entertaining, from the first moment Gev burst out of the wings. Now that’s what I’m talking about! These two seem to be dancing for their lives all the time, and that’s what makes them great competitors.

Plus, I have to confess a certain bias for C&G now: I’m a native Long Islander like Courtney, and I had a totally awesome ‘80s flashback when they danced to “Standing There” by the Creatures! (That was the side project for Siouxsie Sioux and Budgie of Siouxsie and the Banshees. Yes, I was a New Wave/Goth girl. I have pictures to prove it. They aren’t pretty.)

TWITCHINGTON

Just like Will and Jessica, this normally can-do-no-wrong couple had a so-so night. Their first krump number was wild—and just like last week, you had to hand it to Kherington for kicking it up a notch or two. She was a completely believable dirty, filthy, stank girl, which, according to Mia, is a good thing when it comes to krumping.

But that smooth tango just might have doomed them to the Bottom 3. It as all over the place, and they looked about as comfortable as gazelles at a lion convention. They were supposed to be assassins—a la Brangelina in Mr. & Mrs. Smith. But to quote Nigel: “You murdered the dance routine tonight, not each other.” Ouch!

KATEE and JOSHUA

Katee appears to be the girls’ frontrunner these days. The judges just love her: The girl can do no wrong with them. To me, she’s kind of  like Sabra, who won the competition last year. Was she the best dancer? Absolutely. (Though Danny fans may disagree with me.) But neither Sabra nor Katee have a strong enough personality to make me want to root for them.

Anyway, the judges certainly are rooting for Katee: Mia called her “a gift” after the couple’s waltz. They were harder on Joshua, with Nigel noting that he was too “bouncy.”

Then, whammo! He and Katee hit a home run with the show’s final number: A Bollywood performance, which had never been done on the show before.  And with his B-boy background, Joshua was able to redeem himself. (I’d never realized how similar the Indian moves were to hip-hop, either, until Nigel pointed it out.)

But what this number really proved to me is that the show is somewhat slanted: For the most part, I’ll believe that the couple’s draw of genre from the hat is honest. Yet do any of you believe for a second that if, say, Comfort and Thayne had drawn this Bollywood number, they wouldn’t have been asked to pick again?

Ponder that, Dancerinos, and tune in here tomorrow for a recap of tonight’s eliminations!

(Photos courtesy of FOX)