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So You Think You Can Dance: The Finale - Performance and Results
Recaps by Jacob D
August 9, 2008
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This week's episode of So You Think You Can Dance is the one we've all been waiting for. This is the final performance show, the one for all the marbles. It's the last chance Courtney, Joshua, Katee, and Twitch have to convince us to vote them the winner of season four of So You Think You Can Dance. How will everyone perform now that their toes are right on the finish line? Let's find out.
Going into tonight, I was having issues with my cable so I missed some of the beginning of the show. I did catch a little bit of it though. Courtney and Twitch were the first couple to perform and they did a Tabitha and Napoleon hip-hop routine that earned them much praise. Courtney was the first to perform a solo and she danced to yet another Missy Higgins song. She's a goofy, pleasant girl, but I still can't think of anything else to say about her. I'm not sure there has been one point throughout the whole season where Courtney has inspired me, personally.
Now we're up to Katee & Joshua and they're doing a Wade Robson, "love is hard work" themed lyrical piece set to, "Slow Dancing in a Burning Room," by John Mayer. The two move strongly, whipping through their moves as if they've been doing this piece for a long time and the two are in sync as a couple. I think they've earned the distinction of being one of the greatest couples in the show's history even before this, but this really helps.
Guest judge Mandy Moore says she was sold right from the beginning, saying they were very honest and told a story. Mary says the performance was absolutely beautiful and points out that the couple actually stayed together in the performance rather than breaking apart, as has been the norm in these things this season. Nigel says the emotion was first and foremost, going on to say that Katee and Joshua danced brilliantly.
Next, Courtney & Katee are dancing for the first time and they are doing a Tyce DiOrio choreographed Broadway routine set to, "The Trolly Song," by Rufus Wainwright. Another Broadway routine for Katee? Are the producers trying to nudge Katee over to the Great White Way? The girls are wearing silly, frilly little dresses and dancing with silly little parasols, but the routine is wonderfully danced. The two have such energy and aplomb, but if I were to say anything else, it'd be that I feel Courtney doesn't disappear into the role like Katee does.
Mandy thought they had great chemistry and told a cute little story. Mary says they pulled off the routine effortlessly. Nigel says it was a great routine, but notes that Katee follows through on moves, adding a little extra effort, moreso than Courtney.
Twitch is the next person to dance a solo and before each dancer does their solo, we get a clip of Cat interviewing them and learning a little more about them. Cat asks how Twitch got his name and Twitch says he was always moving. Cat asks about his childhood and Twitch says he had to make up thing for himself to do because there wasn't much in Montgomery, Alabama. Really? That's Alabama's state capital. Surely, there's SOMETHING for people to do. He also says he was picked on in junior high for wearing glasses.
Twitch says, about career options, that he did not want a 9-to-5 job or be in the military so he turned to dance. Twitch was glad to be paired up with Kherington initially and was shocked when she got eliminated in the top ten round. Cat asks him what his favorite routine was and Twitch points out the Viennese waltz that he and Kherington did in week two. Onstage, Twitch dances to Wade Robson's, "It Was All In Your Mind," leaves it all out on the stage. Cat goes to the judges for some comments and Mandy says he's like the little engine that could, Mary says she is speechless, and Nigel says Twitch has left his mark on the competition.
Since the girls have already danced together, it is now time for Joshua & Twitch to dance together. Their pre-performance clip sees the two talking about a rivalry between them and poking at each other, but it's a friendly rivalry. For their routine, they will be doing the series' first ever Russian Trepak dance which is choreographed by Youri Nelzine and set to, "Trepak," from Tchaikovsky's The Nutcracker Suite. The dance seems to consist mostly of tricks and stunts and each guy gets equal opportunity for solo displays of athleticism. Overall, the piece seems more like a stunt practice than a dance number, but the two guys perform very well.
Mandy says it took a lot of physical ability to do that dance and says it was beyond comprehension how they did that. Mary says they are two tremendous entertainers and points out that this is the first time there have been two hip-hop dancers in the finale. She says the performance was one of the most fabulous routines she has ever seen on the show. Nigel is delighted that they did this routine and feels it will be talked about for a long time.
Now it's time for Katee to dance solo. In her pre-performance clip, Cat asks Katee if she ever thought she'd be here and Katee says no. Katee wanted to perform well, but she never thought she'd be in the finale. She says Vegas week was draining, especially with it being her second time around. I didn't know that was her second time. We see a clip of Katee mentioning to the judges that it was her second time, so I guess I just forgot.
Anyways, we of course re-live the moment where the judges thought Katee was giving up and almost reversed their decision to let her stay. I still say they completely and totally overreacted. All Katee said was that if she didn't make it, she wasn't sure if she'd come back to the show. Despite what the judges thought, she was not giving up dancing. I mean, are people who audition once forced to sign a contract that says they have to audition again? Is auditioning for So You Think You Can Dance mandatory? No, so leave the girl alone. Cat, thankfully, tells Katee that she thought Katee was just being honest. Finally, someone says it. Katee said it was tough going up against her best friend Natalie.
Cat asks Katee what her favorite routine was and Katee says she liked her's and Joshua's first routine, the hip-hop number set to Jordin Spark's, "No Air." Cat and Katee talk about Katee's goofy quirks and how she morphs into a whole other person onstage. Back to the show, Katee dances to Imogen Heap's, "Hide and Seek," and completely throws herself into her performance. Afterwards, Mandy urges Katee to keep dancing and training, Mary says she'll cherish so many of Katee's performance, and Nigel compliments her brilliant dancing.
Next up are Katee & Twitch performing a Tony Meredith/Melanie LaPatin choreographed foxtrot set to Michael Buble's, "Feeling Good." That song is starting to get on my nerves for some reason. Katee dances beautifully and Twitch is a capable partner. My favorite part is the way they melt into a hold after the uptick in the music with the horns and then there's spectacular lift.
Mandy says the performance was romantic and the two were amazing. Mary says Twitch was a complete gentleman, calling him nice, smooth, and controlled and says, "Bravo!" to Katee. Nigel says Katee has been brilliant in everything they've thrown at her and this performance is another feather in her cap. To Twitch, Nigel says he started stiff, but then relaxed into his performance and improved.
Joshua is the last person to dance and solo and it's the last solo of the season. In his pre-performance clip, Joshua talks about growing up with not a lot of money and getting lessons at a dance studio by agreeing to do chores for said studio. Cat asks if there was ever a, "fork-in-the-road moment," for him and Joshua says there was a point when he could've focused on track and football or gone with dance. Cat asks why he auditioned for the show and Joshua remembers always watching the show and being entertained, but was never sure he could do it. We see clips of Joshua triumphing with his initial audition, throughout Vegas week, and making it to the top 20. Joshua says he usually isn't a crier and Cat jokes that he was the biggest crier on the show.
As for his favorite routine, Joshua liked the samba he did with Katee. He liked getting the chance to step out of his comfort zone and he liked the response he got. Joshua says he is taking so much out of the competition and will never forget his time on the show. Onstage, Joshua dances to, "(Not Just) Knee Deep," by Funkadelic. Hmm, so that's where De La Soul's, "Me Myself and I," originated. Joshua gives a great performance, even dancing on the judges' table. Afterwards, Mandy thought the solo was wonderful, Mary says he's been riding first class on the Hot Tamale Train all season long, and Nigel says Joshua has set the standard for future untrained dancers who audition for the show. Hear that, Robert Muraine?
The last couple is Courtney & Joshua and they are performing a Jason Gilkison choreographed jive set to, "The Dirty Boogie," by the Brian Setzer Orchestra. They're not wearing traditional ballroom costumes, which I like, and they zip through the routine with pizazz. I especially like the last lift in the routine.
Mandy says they surprised her throughout the routine and congratulates them on all of their hard work. Mary says the jive is incredibly difficult and is impressed with how they measured up. Nigel was disappointed and hopes to help them learn by pointing out some of the less-than-stellar moments.
The final performance of the season is a group routine choreographed by Mia Michaels and set to, "Hallelujah," by The Vitamin String Quartet. Since Chelsie & Twitch danced to the VSQ's cover of Janet Jackson's, "Control," in an earlier performance, I was thinking at first that this would be a cover of the Jeff Buckley song, but no, it's an original spirited piece. Everyone is dancing in quasi-Scottish garb for some reason and I'm not sure what Mia is going for, but it's a great routine.
Mandy is at a loss for words because she feels like the performance came from a place far above the physical. She says dancers must learn to transcend performances and thanks them for the routine. Mary says Twitch stood out to her, Courtney fell short on occasion, Katee was flawless, and all four of them danced like a unit. She is proud of them. Nigel is impressed that they have two untrained dancers, Joshua and Twitch, in the finale and feels America got it right in keeping them around. Of the girls, Nigel says they became shining stars as the season progressed. Overall, even though he didn't know what the theme of the routine was, Nigel feels no one would complain about the performance.
That is it. The performances are done, our final four have danced their hearts out, and it's not time to pick a winner. I personally still think it's going to be Katee, but Joshua could just pull off an upset while Twitch and Courtney also have the potential to hang in there and win.
Previously on So You Think You Can Dance, 20 dancers were chosen by the judges out of the thousands who auditioned and now we are down to four. Earlier this week, those final four dancers, Courtney, Joshua, Katee, and Twitch, took part in the final performance show of the season and us viewers responded with our votes. One of them will be the winner of this fourth season. Who will it be and what will we see along the way to getting our results? Let's find out.
To begin the night, we are re-introduced to our top 20 dancers in the form of the little dance break that usually begins each performance show. Cat strolls out and tells us that the winner will be receiving $250,000 and the title of, "America's Favorite Dancer." She also tells us that we will be seeing some very special guests, as well as reliving some of the show's best performances. On the panel for the proceedings are Mia Michaels, Adam Shankman, Debbie Allen, Nigel Lythgoe, Mary Murphy, and Lil' C. Cat asks Adam about the movie role that he is offering to the winner and Adam says it will be, "Step Up 3-D," the first dance movie to be shot in 3-D. Then Cat shows us clips of the journey we and the dancers have taken this season. Afterwards, the whole top 20 dances a Shane Sparks group number.
After the group number, Cat tells us that we will see the dancers recreate the judges' favorite routines of the season and starts with Nigel. His first pick is the Bollywood number that Katee & Joshua did because it was new to show, but they performed it incredibly well. The two do the whole routine again and are just as good as they were before. Cat asks Mary what routine she has chosen and she picks Courtney & Gev's rumba from week five, I believe. It's nice to see Gev again.
Next is something I've been looking forward to, the dance-off between poppers Phillip Chbeeb and Robert Muraine. Last season, Phillip was a breakout star thanks to an incredible audition and this year, Robert was the breakout sensation. Tragedy struck both dancers, although one brought it on himself, when Phillip was forced to forego his trip to Vegas due to pneumonia and Robert quit before even really trying a thing. I was sad to hear Phillip didn't get to try and I'm still mad that Robert didn't even try.
Now it's the dance-off and they both perform to, "Stronger," by Kanye West. I greatly prefer Phillip on a personality and dancing level. Robert's style is more jagged and broken up, relying more on tricks than actual dancing, while Phillip's style has more of a flow to it, more of a connection, and more energy. I also notice that Robert keeps doing the same thing in the same style while Phillip keeps mixing it up. I feel like Phillip tries harder and just generally does better. I definitely think Phillip wins this battle and I am really hoping he comes back next season. Cat throws the decision to the judges and I'm thinking they'll just say they're both winners, but they end up picking Robert. Seriously? Yeah he has some good tricks, but Phillip has tricks, musicality, and dancing. Robert just did the robot the whole time. Yes, I'm bitter, but it's my opinion and I'm sticking by it.
Now we get to see a recreation of one of Adam Shankman's favorite routines from the season and he picks the hip-hop number that Twitch & Comfort performed in week six, when Comfort was brought back to replace an ailing Jessica. Lil' C chooses the next routine, but first he goes into another rambling Lil' C speech. Cat says she loves his analogies and I would too if they weren't so convoluted. If you have to spend an hour explaining what you mean, you shouldn't be a judge on a reality show. Anyways, he selects the hip-hop routine Chelsie & Mark did to Leona Lewis', "Bleeding Love," which was week three, I think.
After Chelsie & Mark finish dancing, we see that Mary is not in her seat. That's because she's doing a performance onstage with season two finalist, Dmitry Chaplin. Mary rips Dmitry's shirt open in the beginning, never a bad idea, and then shows that she knows what she's talking about when she critiques ballroom performances. She is a champion in the competitive dancing world, folks. By the way, Dmitry just gets sexier each time you see him. Is it just me or no?
Moving on, Mia tells us that one of her favorite routines was the pas de deux that Katee & Will performed in week six. Oh come on, you knew that one was going to be brought up. It was one of the most exquisite routines the show has ever seen and Katee & Will dance as they did that week. Adam picks another routine from the season and he chooses the jazz routine Courtney & Mark did last week. That was one of my favorites too and any excuse to get Mark back on my TV screen is fine with me. I also want to take a moment and say that I hope Sonya Tayeh, the choreographer behind this routine, continues to contribute to SYTYCD because I think she's terrific.
After that performance, it's time for the first round of results. The first eliminated dancer and fourth place finisher is Courtney. Courtney says she will not waste the opportunities she's given and we send her off with a clip package. She never really lit up the stage for me, but obviously a lot of people felt otherwise and Courtney has done well to get this far. She certainly didn't slack off and worked hard, so hats off to her.
The next performance is the group number that the top five guys did back in week six to the song, "Five Guys Named Moe." That one was notable because it was choreographed by Nigel Lythgoe, who has own little history as a dancer. Next is a performance by a group of Cirque du Soleil stars. They are doing a piece from Criss Angel's Vegas show, "Believe," one that was choreographed by Wade Robson and dedicated to a dead rabbit. It's not as morose as it sounds because during the performance, a big screen above them reads, "Homage to all the rabbits who died at the hands of incompetent magicians." Plus, the song accompanying this piece is, "Homage to the Rabbits," by Eric Serra, everyone is dressed like bunny people, and they are dancing around a small coffin with bunny ears sticking out of it. Well, Cirque du Soleil is known for being avant garde.
Now it's time for some more results. The next dancer to be eliminated and third place finisher is Katee. Hmm, and I thought she was going to win. I'm surprised, but I'm also not surprised because there's always the chance that the person you think is safe may not be on these shows. Of course, Katee was a star all throughout the season, never once falling into the bottom group on any of the results night, and has earned her high finish. This means that two African-American, untrained, hip-hop dancing men will be vying for the title, a first in SYTYCD history in all three regards. Sure there was Jamile in season one, but he was only one man and he didn't make the final two.
After those results, it's Nigel's turn to be absent from his seat. The next performance is by a group of kids from Debbie Allen's school of dance. They are all performing a tap routine and about halfway through, Nigel joins them and leads the group. We've heard about Nigel's background in dance and we know he choreographed a routine this season, the "Five Guys Named Moe" routine mentioned earlier, but this is the first time we've actually seen him dance. He's pretty darn good, although I think he's over the age limit for dancers auditioning to be on this show so I'm afraid he won't be able to compete for the title. It's just as well though because he runs this show. Adam says that if he, Adam, is available next season, he wants to take Nigel on. Debbie then suggests that everyone on the panel should be required to dance on the show and I think both ideas are good.
Cat then asks Mary for another of her favorite routines and she names the routine Katee & Twitch did to Duffy's, "Mercy," from week seven where they danced around a door. Afterwards, the Jonas Brothers perform their latest single, "Burning Up." Then Debbie picks out one of her favorite routines, this one being the Viennese waltz that Twitchington performed in week two. This one is notable because Jean-Marc Genereux choreographed it and was inspired by Rits Syndrome stricken daughter. Certainly one of the more emotional numbers of the season, especially when you factor in the meaning behind it. Nigel picks out another routine and after talking about how thrilled he's been with Tabitha and Napoleon's contributions to the show this season, he opts to have Katee & Joshua perform their hip-hop routine from week one. This one was set to Jordin Sparks and Chris Brown's smashing duet, "No Air," and the theme was Joshua getting called away to Iraq and Katee dealing with the news.
The next segment of the show is one of those, "Where Are They Now?" moments and deals with past SYTYCD contestants, including Sandra and Ashle from season one, Laruen, Dominic, and Hok from season three and others. Blake, from season one, says he's been touring with Janet Jackson the last couple of years, did his own show called, "Dance Life," on MTV, and is now a judge on Canada's version of SYTYCD. Lauren from season three has worked with Mariah Carey, Sandra has worked with Rihanna and Katharine McPhee, and Jesus from season three has actually been putting together his own show called, "Dreamcatcher."
Allison Holker, from season two and not season three as the captioners labeled her, had a baby and Cedric from season three has been growing as a dancer after going to Debbie Allen's dance academy. Neil, season three, is currently performing in the show, "The Altar Boys," Donyelle, season two, has been working as co-choreographer with Shane Sparks on a movie called, "The Jump Off," and Sara, season three, served as backup dancer/backup vocalist on Avril Lavigne's tour. Donyelle also mentions that she's getting married while Lacey, season three, says she has done music videos and her own line of clothing.
A lot of the dancers, including season two winner Benji, Lacey, Dmitry, and season one finalist Ryan offer words of encouragement to the final four. Then, it's a family affair as a number of contestants from past seasons of the show perform as a group and are eventually joined by this season's cast. Hey was that Melody from season one twirling with Lauren after Ivan's dance? I liked her. My favorite part though is Dmitry and Lacey's blazing ballroom segment. That was quite a fun way to cap the evening.
Or, almost cap the evening. Now it's time for our final results. Will the winner be Joshua or will it be Twitch? Both are mostly untrained and both specialize in hip-hop so one of them will achieve a few, "firsts," in SYTYCD history. Personally, I'm hoping Joshua wins and he does! Twitch is the runner-up and the winner of season four of So You Think You Can Dance is Joshua Allen!
It was a great season and I am happy with the final results. If your favorite fell along the way, don't worry because I'm sure all the dancers will be just fine in whatever they pursue. Next year, we'll have season five and a whole new crop of dancers vying for the title. It's a long ways off, but I'll see ya there.
Jacob D. is a twenty-something native of Austin Tx who spends his time
listening to music, posting on Austin based messageboards, playing
video games, and watching TV. Jacob also enjoys reading Shonen Jump,
Garfield and Calvin & Hobbes strips, playing Texas Hold 'em, drawing
cartoon chickens, and tending to his neopets. Though shy in real
life, he loves to sound off on his favorite shows and enjoys
interacting with other fans.
You can contact Jacob at Jacob@RealityTVCalendar.com
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