What a performance finale for So You Think You Can Dance Nine dances were performed as each of the dancers performed three times, meaning everyone danced with everyone else. I thought seven of those nine dances were fantastic, one of the nine was a clunker and another one was simply superb.
Here’s a run down of the nine in the order they were presented:
- Kathryn & Ryan – Samba: What a great way to open. The opening twists and rolls around each other were impressive. Ryan’s abs were in fine form to as he swiveled this way and that. Kathryn was stunning here outside her style and Ryan, in his style, was also great. Her leap onto his back at the end was very cool.
- Ellenore & Jakob – Broadway: Tyce loves to do his Fosse numbers and this one makes me want to see Jakob do some real Fosse choreography. These two have such great chemistry and the number showed them both off great.
- Ashleigh & Russell – Lyrical Jazz: Sonya crafted a beautiful number here that these two nailed. It was great to see these two together finally after Ashleigh was hurt last week. My only fault here was the ending seemed too posed getting through the final two lifts. But the character of the dance (especially Ashleigh as the guardian angel) was excellent and Russell once again shined outside of his hip-hop style.
- Ellenore & Ryan – Jazz: Didn’t like this at all. The choreography itself I thought was lackluster for a piece in the finale. I think these two danced what they were given just fine, but, like Nigel, I couldn’t connect with it and therefore I think it hurt these two for the final voting.
- Ashleigh & Jakob – Foxtrot: So good to see these two together again. What a great piece of choreography too. It could’ve come right out of a old-school Hollywood musical. Ashleigh may be more of a latin ballroom dancer, but she was excellent here.
- Ellenore & Russell – Paso Doble: Fabulous! Great choreography and excellent characterizations from them both (but especially Ellenore). This dance really belonged to Ellenore who was given such good moves. It was hard not to watch her becuase she dazzled.
- Kathryn & Jakob – Contemporary: The number of the night. Extraordinary watching these two together and in their style. There were so many complex moves for the both of them and each executed perfectly. Not only was it technically perfect, but the characterization and emotion of the dance spilled off both of them.
- Ashleigh & Ryan – Contemporary: The husband and wife finally get to dance together; sadly I’m left underwhelmed. I thought Ashleigh was radiant in this piece and danced it so well. Ryan seemed a little stiff to me though and that was disappointing. I would’ve loved to see what Kathryn & Jakob would’ve done with this piece of Travis Wall choreography.
- Russell & Kathryn – Hip Hop: What a kick ass way to end the show. Russell in his style is always a treat and Kathryn kept up with him, which was pretty amazing since she’s not hip hop at all. Gotta love the Napoleon and Tabitha choreography too.
I’m voting a ton for Jakob (20 at the time I published this). I’ve been a fan of his since the beginning and I’m going to dial for as long as I can stand to tonight. Here’s how I think it sorts out tomorrow night: Ashleigh and Ryan are cut first. Russell and Elenore are cut next. Kathryn and Jakob are the top two. This could go either way, but I’m sticking by Jakob to win.
Results Update: Well, I had a part of the rules wrong. I thought it always had to be a guy/girl pair in the top two, at least that’s what I remember from the past two seasons. But the top two came down to Russell and Jakob with Russell winning the title of “America’s Favorite Dancer.” I’m good with that choice I’ve loved them both all season and I hope to see much more of them, and the entire top 20 honestly, for years to come.
In terms of the show itself… this is a dance show and I think it was a major waste of time to have four musical guests. Leona Lewis’ Avatar song was boring, we’ve seen Adam Lambert sing that very song now on numerous TV appearances and Mary J. Blige was not interesting. At least Jennifer Lopez put out a bit of a spectacle. I wish SYTYCD would do what DWTS does and use their own dancers for most of the musical guests that appear. Imagine how cool it might have been if the top 6 could’ve danced with J.Lo!
I liked the numbers that were picked for re-play, but I wish some of the musical guests could’ve been bumped to make way for Jakob and Ashleigh to do “Relax” and for the Wade Robson Van Gogh number.
So the TV Dance-a-poolza is over. If the schedule is the same as last year, DWTS should be back in March and SYTYCD returns in May. I can’t wait…
