In which I discuss who will win So You Think You Can Dance…

As is my custom, I fell behind on my recaps, but I’m actually quite sure I will finish them, even if it takes until Christmas. That said, I did want to at least post about my reactions to last night’s performance finale episode briefly, with the intention of going into far more detail later.



First thing: I couldn’t have been happier with the final 4. All season long, I’ve felt a little apathetic towards this crew of 20, which has been hard to deal with. I was so emotionally invested last year in Sabra and Neil (and Pasha) that I was kind of a mess on finale night. Not having that connection with the dancers has made the experience this year less magical and exciting, but you know, lightning so very rarely strikes twice. However, over the weeks, I have grown to appreciate, if not actually love, Courtney and Joshua. Katee and Twitch are also fantastic, but I won’t lie straight to your face and tell you I love them. I would have traded Mark for Twitch in a heartbeat, even though that makes me public enemy number one to most of the fans of the show. We’ll take about Twitch more in the recaps that I will eventually post (especially the whole “4 real” phenomenon, which I LOATHE!, and which I am convinced is entirely Twitch’s doing).

I can’t believe these four kids learned so many dances in one week. That was a sh*t-ton of dancing. They each did three partner dances, a solo, and a final group routine PLUS the huge group routine for the finale which we haven’t even seen. I mean… how are they functioning?? I would be puking up all of my internal organs after all of that, and I’m not even kidding. I suppose I have to stand up and applaud them for even making it through the night, besides performing well, and that thought makes me go on to another thought, which is: maybe it was all too much.

By the end of the night, Courtney looked done, and Joshua looked kind of piqued as well. Their jive was kind of painful, to be frank. A part of me is grateful to the show for eliminating a lot of the useless filler that usually comes with these kinds of shows, but I would rather they NOT do that if the dances have to suffer. If I remember correctly, last year’s finalists performed the same amount of numbers (minus the solos), so last night was nothing new, but I think the dances last night were far more intensive and athletic… Twitch and Joshua did a Trepak for god’s sake! I’m saying: these four dancers got a much tougher workout than Sabra and Co. and while I was completely impressed, I’m not sure it was all worth it.

In my heart of hearts, I’m pulling for Courtney, because she is the light of my life. Don’t laugh at me, but I totally started crying before she did during the judges’ comments after her solo. She is a bundle of joy, and what she has achieved technically is remarkable. I don’t believe she has a prayer of winning, but in a way, she has already won… at least for me.

Katee has been excellent, and I’m tempted to say she’s the absolute best overall dancer this show has ever had. To be absolutely fair, she’s had some luck with the dance styles – I think she has performed more contemporary routines than any other dancer (confirm this), but she has shown amazing versatility when it counts. Her only big weakness is her personality, which has been elusive throughout the season. At first, I thought she just wasn’t getting enough screen-time, aside from her “awkward-dancing”, but now I think she’s just a lovely young girl who doesn’t really have a personality, which choreographers will LOVE, but it won’t win her any reality T.V. dance competitions.

Twitch is the great thorn in my side. He is without a doubt the crowd-favorite, and he has been since the first day of auditions, thanks to his screen-time last year, and he has ridden that wave of public goodwill through some shaky routines. I can’t spite him his fanbase, because he is very easy to like, but ever since his second or third week with Kherington, I’ve been stifling my inner voices, all of which scream words like over-rated, goofy, and, pandering. I stifle the voices because thinking that way makes me a supreme asshole, because Twitch is amazing and how DARE I not love him?? Look, this is really easy. He’s a terrific dancer, and he’s been passable in the styles outside of hip-hop, and he’s kind of funny (I guess), but I can’t, in any fashion, come around to liking him. Maybe it’s the fact that the judges have been pimping him from day one. Maybe it’s the fact that all of his solo routines have been exactly the same, proving to me that he’s a one-note. Maybe I’m blind. Who knows!? I don’t like him.

Now Joshua is a totally different story. In the grand tradition of So You Think You Can Dance success stories, he’s an untrained dancer who claims a street style as his main cup of tea, but is so excellent in ballroom and contemporary and everything else, that it’s hard to believe he’s ever done anything but dance. He’s the proverbial natural, capable of out-dancing and out-shining even the most well-trained dancers on the floor. Now, don’t be fooled, he IS trained, because he said he has taken classes, even if he hasn’t taken as much as the others. But I don’t mind so much that the judges keep saying untrained, because it isn’t too far from the truth compared to someone like Katee, who has been dancing her whole life.

It’s pointless to try and predict the wanton whims of the American voting public, so I’ll just record for posterity the outcome which pleases me most.

4th place: Twitch
3rd place: Katee
2nd place: Joshua
1st place: Courtney

A more realistic outcome that still manages to please me would be…
4th place: Katee
3rd place: Twitch
2nd place: Courtney
1st place: Joshua

And based on the voting history of the show thus far and the dances last night and the cold, cynical light of reality, the results will probably be…
4th: Courtney
3rd: Katee
2nd: Twitch
1st: Joshua

You know, I’ll be happy as long as long as Joshua wins.