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Season 4 Finale Part Two - Winner CrownedWednesday, August 13 2008 |
Welcome to Part Two of the Season 4 Finale of So You Think You Can Dance! A winner was crowned from our final four contestants, and it was the show everyone waited all summer to see!
Let’s start at the beginning of the 2-hour results show. Host Cat Deeley, wearing a fabulous two-piece outfit covered in swaying fringe, started the evening off by welcoming all the eliminated dancers from our top 20 (minus still injured Jessica King) back to the stage. They performed a number together to the song "Boom" and choreographed by Shane Sparks. We also see the top four - Katee Shean, Joshua Allen, Courtney Galiano and Twitch Boss - perform. The group number had some really cool moves and tricks! All of the dancers "killed it" and everyone seemed to have a lot of energy. I really liked that our Final Four were the only ones left standing at the end of the piece.
And for the last time this year, we welcome back our judges! This time around the panel included Mia Michaels, Adam Shankman, Debbie Allen, 'Lil C, Mary Murphy, and Nigel Lythgoe. Adam announces the winner will have a featured dance role for the next movie he's producing: Step Up 3-D - a 3-D dance movie - how cool!
We also get to see the judges pick their favorite performances from the entire season, which I feel really highlights the show! Nigel's first pick is Katee and Josh's Bollywood routine. It’s just as great as the first time they danced it together. I love the arm positions in all the turns for this style, and the floor work that they both do is incredible. They make it look so easy!
Mary's first pick was Courtney and Gev's Rumba number. I really missed these two dancing together, and once again it's a hot performance - very sexy! Mary picked this mostly because of the strength of their wonderful partnership and I had to agree - these two dance beautifully together.
Next we were in for a real treat. It's a pop-off battle between Robert Muraine and Phillip Cheeb. If you don't recall, Phillip came down with pneumonia and couldn't make it to the Vegas callbacks, and Robert quit after the first day of the Vegas auditions. They have never met face to face, until the show's finale. They battle it out to the music of "Stronger" by Kanye West. Robert goes first, and he's answered back by Phillip, doing a standing worm. The way they can move their bodies is impressive and seems to defy the laws of gravity and nature – especially Robert who does his best impression of showing he may not have a skeleton? Wow! Afterwards the judges are asked who has won and Robert gets the most votes by far. I didn’t need the judges to weigh in on this. Although Phillip is impressive, it’s Robert all the way. 'Lil C thinks he’s buck and of course he also got the infamous shrieking Mary scream!
Adam Shankman picks his favorite routine of the season next. He chose Comfort Fedoke and Twitch's hip hop number performed to "Forever". This was her "comeback" performance after she got a second chance to be in the Top 10, and the judges were initially really impressed with how well she did. The second time around, it certainly didn't lose any of its appeal, but I still thought Twitch hit it harder in his performance.
'Lil C said his favorite routine was "Bleeding Love" with Mark Kanemura and Chelsie Hightower, a Tabitha and Napoleon D'Umo lyrical hip-hop routine about the workaholic and his clingy wife. This is another couple I loved watching dance together every single week. They both always bring so much emotion and technique their performances.
And now for another unexpected treat! Mary Murphy and Dmitry Chaplin (a Season 2 contestant) perform together. Is it me or did everyone know ahead of time she would pick this particular past contestant to dance with? He's hot, sexy, and look at that chest and stomach! He's definitely Mary's type - LOL. On a more serious note, Mary’s legs looked amazing during this number, and so did her amazing footwork. I really felt she did a great job. And the splits at the end - Whoa Mary! Give yourself a Mary scream for that one!
Mia's favorite pick was the Pas De Deux performed by Will and Katee. How wonderful it was to see Will dance again. I've missed him and really thought he would be standing as one of the last two male dancers on the finale show. It was great to see them dance this piece again and this time it was as close to perfection as they could get. They nailed the turn they missed during the first performance and did an amazing job.
Adam got to pick another routine. He chose newer choreographer Sonya Tayeh's jazz piece danced to "The Garden" and performed by Courtney G. and Mark. It's a wonderfully dark and slightly depressing routine, but it's still beautiful in its own way - I loved it once again!
Then it was time for the first elimination of the night. Cat brought out the final four on stage for the first round of results. The first dancer to find out that he or she will not win is Courtney. I was so sad. Yes, admittedly, she was technically not the strongest dancer among the four, but she was definitely the most improved and had the most heart. She made a heartfelt speech about how proud she is of having made it as far as she did and how much she loves and appreciates her family.
The top 5 guys dance a routine choreographed by Nigel. It's the "Five Guys Name Moe" routine, and they're all dressed like they just jumped off the set of "Guys and Dolls". It's fun to see again and there are some great parts to the number.
The first of the night’s special guests is the cast of Criss Angel - Believe, from Cirque de Soleil, and choreographed by Wade Robson. They all take the stage wearing gigantic bunny ears. This is the Wade Robson we know and love, bordering on twisted and creepy, but so intensely inventive and masterful. It's a completely bizarre show and almost reminds me of a stage rendition of a scene out of Donnie Darko (reminiscent of the whole huge bunny that talks). I have to say it was a beautifully danced number though.
The 3rd runner up/second dancer to be eliminated is Katee. I am not really surprised both the girls were eliminated first. But Cat Deeley reveals that there is indeed a surprise. This year, there is a prize for not only the top guy, but the top girl too! So Katee went home with a cool $50,000! Wow! Apparently, they’re doing things a little different this year and decide the top female dancer (and if the overall winner had been female, this prize would have gone to the top guy) gets a cash prize too. I have to say I am surprised, but think this is a great idea to award our top girl and I’m so pleased. I really feel Katee finally showed her vulnerable, softer side on the show's finale, something I've really been waiting to see all season. She says she is so blessed and grateful for this experience and it’s completely changed her life. I am impressed!
The second of tonight’s special guests are performers from Debbie Allen’s Dance Academy. They dance a great tap number to "Boogie Wonderland" by Earth, Wind and Fire. It's awesome to see so many kids excited about dancing! And another surprise - Nigel joins them and really holds his own! Wow he's got moves! I think it's really gratifying the judges on this show are all accomplished in their own right as dancers, teachers and choreographers. They have the authority and the knowledge to give critiques, and it's obvious they actually know what they're talking about. Adam Shankman says if he's on the judging panel next year, he wants to take Nigel on in a dance off - that would be something to see!
Mary Murphy chooses another one of her favorite routines and it's Mia Michaels' contemporary piece about a psycho ex-girlfriend going to find her man performed by Twitch and Katee. This was one of the most powerful and raw numbers of the season and the two of them dance it beautifully. I heard a rumor that Mia had a bad breakup this year and that’s why all her pieces were so emotional and dark. I hate to say it, but I think this has been one of her greatest seasons as a choreographer. She's up for numerous Emmy nominations and I think she's had a spectacular year.
This season's final musical guest, the Jonas Brothers, took the stage and I actually had to turn down the volume on my TV. The audience went absolutely nuts! I guess one has to be in a particular age group to enjoy these guys, but I just don't see what's so fabulous about them? Can they sing - Yes. Are they talented - Yes. But in my opinion, they are the A-typical "boy band" that just happen to be real brothers and can play some instruments in addition to singing (I'm reminded of the horror of Hanson from some years back). I was actually very tempted to just fast forward through this part.
Debbie Allen picks her favorite performance next. She does a very good - and I might add hilarious - 'Lil C impression, and requests to see Twitch and Kherington's Viennese Waltz that choreographer Jean-Marc Genereux dedicated to his physically-disabled daughter. This performance was just as beautiful and haunting as the first time I saw it. You can really see how much Twitch and Kherington enjoy dancing with each other when performing this particular piece.
Nigel chooses the last encore performance of the season. It's Katee and Josh's "No Air," choreographed by Tabitha and Napoleon. This routine was a very emotional one from the first performance show. Josh plays an enlisted man who has to go off to war, and Katee was so good at representing the wrenching emotion. I love when she takes Josh's jacket off and puts it on, all in one motion, at the end of the routine. Pure Perfection!
Just before the show closes, and we get down to the final results, we see one final performance from some alumni dancers from Seasons One through Three. They dance a big jam session to "Please Don't Stop the Music." They also give brief updates of what each of them have been up to since they left the show.
And now - this is it! We find out who won - is it Joshua Allen or Twitch Boss. Who did America vote as the 2008 Season 4 SYTYCD favorite dancer? Whichever way it goes, it will be the first time that a street dancer has won - how cool is that! After over 60 million votes, the winner of So You Think You Can Dance is Joshua Allen!!! Confetti explodes from the ceiling all over the stage and everyone cheers. The applause is literally deafening. Josh is officially America's Favorite Dancer and a quarter of a million dollars richer - Yay for him! I'm so happy he won. And that means Twitch is the runner up for the guys. And what a class act Twitch is. He’s so happy for Joshua, who is speechless and emotional. You knew Joshua would cry. I would have been completely surprised if he hadn't. Joshua tells everyone to never let anyone tell you, you can’t do something. The sky’s the limit! It's a tad cliché to hear but he's so choked up with emotion that he probably reached for the first thing that came to mind. Joshua is a class act too. And I truly feel he deserved to win.
So there you have it America. You voted, and Joshua Allen won SYTYCD 2008, Season 4. I know I'm not disappointed with the results. Were you? Vote in our poll on the SYTYCD page. Or comment on our message boards and give us your thoughts. Until next season..........see you then!
