So You Think You Can Really Handle the Suspense?

The Final Final

Woohooooo!!!

We're finally there! We're at the Finarle at last... we get to see who was crowned America's Favourite Dancer, all those many moons ago...

And to celebrate this auspicious occasion, Cat has decided to befuddle us completely with her choice of outfit. Maybe she subconsciously knew that we'd be viewing it in Australia in the lead-up to Christmas, and decided to give us a shout-out by dressing as the fairy with a Christmas Tree up her bum... Maybe... But somehow I don't think so. What I do know is that the Fug Girls were particularly unimpressed with her at the time. At least the random blue flower in her hair is cute. Kinda.

Anyways... Our Top 20 are back, and they're all gorgeous in white. Maybe they're little snow-flakes, continuing with our Chrissy theme here, again, I don't know. But again, I'm distracted by the supreme pouty bitch-face that Jessi managed to summon for her close-up! Man, that girl has attitude problems - just because we weren't as taken by her talents involving baby oil, she's gone all sulky school girl on us. Do you reckon it's because she had her Pasha taken away from her? I guess I'd be pretty dirty about that too.

Cat gurgles that all her babies are back... bless!

But then she ruins it all by assuring us that, jam-packed though the show is, there will be no padding whatsoever.

*cough*BULLSHIT*cough*

Tonight there is a massive judging panel, and they're all colour-coordinated too. They are asked to sum up the season in one sentence. They show that, while awesomely talented dancers, their basic maths skillz leave a lot to be desired...

MiaM reckons this was her fave season so far. With the strongest dancers, displaying the best personality and work ethics.

Shane believes that this season will have changed the mind of a lot of dancers 'out there' , inspiring them even... So basically saying that all those snobby dancers who reckon that, yes they can dance, and whoever doubts it can go get knotted, will be suddenly thinking that the chance at $250K plus an internationally broadcast showcase of their talents is not such a bad thing after all...

Wade gets all serious, thinking that 'one sentence' means 'many sentences using only one adjective', declaring that the talent level was amazing, attitude amazing, everything amazing...

Dan shows he's the only one who can count stating that this season was ridiculous. In a good way obvs.

Mary thought it was ridiculous and dynamic...

while Nigel declared Paula Abdul to be a loose end that needs tying up. As are some random contestant from S2, Maddy, and her uuurrrgly baby. Weird.

Moving on to our first batch of Highlights (NB - NOT filler or padding)

Lots of lovely cityscapes and then the same damn audition shots we've seen over and over, along with bits'n'bobs from the entire season. Look you've watched it, I've watched it, there's no need for me to recap what is basically a recap is there??

The Top 20 come back on to do their Tyce DiOrio Lion King dance. I'm as underwhelmed as I was the first time I saw it, although I am impressed with Danny's pony tail and pouffy 1980s fringe.

So, basically, each of the judges gets to choose their favourite routine from the series and we get to see it again. That's nice. But I suspect our Final 4 are going to be pretty buggered by the end of the show!

Mary's fave moment from the show was seeing Cedric when he danced the first time. Because he touched and moved her.... ewwww.... But the best number was Pasha and Lauren's Skeletor hip hop. Which we get to see again, and again I'm blown away by Pasha's adaptability, though concerned for the health of his crotch as it gets bounced on by Lauren. Which also sounds dirty, but really really isn't.
Cat talks about how they were voted off during the 'lockdown' show, so demands that the entire audience gets to their feet to give them the send-off they deserved, which is quite quite lovely. They look touched and moved too. It's a touchy-feely show this one.

Lucky us, we get more auditions footage, showing all the different types of dance styles that were featured - Contemporary krumping, Irish dancing, roller skating, belly dancing, Indian Fusion... none of which got past the audition stage thankfully... but it leads into a special performance by Brandon Norris, the dentally-challenged clogger from Atlanta.

He's like a tap dancer on crack, but with some cute little self-conscious hip hop moves thrown in. He really is very good, but still has crappy teeth. Hopefully some Dental Academy out there will give him a scholarship a la Cedric.

Nigel's favourite routine is one that he didn't seem overly fond of when it was performed. But now he reckons that it best demonstrated the best synchronicity between dancers and choreographers - it's Wade's Hummingbird routine for Hok and Jaimie.

It's as good as ever, although I feel that maybe they didn't hit it as hard as their first performance. It is beautiful though, and when Cat asks what the reaction 'on the street' has been, Hok responds that people have been coming up to him saying that they were touched by it. And he's all about the power of dance touching people. awww..

I think there's going to be an awful lot of aww moments tonight.

Jean-Marc Genereaux is up next with his fave, and surprisingly it's Dom & Sabra's hip-hop. Because of the connection and the this and the that, but mainly for the great story. It is very good, and they seem to be having a great time, even sharing a little giggle half way through. I'm really struck by how versatile Sabra is. Again. There's no Not Hitting it with her, ever.
Dom gives her big cuddles and kisses and says that it has been a blessing to have been part of Sabra's SYTYCD journey.... awwww... heart-melty.

Guest Judge Adam Shankman's fave routine was Sara and Neil's disco number. He likes it because it was Sara's Cinderella moment - he'd never seen her more beautiful. Hmmm.... Can I point out that this is probably one of Sara's least flattering outfits, and then make an observation about Adam's lack of insight and speculate as to why that may be...

No? okay then...

Adam also gives the routine props for 'validating disco as a form of dance'.

Man, I love wank-dance-speak!

It is an awesome routine, lots of acrobatics from Neil, an amazing drop and twirly thing from Sara, hideous costuming... what more could a girl want?

Next filler, padding, sorry, 'highlights' montage is all about the breaking. And the krumping. And the WTF-ing... And this random quote from Shane that makes me sorry for my NOT missspent youth - "Ain't nothin sexier than when a girl can pop". For filler, it's pretty funky, and it gives me a little more Hok love, so I'm happy. It also presents a nice segue into showcasing Brian Gaynor - the guy with muscular dystrophy who took the robot dance and made it his own...

Brain looks a little worried as he walks out, but gets into it with a cute little grin. Something tells me that it is even harder for him this time, and I'm concerned his disease may be worsening. Did anyone else notice this?

Anyway, he gets a standing ovation from the judges, and then Shane gets put on the spot about the movie offer that he made, so it's all good.

And can I just say at this point how much I love Cat Deeley. Her affection for the dancers, her enthusiasm for the show, how much she just cares and enjoys herself... It's infectious - it's a real tonic, a real joy, and I'm going to miss her. I think Natalie Bassingthwaite is going to have a hard job filling those towering stilettos for the Aussie gig.

The Top 8 do the Shane Sparks Matrix-y routine. It's all very very serious.

Very.

So my mind starts to wander, and man, the costuming budget for this show must be massive. But props to the costumers. And the make-up artists. And the make-up removers. They've done a bang-up job this season and I'm impressed. Thank You Mr Murdoch!

Wade's fave routine was the Samba that Dimitri choreo'd for Lacey and Danny, or 'Dancey' as they were dubbed. And I'm glad about this, as I never saw the original due to 'technical problems' . Wade loved it for the musicality and the hottness. Well, duh.

It's very very hot. I am very very impressed. And I love that Danny seems to be channeling Dimitri - it makes me most nostalgic for Dimitri's dancing. I think it's all in the arms.
I'm also loving the way that Danny is enjoying himself so much now - he's smiling in all the dances, just getting into them, not worried about technique or whatever... it must be quite liberating for him.

And now, seeing as two of the finalists are on the stage, Cat decides it's time for an elimination... Straight away Lacey thinks it's her...

Lacey's right.

She gets a lovely farewell package, with lots of shots of her pulling faces even when she's been told Not To... But the poor girl is stuck with a very odd father, so maybe that goes some way to explaining things. I mean, nothing says 'I love you' like a 3 foot long flashing neon sign.

Urgh - our super-special 'musical item' is Nicole-from-the-PussyCat-Dolls. She's in a box, and I just wish she'd stay there. Hee! She rhymed scenario with radio... Which is all I notice before I'm overcome with befuddlement over the inexplicable wind storm that appears to have descended on the stage. And also hatred for her boots. I do give her props for managing to choreograph the bodice hoist into the dance before she has a wardrobe malfunction though...

Shane's fave routine was the Benji's West Coast swing for Sara and Pasha. I agree. It was one of my favourites too, so I'm stoked to get to watch it again. Especially as I didn't notice just how low cut the feral pant-suit is that Sara is wearing the first time around... That thing must chafe something shocking.
Sara describes Benji as rough, tough and dangerous... which is seriously one of the cutest/funniest things I've heard on this show...

Tyce gets to pick his fave next, and I'm actually surprised that he picks Danny & Anya's jive from the first week as one of his highlights. He then decides he wants to see another of their routines - the foxtrot - again. He's so sweet. He says it's such a great routine, purely Hollywood and Ballroom, and I kinda like that this OTT jazz choreographer is a sucker for old style dancing.

The foxtrot, complete with fascinator, is really good. And they both look so damn happy to be dancing it again. It's lighter and brighter and even better than the first time around.

Tony Meredith gets to choose next, and he's a fan of Wade's Vagabond Symphony thing. Sara and Jesus hobo it up again, and I'm starting to pity poor Sara as she's done what? four dances at least tonight... It was nice to see this routine again, as these guys had great chemistry.

MiaM's fave moment was the last bit of Neil and Sabra's Pase Doble - when Sabra got dropped like a donut over Neil's shoulders, and fell to the floor. We get an excellent slo-mo shot from a different camera angle of Sabra with her teeth gritted as she drops, and Mary and Debbi Allen aghast in the background...

She chooses another Neil and Sabra piece to be performed though - the Table one from last week, and again I'm struck by the fact that they just seem to be off, like half a beat... And I don't blame them one little bit - they've been dancing their little dancey hearts out for the last however many weeks, and they must be completely out of reserves.

I guess that's why, as we come to the next elimination there's no messing about... it's Neil. And he seemed to know it before the envelope's even opened. There's no tears from him! But by Crikey the lad did lots of jumping about didn't he?

*Insert bizarre filler of 'cat' and 'nigel' dancing that isn't going to be dignified with a recap...*

Holy Moly... how much not-filler are we going to get tonight? Now it's the turn of Ryan Capybara to sing live the 'goodbye' track 'I will remember you' that you will remember from various 'goodbye' montages throughout the entire season. To celebrate this we get more goodbye shots and lots of hugging(I originally typed this as huffing, which also kinda fits actually) and kissing. Miss M would be impressed as she's totally into the trilby right now. Thankfully she's less into velvet-jacketed, guitar-playing emos... I guess this is all to come.

We do get a bonus gorgeous shot of Kameron in profile with a tear rolling down his cheek, which is totally special and makes me like him for the first time all season.

IS THIS NOT FINISHED YET???

Far Out!

Oh. Only one more dance routine left - Dan's fave, the MiaM's flower piece.

*yawn*

oh dear... am I allowed to say that I really didn't like that. It's another one that I didn't catch due to the ubiquitous 'technical difficulties', and I'm kinda glad, as I don't think it would have been a popular opinion.

Finally we're at the Actual Final elimination... Sabra's wearing her bizarre red velvet bondage outfit. Danny is in his favourite white wife-beater and dress pants. What ... interesting wardrobe choices.

And the winner is... for that one person who didn't already know, that one person who manged to keep themselves unspoiled...

Sabra!

and the last aww of the season is reserved for her, coz she deserves it!