Yesterday afternoon, dancer Billy Bell was very much looking forward to see that evening’s episode of FOX’s So You Think You Can Dance, his very first appearance in the Top 20 of the show’s 6th season.
“That one will be fine to watch,” the 19-year-old from Loxahatchee Groves said. “The one (Tuesday) will be a little sad.”
That’s because he won’t be on it.
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So, Billy Bell thinks he can dance. And so do the judges of a certain FOX series.
The 19-year-old from Loxahatchee Groves, who graduated from Dreyfoos School for the Arts and is in his second year at New York’s prestigious Julliard School, has made the top 20 of “So You Think You Can Dance.” The young dancer auditioned, mom Connie Bell says, auditioned because “the family kept saying ‘You have to be on that show!’”
By LYNETTE ZILIO
Katie Ann Martinez, 14, jumps across the stage as part of her Punteo pointe routine at the Headliners national dance competition in New Jersey.
Katie Ann Martinez had six-pack abs when she was 4. She was so toned that her dance teachers were convinced her mom made her lift weights.
“I don’t think she ever had baby fat,” said Patricia Penenori, Katie’s ballet teacher and the owner of Patricia Penenori Dance Center, 6840 Bird Road. Read the full story
See more photos from the finale
The night has finally arrived. Tonight, for the fifth time, we crown America’s favorite dancer. And there’s a lot to get to in this two-hour extravaganza, so strap in.
We’re live at the Kodak Theatre, with 3,500 screaming fans. Welcome…to soyouthinkyoucandance!
Fashion Cat! critique
She looks smashing in a satiny toga-style strapless cocktail dress. Great chandelier earrings. Sleek hair. I give it a 9. (Picture below.)
Top 20 dancers perform at the start of the SO YOU THINK YOU CAN DANCE season finale
Group performance
Top 20 dancers reprise the The Wiz number. It’s exuberant! And…fast! It ends with the final four dancers in a life-size picture frame. It’s a happy, uplifting way to start the show.
The build-up…
Cat reveals there were 21.6 million votes, a new record for the show. (I only got through three times, so if you’re unhappy with the result, don’t blame me.)
The judges table is FULL. Lil C’s in the house, as are Mia Michaels, Tasty Oreo, Debbie Allen and Shanks. They join Mary, who’s wearing ENTIRELY too much jewelry, and Grandpa Perv (that’s Nigel).
Now, a season-flashback video. In addition to a multitude of great audition moments from the very beginning through Las Vegas, we also get to see Sex (the annoying, delusional guy, not the actual act), people flailing and falling and the same-sex ballroom dancers. Forgot about them. Didn’t need to be reminded.
More torturous filler
We review Wednesday night’s performances. As if you weren’t watching. (Can you tell I want to get through this two-hour fluff-fest and get to the results???)
(L-R): Nigel Lythgoe, Mary Murphy, Adam Shankman, Debbie Allen, Tyce Diorio, Mia Michaels and Lil C
Judges’ favorite routines
OK, this is worth watching. The judges will pick their favorite numbers from the season for us to see again.
Shanks: Hip Hop with Phillip and Jeanine from the Top 20 round, choreographed by NappyTabs. It’s just as good the second time.
Nigel: Argentine Tango with Janette and Brandon. FINE CHOICE. Just as intense, smooth and gorgeous as the first time we saw it. We’ve missed you, Janette.
Mama Bird (Debbie): Louis Van Amstel’s Waltz for Asuka and Vitolio, commenting on its romance and magical quality. I find I enjoy it tonight, because I’ve had time to get over being annoyed at Asuka. They’re lovely.
Mary: Just when I never thought Mary could make me happy, she chooses Jeanine and Jason‘s “heart necklace” routine, choreographed by Travis Wall. And yes, they kiss again at the end. And I think I could watch that over and over without getting tired of it. They really are nice together, and it’s a reminder of why Jason made it as far as he did. Well done.
Jason and Jeanine in their original "heart necklace" performance
Mia: Max and Kayla’s Samba, also by Louis, from the Top 20 round. Kayla still looks fierce in that hot pink dress, but for me it’s not quite as hot as the first time around. As Lil C might say, missing some nectar.
We take a break from the faves to watch a video about a surprise our final four got on Saturday night. Of course it’s a plug for something, and that something is the new Fame movie remake, starring season 4 finalist Kherington. Debbie, who’s also in the movie, talks about how she and others have wanted to do this remake for a long while, and she hopes it encourages people to invest in the arts.
Debbie gets to pick another favorite: The Top 16′s Calle Ocho group routine. She loves that it combined hip hop and Samba, and compliments the choreography by NappyTabs and Dmitry.
And now, a guest. Nigel introduces the winner of SO YOU THINK YOU CAN DANCE Australia, a ballerina named Talia. She performs a jazz piece choreographed by Sonya Tayeh. Suffice it to say, she’s good. And she looks pretty edgy, so Sonya’s work seems a good fit.
Lil C’s turn to pick a fave: Jason and Caitlin’s Bollywood. After enlightening us to the meaning of Jai Ho (“Victory be yours”), he says:
Anytime you’re blessed to be aboard a vessel that facilitates education of world dance to the mass public, that’s the victory to me.
And there’s your quote of the night, kids. No poll necessary.
Brandon, Jeanine, Evan and Kayla await results.
Results: Part 1
Cat brings the top four out to the stage. Evan is wearing pants up to his chest and an over-sized jacket. I can only hope it’s a costume for an upcoming number.
The dancer in fourth place is… Kayla?!?!? That, my friends, is a shocker and a testament to the evil power of the midwestern teen with an unlimited calling plan. Wow. Kayla even looks kind of surprised under that smile, and I don’t blame her. Perhaps these shows need a people’s choice and a REAL winner. Gack.
Worst part? It means Evan could still win. Cue the vurping.
Kayla says what she’ll remember most is working with all the choreographers, especially Mia, because Mia pushes a dancer do more than they ever thought imaginable. She is incredibly gracious. Good on ya, girl, and I hope I see more of you.
Back to judges’ faves.
Shanks picks Mia’s “butt” routine, dance by Evan and Randi. At least that explains Evan’s outfit. While Mia’s stuff can be dark, Shanks likes that this number showed her fun side.
Mary gets next pick, and goes for a replay of Jeanine and Brandon’s Paso Doble from Wednesday night.
Results, Part 2
The dancer in third place is…Evan. He should’ve placed, like, 14th, but at least it’s not first. Evan says hearing the audience chant his name last night was “breathtaking.” He thanks his fans and family, and calls it an “amazing” journey. Cat asks if he’ll keep on dancing. “Heck, yeah!” he says. ‘Cause he’s nasty like that.
Back from the commercial break, Nigel picks another routine: Mia’s “addiction” piece, danced by Kayla and Kupono. It brings Mia to tears. This is surely one of Kupono’s best performances.
What a treat. Rage Boyz Crew is back to show us more All Boys Prep School Cheerleading. I’m equally bored this time, even if some of the kids are cute as heck. It’s like a totally overgrown boy band.
Now, it’s Tyce’s turn to choose a routine, and he picks Janette and Brandon’s disco. They work it out, as you’d expect.
Mia then picks a “very very tender piece” by Tyce, the breast cancer number danced by Melissa and Ade. Tyce adds more to the moment by announcing that this morning, he learned that a friend in whose honor he had created the piece, found out that she is cancer-free. That’s worth applause. As is the routine, which gets a weepy standing O from the audience.
Tyce Diorio, Mia Michaels, Nigel Lythgoe, Mary Murphy, Adam Shankman and Debbie Allen.
A special surprise
Next up, Cat announces (from the curiously empty judges table) that the top 8 will perform the Chorus Line routine (which gives us another 9 props…sheesh). Either this was been pre-recorded, or Ade and Melissa are super-fast costume changers, because they just danced.
Toward the end, the dancers go back behind the mirrors and play switcheroo with the judges. The judges come out to high step for the final few eight-counts. And there’s your promised special surprise. Cute. Just when you thought you’d never again get to see Mary dance again — and get a sip in the game — there she is, top had and all.
Final results!
At last, it’s all down to business. Brandon and Jeanine are on stage in “real” clothes. She chooses a great black cocktail dress; he’s in a hoodie and jeans. Just not a showy dresser, eh, Mr. Board Shorts?
A flashback video reminds us of their great moments. Cat asks Nigel if there is there anything else he would like to say. (I DON’T CARE ANNOUNCE IT ALREADY.)
He says he was delighted when he learned at 12:30 a.m. who the winner is and urges Cat to reveal the result. So…
Host Cat Deeley (R) announces the winner, Jeanine Mason (L)
After the biggest vote in SYTYCD history, America’s Favorite Dancer is…JEANINE!
I kid you not, I about cried. I did actually yelp.
Jeanine looks both thrilled and overcome. As her eyes begin to water, she says, “I never thought I’d be giving an acceptance speech (at) the Kodak, but… thank you, Academy!” Heh. And that, my fellow jazz monkeys, is one of the reasons I heart her. She then thanks her mom for pushing her to dance and rattles off some of her favorite things about the show, including Cat. Awww.
And there is much joy and confetti, and I can sleep soundly.
Final drinking/exercise game tally
Props: 2’ door; 4 tables, 8 chairs.
floor rolls: 6
amazing: 7+
crying: 1
Quote of the night
As mentioned earlier, the award goes straight to Lil C for his Jai Ho comments. Can’t wait to hear what Encyclopedia Krumpannica has to say next season.
Which starts again in September, so no more waiting till next summer!
But, while he have a break, let’s retire the word “amazing” from this show, mmmkay?
See you in a few weeks!
Here we go! Tonight, everybody dances with everybody else in the final night of competition.
Welcome…to the Kodak Theatre in Hollywood!
This is the largest live audience (more than 3,000) and set the show has ever had. Though the performance stage itself is a little bit smaller. But no matter. Everyone gets his or her name up in lights!
(Be sure to vote in the Quote of the Night poll at the end of the post!)
Cat pulls out some sparkle and shine.
Fashion Cat! critique
Not bad…gold-ish, glittery, suitable for a special occasion. It’s a little slouchy, but probably another vintage piece. She’s doing the beachy-wavy hair. I’m fine with it; I’ll give it a 7.5 out of 10. (Of course, Gail’s the more educated fashion critic; but she’s on family vacation in Vegas.)
Group performance
First, a fun little number by Wade Robson. It’s the jocks trying to get the sassy cheerleaders, and it’s prop-tastic! a picnic table, jackets, pom poms. It’s to Boys Boys Boys by Lady Gaga, a pretty lame song. Except for the reference to The Killers. It’s a cute routine, and the most challenging part is the speed of the movement. Best cheerleader? Brandon, actually. Heh.
Then we get a Season 6 preview video, and it does a good job of getting me excited for the next season, which is just a few weeks away! The fat guy at the end? Not really necessary. But looks like there’s some serious talent coming.
Jeanine and Evan
They’re with Sonya for a piece is about a guy trying to get back his oh-so-over-it girl. They actually look rather good together, mostly because she doesn’t tower over him. The routine plays to their strengths, and Evan allllllmost equals Jeanine. Nigel says the theme of the routine fits Jeanine’s feisty character. The judges all agree that she edged him out.
This is it, jazz monkeys! Tonight is part one of the two-night season finale, broadcast live for the first time from the Kodak Theatre in Hollywood.
We’re sure to see some outstanding performances as our final four dance their precious booties off to earn $250,000 cash (and the all-important feature on the cover of Dance Spirit magazine…ahem).
In case you’ve been living under a rock, our top guys and girls are:
Kayla (18, Aurora, CO): The Dance Beast, whose grandparents used to take her to dance classes, has kicked major league butt on every genre she’s been given. The only exception might be that zombie hip hop routine; even so, a so-so day for her makes thousands of other dancers look like…well, I dunno. “Poo” seems harsh, but might be appropriate. Our only pet peeve: The typical, twitchy contemporary- in-a-flowy-nightgown solos. Would love for her to surprise us tonight if solos are part of the competition.
And, here we are. We now have our top four dancers. Jeanine, Kayla, Brandon or Evan will battle it out next week for the title of America’s favorite dancer. Here’s what we’ve learned about next week’s two-part finale from a Fox press release:
Final four dancers going to the finale.
“Two-hour live finale will feature performances by this season’s Top 20 dancers, Hip Hop dance team The Rage Boyz Crew and Talia Fowler, winner of Season Two of So You Think You Can Dance Australia. The celebration will also showcase encore performances of the Judges’ favorite routines.”
(More on last night’s show after the jump)
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We’re in the final stretch. In one week we will know who is America’s favorite dancer.
The top 6 perform boy/girl group dances, two couples routines with new partners, and a solo. And the guy and girl with the least votes go home…harsh, sooooo close to the final.
Our guest judge is Lil C. We gotta give him a little tough love here and ask him to shut it for a bit. We like it better with lower word count and a higher density of intermediate vocabulary words. Now he’s pandering by being needlessly verbose. We love you, Lil C, but we need a break.
Welcome…to soyouthinkyoukindance!
Top 3 girls perform a superhero routine
Whereas we’ve been bemoaning that the performance nights have been dragged out lately and should just be condensed into 60-90 minutes, we actually wished that last night’s 100th episode were, in fact, two hours.
The three special performances were great, but we wanted to relive more past favorites: Donyelle and Benji without zombie makeup, Sabra and Neil’s 80′s “Table” routine, Katee and Joshua’s Bollywood…or, really, anything with them! We wanted the four past champions dancing together. We wanted a “Where Are They Now?” montage.
Katie Holmes performs a homage to Judy Garland's "Get Happy"
We would have taken any of those over Katie Holmes’ pre-taped, lip-synced, self-promoting deal. She can carry a tune, but Tyce gave her choreography a 5-year-old could master. (I wasn’t wowed. And I wanted WOW. -M.) Fans of the show deserved better.
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We’re just a couple weeks away from the two-night finale. Between now and then, we must narrow the field.
The top 8 perform a group routine, two couples routines with new partners, and a solo. And the guy and girl with the least votes go home (until the tour…tickets on sale this weekend!).
Our guest judges are Mia Michaels and super special guest Ellen Degeneres!
Welcome…to soyouthinkyoukindance!
Travis Wall's futuristic rave party
Fashion Cat! critique
Gold lamé and chic are not usually used in the same sentence, but our lovely Cat pulls it off. The color continuity with the shoes and minimal accessory choice of just a cuff and bangle makes her look like a golden Greek goddess (along with a spray tan session, natch). Also, the clever, asymmetrical ruching gives her usually lanky frame some curves.
Group routine
Travis is back to choreograph a futuristic “rave party” jazz number. The costumes are way cool, with armbands, chest pieces, skirts, goggles and even finger and toe ornaments that light up. The studio lights go off at the end to show off all the costume lights. Nigel calls it “very Lady Gaga.” We think he means that in a good way. Ellen jokes about conceptualizing the outfits with the wardrobe department. Grade: B+
Couples performances
Evan and Janette should make and interesting pair. So far, she’s awesome at everything, and he’s great at his own style, while adequate at others. Plus, he’s so soft-spoken, and she is…well, the opposite.
First, they get Jazz with Sonya Tayeh (yay!). That means it’ll be quirky and challenging, featuring funky leg positions, lifts and possibly some galloping. Janette rocks a strappy black bodysuit and, as Mary says, she can’t take a wrong step. Mia thinks Evan makes “a step in the right direction,” but because he’s so adorable, he “will never be a dark, twisted freakish dancer that Sonya requires.” This is both a criticism and a compliment, so…do with that what you will, Evan. Mia also calls Janette her “favorite, favorite, favorite this season.” Wow. Grade: B.
(The rest of the couples, plus solos and the quote of the night poll, after the jump.)
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