So You Think You Can Dance 8/15. Good Dancing, Poor "Jidging"

Before starting this recap, I'd like to apologize. This is a long one. The finale was two hours, featured 7 dances, 4 solos, and a decent helping of filler. Believe me, I tried to cut it down as much as I could while still feeling thorough enough to fit my style of recaps. I hope you enjoy...

Opening: Cat has apparently gold-leafed herself tonight. I think I get it, because someone’s going to win and get the show’s equivalent of a gold medal? Oh, it’s just because Cat has questionable taste in fashion? Got it. The opening dances from everyone are nothing special. Lacey tries to look sexy, Danny looks talented, Sabra looks adorable, and Neil twirls. Uh oh, Cat is starting to look too tan and botoxed. I hope it’s only because of the dress. We meet our jidges, but I have to compliment her for coming as close to something of a correct pronunciation as possible. I mean, English is only her first language. Nigel leads in to what I’m scared is the first video package of many fillers tonight, but there’s no video, just him pimping the show. We’re already watching Nigel; you don’t need to tell us too. Mary talks about how she loves her job, she screams, and I’m pretty sure the camera actually shakes this time. She also calls Nigel an “English muffin”, which is either cute or creepy, I can’t decide. Dan Karaty is back tonight, and I’m wondering how they wrangled him back considering they’ve only used his choreography once this season (and if I remember, I think they didn’t even like it). Oh, here comes a video package of everyone’s journey, the first of what I’m sure will be an endless chain of filler material, because there are 7 performances and 4 solos, which can take up maybe an hour and 15 minutes. That leaves 45 minutes for me to sit here and think, “Did I really have to see this?” It’s only interesting because we finally see some footage of someone like Sabra’s audition, because they didn’t really show us our top 20’s auditions, save a few bigger names, like Lacey and Hok.

The Everybody Dance: To kick off the show, they’re all dancing together on a Tyce Diorio Broadway routine. He loves them all. Big surprise. The choreography is better than I usually expect from Tyce, but it’s still not brilliant. What is notable about the dance though is that Danny dances circles around Neil and that Sabra can dance circles around Lacey. Nigel wants Lacey to work with her partners more, Danny to bring out the performance inside him, has no critiques for Sabra, and likes that Neil chose to peak now. Mary calls them the Fab 4, which I’m pretty sure is an insult to the living Beatles, and the dead ones if they’re watching. I mean, I like these 4 dancers, but they’re no Beatles. She also calls Tyce “Dr. Feelgood”, which again is either creepy or cute, I can’t decide. Dan tells them to take it to another level if they can. Way to be soft on them Karaty.

There’s more filler about interviews with the contestants. Lacey’s first, and basically admits that she only started dancing again because Benji won and she wanted to ride the coattails of his success.

Lacey: I’m gonna call this solo “If Exotic Dancers Did Ballroom”. It’s a decent ballroom solo, but I’m too distracted by her bra hanging out of her costume and her hiking up her dress at times during the solo, as well as the high-class hooker gloves. The judges mostly like it and her, although Mary is probably the harshest.

Neil and Sabra: They’ve got a Shane Sparks hip-hop routine. It’s not quite either of their genres, and they both look wildly out of place in the video package. No surprise, Sabra rocks this one out. She hits the feeling of the dance just right. The real surprise here for me though is Neil, who actually pulls it off almost as much as Sabra. He plays a little bit too much for the camera though, and I take points off for barely missing Sabra’s head on one of his leaps. Nigel wanted funkier and looser and calls it an iffy start to the evening. Mary calls it fun but didn’t quite like it and expected more. Dan says they’ve both done better hip-hop. Hmm, I wonder if he’s saying that because he choreographed Neil’s previous hip-hop routine (I think). Questions, questions…

Danny and Lacey: They’re dancing a Jean-Marc Genereux Viennese Waltz. Jean-Marc compares his teaching experience to kindergarten. The high point of the video package though is definitely Lacey face planting into Danny’s crotch. It’s fairly beautiful to watch (Not the crotch plant, the dance), but at times it seems like they may have flubbed a bit. I have to take points off though for dancing a Viennese Waltz to Avril Lavigne. Nigel calls it so good, and compliments Lacey on not having a fugly dangling hand. Lacey says that she put a popsicle stick in her glove once, which Danny calls a lie, and Cat tells them to stop their “domestic”. Oh Cat, you and your British slang. Mary loved it as well as says it looked effortless. She stands up and applauds, sparing all our eardrums. Nigel interjects with an awkward crotch joke. Even Cat looks mortified by her co-Brit and asks Dan to bring some decorum. Dan loves it as well, and is shocked that they have range.

Filler interview number two comes from Neil who tells us of his gymnastics background and that he just kind of improv-ed his way to the top. Neil also likes when the girls scream.

Neil: True to form, Neil twirls and leaps. Really, I don’t have anything to say. He twirls and leaps well, but he doesn’t prove he can do anything else substantially. The judges like him and use a variety of positive adjectives.

Sabra and Lacey: The girls have a Wade Robson routine about foxes (Ow Ow!). Oh wait, you mean animal foxes. Wade acts ridiculous and makes me think that’s he’s probably on any number of drugs at the moment. Why is Wade Robson such an awesome choreographer? I still remember his dance-by-numbers tape that he put out. I thought that in order to put one of those out, you kind of had to be a hack. But this routine just rocks. It’s part Kabuki, part pure awesome. Nigel calls it just extraordinary, but says that if it hadn’t been for the package, he wouldn’t have known what was going on. He finds it difficult to critique though. Thanks for nothing Nigel. Mary didn’t think it showcased their talents and also has no idea how to judge it. Wow, really informative panel on this one. Dan thinks some people will love it and some people won’t. That makes 3 for 3 in terms of sucking at judging on this one. Or should I say “jidging”

Filler interview number 3! It’s Danny’s turn, and we find out about his mom and his relationship to Travis and how his arrogance is just him being misunderstood.

Danny: He puts it all out there and outshines Neil in athleticism and everyone else in general dancing. He’s just amazing. The only thing I would say bad is that if you’re being accused of arrogance, “We Are The Champions” may not be your best song choice. He gets a standing ovation from all three judges and most of the audience. They just love it, love it, love it and they should. There’s even a Mary Murphy scream thrown in there. Cat sums it up in one word: “Brilliant.”

Danny and Neil: They’ve got a Mia Michaels contemporary routine about two princes battling for a throne. I’m already highly anticipating this. Danny says they’re trying to up the masculinity. Unfortunately, the dance doesn’t quite live up to the hype. When they’re sitting in the chairs doing subtle movements in the beginning is much better than when they’re actually dancing. I’m pretty sure Neil missed a move in the beginning, which made Danny pause for a moment. I think the reason its better in the beginning is because both guys are good actors, and the acting is played up in the beginning. Danny is again the better dancer though. Nigel thinks it was great. Mary screams that she loved it for no particular reason. Dan uses the word insane repeatedly.

Filler interview number four is Sabra’s turn. She likes traveling and is a wild person. Oh, and all the falls weren’t completely Dominic’s fault. And I finally figure out why two people were missing from the Hairspray opening number. Because Dom dropped Sabra on her head. Ouch.

Sabra: Sabra brings just kind of a raw energy on the stage and it’s refreshing to watch something so pure and heartfelt out there, compared to something like Lacey’s forced sexuality. The words “miracle” and “absolutely amazing” are bandied about.

Lacey and Neil: They’ve got a Lindy Hop, which to me seems a little unfair, given that I’m pretty sure that this is Lacey’s style and it’s the first time they’ve ever done it on the show. Favoritism or just poor planning? You be the judge. Well, I guess I was wrong because this seems more like it was intended to screw both over. They seem utterly disconnected, the footwork is shoddy at times, and it’s clear that Lacey botched the choreography in the very beginning. They did nail most of the hard flips though. It does look really difficult, though, so I’ll give them both somewhat of a pass. Nigel thinks it was good. Mary thinks they pulled it off well, and because it was so difficult she gives them part of a pass as well. Apparently, this isn’t Lacey’s thing after all. Dan calls this what he was waiting for all night and says that if someone wasn’t entertained by that then they’re a boring person. Color me boring Dan Karaty, because I thought it was one of the weaker dances of the night.

Sabra and Danny: They’re closing the night with a Cha Cha from Melanie, the red-haired assistant who danced with Pasha when Jessi collapsed. They’re both super-excited to work with one another. I’m super-excited that they’re working together. This is kind of my dream pairing. It’s not as fast moving as I hoped for, but it’s so awesome and sexy and just fun to watch. Lacey tries to pull off sexy, but Sabra has it. Boy does she have it. Also, they seem to genuinely be having fun doing this, more than any other number of the night. It’s a great number to end the season on. Nigel says that the technical aspects weren’t great, but it’s all right, because they’ve got good personalities. Mary also comments that technically they weren’t great, but they picked it up in the middle and nailed it by the end. Dan repeats again that he doesn’t know the technical aspects (seemingly of any dance style besides his own), but thought that it was great.

There was so much dancing tonight that I’m not gonna rank the dances so much as the dancers (These are for tonight, although they happen to be the same way I’d rate them cumulatively):
1) Danny
2) Sabra
3) Lacey
4) Neil

As much as I love Danny and think he’s the best dancer, I’m rooting for Sabra for the win, because Danny is kind of an established dancer and already has a career. Nigel reminds us to take into account the whole season and wants a girl to win, but says he thinks they all deserve it. Neil looked pissed during the whole “girl to win” comment though. Mary thinks they all deserve a good night’s sleep. Dan says something about their growth, but I’m too distracted because I suddenly noticed that Cat’s legs seem to be taking over her body. And frankly, I don’t mind. Tomorrow night features everyone’s favorite dances and special guests, as well as Cat and Nigel dancing together. Well, that just turned into a must watch event.