Season 5: So You Think You Can Dance - Top four compete in the Finale

Well, tonight’s the night! Not too much longer until the next winner is officially crowned and it’s a close one this year. It is really anyone’s title. I can see Brandon, Evan, Jeanine or Kayla winning it. Each one is an amazing dancer in their own right, but let’s be honest, some of the dancers aren’t as technically good as the others, but remain a contender due to a strong following. I’m talking about Evan here. It will be interesting to see the results. Also, I wonder if the judges’ comments swayed any of the votes. Here are our predictions based on the performances last night.

Front Runners

We think that it’s going to be between Brandon and Jeanine. They both had perfect performances last night. Both outshone their partners in the other duets, but were equally matched in the duet they danced together. The judges all had only high praise for both of them and deservedly so.

But realistically, we think Jeanine will win the title of America’s Favorite Dancer. She’s a little bit more personable than Brandon, plus there hasn’t been a female winner in a while so it’s due. Also, Brandon’s amazing solo might have hurt him a little. Brandon’s solo was awe-inspiring because of its out-this-world leaps and spins, but we have seen it before. It was also too frantic. He didn’t make time for slower, more reflective movement. Because of this, his solo might come across as too ego-driven. If he had broken it up a bit and not showed off so much, it might be better received. But as it is, he could have alienated some people. A more modest solo that stuck with realistic tricks might have served him better.

Oh, I also forgot to mention Jeanine’s amazing tango-inspired solo might drive her to the top. The one pirouette where she does about 500 turns and then slowly comes out of it with the control of a gracefully alien robot was simply jaw-dropping (I’m sure there’s a better analogy than that; sorry, just know that it was really, really incredibly controlled and beautiful). Well done!

Shafted

The judges really slammed Evan last night. Hopefully, voters won’t retaliate by voting for him. But something tells me they probably will. I bet you, the judges knew that he was a frontrunner coming into this based on previous votes, so they overdid their criticism of him. Perhaps they were hoping that they could change the results? Only thing is, this might backfire and encourage more votes.

At any rate, Evan was okay last night, but not spectacular. I don’t think he deserves to win. His solo was boring and recycled from previous shows.

Kayla was her usual fantastic self, but she lacks the personality to take her to the top. Nigel thought that she brought out her personality in the finale, but I disagree. And what was with that backhanded compliment from Nigel? He compared Kayla to Danny, Travis and Will - all amazing dancers, but with little personality. Not to mention that none of them took home the title.

Kayla and Evan were also shafted by a lame jive routine. It was okay, but as judge Adam Shankman said, it wasn’t finale calibre and therefore not very memorable.

Who are your picks?

Oh, and one more thing

I loved, loved, loved the Mia Michaels contemporary routine for Jeanine and Kayla. It was a very emotional piece where the dancers took off layers of a skirt to symbolize their journey on the show and the different layers they had to shed to get where they are. I loved the musicality of the piece, it was like the dance was a visual manifestation of the music (always a good thing). Also, the way it was choreographed was touching and moving. Mia had Kayla and Jeanine dancing together, but also solo which symbolized the competition between them and also showed the personal struggle within each dancer to strive to be the best.

Nigel ruined the piece with a sexist comment about the dancers taking off their clothing. Is it just me or are his comments getting creepier and creepier?