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« So You Think You Can Dance
Episode 22 Recap: The Final Four
Tonight was the final night of dancing. I guess you can say they were dancing for their lives tonight, as our votes determine the winner. Our judges tonight were Dan Karaty, Mary and Nigel. Each dancer had three partner dances, a solo dance and a group dance.
First up was a Tyce Diorio Broadway number that involved the top four dancers. They did a routine to Liza Minnelli’s rendition of "Mein Herr" from Cabaret. I found the number interesting and it did hold my attention. I noticed that Neil needed to use his hands to push off when he was doing the flips, while Danny just flipped his whole body around without his hands.
Next up, Neil and Sabra did a Shane Sparks hip-hop routine. I found the routine fun to watch, but I agree with the judges that it was not the best hip-hop we have seen this year.
Dancy, better known as Danny and Lacey did a Viennese waltz choreographed by Jean-Marc Genereux. I never thought of Avril’s "Keep Holding On" as waltz material, but it actually worked. I found that I kept wanting to watch Lacey, and I sort of missed Danny’s performance, even when I replayed it. It seemed that my eyes, and maybe the camera, were constantly drawn to Lacey’s gown, and the way it moved when she spun around.
Lacey and Sabra did an interesting Wade Robson jazz routine. It was different and well executed, but I agreed with the judges that it was not the best showcase for Lacey and Sabra’s talent and probably should have happened earlier in the season.
Danny and Neil performed a Mia Michaels contemporary routine. I actually enjoyed this number, but like a typical Mia number, there was not a lot of dancing — it was more movement and acting. There was tension between Danny and Neil, and I suspect it was real tension. Did you catch Neil missing that jump over Danny’s head that we saw so many times in the rehearsal footage?
Lacey and Neil did a lindy-hop routine choreographed by lindy-hop champion Nick Williams. This was probably the most difficult routine of the night. It was entertaining, and Lacey and Neil looked like they were having a blast.
The final partner routine of the night was Danny and Sabra. They did a cha-cha routine choreographed by Melanie La Patin, assisted by Tony Meredith. You might remember Melanie dancing with Pasha earlier this season when Jessi was ill and couldn't perform/compete. Anyhow, I lost interest in this number very fast. I was watching the episode on my TiVo, it was 11:30 pm, and I’d been up since 4:30 am so there was just not enough energy, excitement, whatever to keep my interest, no matter how many times I backed up and started again. Yes, it did seem to get better after the slow-motion bit, but by then, I was sort of tuning it out already.
My favorite partner routines tonight were Danny and Neil’s contemporary piece and Lacey and Neil’s lindy-hop.
I was not overwhelmed by any of the solos; it is interesting to see that Lacey finally danced a solo instead of just strutting around the stage.
I still don’t get Danny’s choreography. He is very talented, but I just don’t see how his routines match up to the music. I actually thought Danny’s solo was the worst of the night, but the judges gave him a standing ovation, so I am not sure what I am missing. Yes, it is hard to spin that many times without losing your balance and getting dizzy, and it is hard to do that many jumps in a row, but I am pretty certain that any of the other dancers there tonight could have done the same thing.
While scanning the audience, I saw Benji (with yet another hairstyle), Benji and Lacey’s dad, Heidi, Travis, Travis and Danny’s mom, possibly Ivan, and Ben (who also seems to have been assisting Mia all season). I wonder if he now officially works for Mia.
If I whad to choose a winner right now, I think it'd be Sabra, just based upon the number of times I had to redial the number to vote for her before I got through.
So what are your thoughts?
Use our Online Video Guide to search for your favorite moments from this season of SYTYCD.
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Aug 16, 2007 12:17 AM
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Yay! I'm the first to comment! This is my first time commenting this season. I really enjoyed tonight's show, although I did miss the first 30 minutes due to a DVR mishap. Since I missed it up until Lacey's solo, I'm going to start with Neil and Sabra's hip hop, which I didn't think was good enough. I saw too much of Neil's contemporary moves in that dance.
I actually enjoyed Lacey and Sabra's dance. I agree it wasn't a lot of dancing and it didn't really show off their talent, but I totally understood the story. Since the judges loved the hummingbird dance that Jaimie and Hok did a few weeks ago, I assumed they would love this one too. Dan was right. I guess people will either love it or hate it. I loved Lacey and Neil's Lindy hop and Neil and Danny's dance "fight." Although, to me, Mia Michaels can do no wrong. I thought all the solos were generally good. I only saw the clip of Lacey at the end, but she seemed to do much better than she has in the past. When Danny first started dancing, I thought he was just trying to do a bunch of tricks, which he did, but he did it with such style that I loved it! Neil's solo was really good too. I thought Sabra's was a little lacking. Well I can't wait for the finale. I really love all four of them, and I cannot decide who I think should win. At least whoever wins will deserve it!
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Aug 16, 2007 12:38 AM
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I don't usually enjoy the interview portion of the finale, but I did this week. It was nice to know that Lacey's lousy solo a few weeks ago was her forgetting her steps. She had less experience with the solo format so I can see how that can happen. It was also nice to see Lacey take the judges' critiques to heart. She can put on such a show that it's easy to miss the real person.
I didn't get Danny's solo either. It was high energy and lots of tricks (I think he did more because he was going head to head with Neil) but it didn't do it for me. To me, Danny does better when he's smoother, gliding on the dance floor.
Sabra kicked up the energy in her solo, too. It wasn't her best solo, IMO, but she does a fine job. My favorite dances of the night were the Viennese Waltz and the Lindy Hop but that didn't keep me from burning up the phone lines voting for Sabra. I hope she takes it.
I'm sad to see another season come to an end...
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Aug 16, 2007 12:40 AM
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Maybe it was just me, but I felt like this show wasn't a finale. I remember being wowed last year during the 'Sexy Back' routine when the finale opened and I don't know -- the broadway routine just didn't grab me.
I don't think the girls got a fair shake this year. Mostly Sabra. That Wade routine was not the best way to spotlight Sabra or Lacey. And how can Shane do a number like the "Transformers" one for Lauren & Pasha and then throw that boring routine out there for them to do?? Poor Sabra. She definitely took it during the Cha-Cha.
I'm not a Lacey fan (AT ALL) and I don't think that she deserves to win (AT ALL) but the waltz was stunning.
I wasn't very wowed by anything except the waltz tonight. Still, I voted a kazillion times for Sabra & Danny, and like 5 times for Neil.
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Aug 16, 2007 12:47 AM
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I have noticed several times where they show in the practice video them doing or talking about a move and then it ends up not being in the actual performance. Or it has been scaled back some. I would think if they took out something, they wouldn't focus on it during the package. Also, I enjoyed the guys routine but some of the moves looked better when they were practicing. And I saw that he didn't do the jump over Danny. I wonder if that was changed before hand or if he saw that he wouldn't make it over Danny.
I voted for Sabra and I was a little worried when I got through every time. I really liked all the dancers so I don't think I will care who ends up winning. I am just glad I will get to see them again on the tour!
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Aug 16, 2007 12:50 AM
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WOW!
Okay, first of all, to step on my soap box a minute:
You know what Marc, we get it. You do not like Danny. But to say that Danny's solo was the worst of the night is just so wrong. I'm glad that the show blog was allowed to continue after Sabrina left, but I'm sorry to say that if it continues next year that they should definitely try to get someone who can at least put aside their blatant bias towards a particular contestant and still give a fair assessment of the performances. If I remember correctly, Sabrina did not like Danny's "attitude" either, but even she gave the guy credit where credit was due. His solo was phenomenal. You should at least do the same.
Now that I've gotten off my soap box. I think most of the performances were so so. I like the first performance that they did with all 4 finalist.
My favorite for the partner performances was Danny and Neil
As for the solos, to me Danny's was the best by far. I think his choice of music was great and his dancing was superb. I think he choice "We Are The Champions" because he knows that he is not the most popular of the final four so he probably may not win (though he should at least get past Neil), but he was making a statement to the audience and to the voters that even though he probably won't win the competition, he is still a champion and his ability speaks for itself.
My preditions for the win: Sabra or Lacey.
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Aug 16, 2007 1:05 AM
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Lynell, Marc isn't the only one let down by Danny's solo. It was far from phenomenal in my opinion. I've grown to appreciate Danny as a dancer (I didn't like him much at the beginning of the competition) but to slam Marc for having an opinion different from your own is just bad form.
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Aug 16, 2007 1:14 AM
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Marc, I don't know why I would be stupid enough to believe that you would be fair to Danny. Danny did his style,which is ballet. He just didn't do it to classical music. The worst of the night? Wow, talk about haters. I thought all the dancers did a great job. I think they did the top 4 proud. I think they all proved that they deserved to be there, even Danny.
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Aug 16, 2007 1:18 AM
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It is not just Marc's opinion, he is a hater. Trust me, if I can see some good in Lacey- everyone should be able to see past the bias.
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Aug 16, 2007 1:22 AM
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Once again, thank you, Marc, for doing this blog. I actually really liked Danny's solo. He is such a beautiful dancer, I would totally pay to see him dance. I really like Sabra too, so as long as either one of them win, I will be happy. I know it's a contest for America's FAVORITE dancer, not the BEST dancer, but if I am at a show, I don't see personality, I see performance. I think with Danny or Sabra, I would definitely get my moneys worth. 
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Aug 16, 2007 1:35 AM
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I am speechless. I can't believe that you think that Danny's solo was the worst of the night.. You thought that Lacey's solo was better than Danny's?!!!! I am not attacking you, but do you honestly think that Lacey's solo was better than Danny's?
On another note, I think they should change the format of the show, esp for the finale. The dancers should do the same dances. My heart sank when I learned that lacey and neil were doing the lindy hop and danny and sabra were doing the cha cha... I would have loved to have seen danny and sabra do a contemporary routine...
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Aug 16, 2007 1:54 AM
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First off, I am really glad we still have this blog. That being said, I don't too terribly much the obvious dislike of Danny, we all have our preferences. It's the typos that get me!
As for the show: I didn’t love the music to the opening number, but I loved seeing the four of them dance together.
Solo thoughts:
Lacey - Her costume was very unflattering. Although this was probably her best solo, the fall looked awkward and I really thought she was hurt at first.
Neil - He’s a joy to watch.
Danny - He takes my breath away. Flawless.
Sabra - I didn’t love it.
Howdy, Partners:
Sabra and Neil – Happy Hip Hop is my favorite kind, but obviously it’s not supposed to be that way.
Lacey and Danny - Her dress was gorgeous, Danny was gorgeous, and the dance was gorgeous. This was by far Lacey’s best partnering job ever.
Lacey and Sabra – Okay, that was just odd.
Neil and Danny - The music seemed a little overpowering. I think I’ll like it better the second time, I kept looking for something more.
Lacey and Neil - That was excellent, she has certainly caught on to that partnering thing!!
Sabra and Danny - Sizzling and fantastic!
I really want Danny to win this, but I won’t be disappointed unless Lacey wins, even though she did start to grow on me a little tonight.
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Aug 16, 2007 2:13 AM
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I really, really hope Sabra wins! I've been voting crazily on two phones. Ouch, my fingers!
I would be utterly disappointed, but still okay if anyone BUT Lacey wins tomorrow.
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Aug 16, 2007 2:24 AM
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I really loved Lacey and Sabra's routine. They conveyed such emotion it made me cry a little. I also liked Lacey's solo. She danced in her own style which is not as flashy as contempory. She is a strong performer and has a great deal of charisma and showmanship. I enjoy watching her dance and she has always given 100% in her partnerships (if not always in her solos). I also really enjoyed Neil's solo. I think he held nothing back. Danny is a beautiful technical dancer but he still keeps a piece of himself from the audience in his solos. Sabra is amazing, enough said.
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Aug 16, 2007 2:31 AM
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I don't see how anyone who truly appreciates dance could not get Danny. He is phenomenal. His technique and lines and how he makes it look so effortless. Do you understand how hard that is and that none of the other contestants manage to make dancing look so beautiful? He glides. He is the only one I would pay to watch. When he spins he is always centered and comes out of the spins perfectly. Neil can not say the same. He falls out of his turns. Technically, Danny blows all of them away. I understand that this is a popularity contest. But, whether you like him personally or not, I don't see how you could not give him props. I don't give a crap about his personality. I don't need some dumb smile or fake acting to connect with a dancer. Danny's dancing speaks for itself and I could watch him dance all night. Go Danny!
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Aug 16, 2007 2:49 AM
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If you would like to find Sabrina's blog entries about the earlier episodes of this season, please go here: http://community.tvguide.com/blog/TV-Show-Blog/Think-Dance/700004070
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