So You Think You Can Dance 2008: Top 4 SEASON FINALE PERFORMANCE Recap

Part One of the Season Four Finale was tonight. We are now down to the Final Four; Courtney, Katee, Twitch and Joshua. Each dancer had to dance with the other three dancers, do a solo, then close the show with a routine involving all four of them. I have no idea how those four learned all of those dances in one week to do them so well. It’s going to be a tough race to the finish line for the title of America’s Favorite Dancer. For the next to last time this season, Cat introduces our judges. Sitting in the guest judge’s seat is Emmy nominated Mandy Moore. We also have Mary Murphy and Nigel Lythgoe.

There were eleven dance routines on tonight’s two hour show so let’s get started.

The first couple to dance was Twitch and Courtney. Their Hip-Hop routine was choreographed by Tabitha and Napoleon to Church by T Pain. The spinning on the head trick was totally cool.

Courtney’s interview and solo was next. She danced to They Weren’t There by Missy Higgins. I’ve found it really hard to get into her solos. It’s my opinion that you would need to see her dance to an entire song to really understand her solos.

Katee and Joshua were next with a contemporary routine by Wade Robson. They danced to John Meyer’s Slow Dancing in a Burning Room. The way Katee breathed at the beginning of the routine was fantastic. She had me involved in the dance from the beginning.

Katee and Courtney lit of the stage with a Broadway routine choreographed by Tyce DiOrio. The routine was set to The Trolley Song, by Rufus Wainwright. This was an important dance for me because it backed up my opinion that Katee is a better dancer than Courtney. Nigel said it best when he said that Katee has a longer length to her. She extends more than Courtney does. Since he said this will America be more likely to vote for Katee because they agree or Courtney because they were upset at what he said? We’ll find out tomorrow.

Twitch was up next with his interview and solo to Wade Robson’s It Was All In Your Mind. The only thing I wrote down in my notes was, “Freaking cow!” My husband laughed and said no one would understand, but if you watched it, you’d understand.

Twitch was up again, this time with Joshua. They had a great intro into the dance where they showed them picking on each other in the rehearsals. They dance an AMAZING Russian Trepak to Tchaikovsky’s The Nutcracker Suite. I have no idea how these two managed to pull this one off! The jumps, and ground work was phenomenal! Oh, and by the way, someone needs to give Mary Murphy a tranquilizer.

Katee’s interview and solo to Hide and Seek by Imogen Heap was next. Like I said with Courtney, her solos are also hard to get into. I think the contemporary style of dance needs an entire song.

Katee’s duo with Twitch was next after a commercial break. They danced a Foxtrot to Michael Buble’s Feeling Good. It was choreographed by Tony Meredith. The lift in this dance was simply fantastic. Great dancing.

Joshua was up with his interview and solo to (Not Just) Knee Deep by Funkadelic. He was all over the stage. He even used the judges platform. Joshua danced so hard in his solo that even his shoe couldn’t stay on.

The last duo of the night belonged to Joshua and Courtney. They performed a Jive to The Dirty Boogie performed by The Brian Setzer Orchestra. Jason Gilkison was the choreographer. The ending was great, except the knowledge of how tired they were. You could see the exhaustion in Joshua’s face. But, who would blame him?

The closing routine was a Mia Michael’s creation to Hallelujah by The Vitamin String Quartet. I’m sorry to say that I totally did not understand what this dance was trying to say. But here it is if you’d like a crack at it.

The Top Four 2008 Ranking:

• 4. Courtney. She is a fantastic mover, and a beautiful girl. It’s my opinion, however, that she is the worst of the four. She cannot move like Twitch or Joshua, and Katee is a better technical dancer than she is. I feel bad putting her in last place, but hey, she beat out thousands, so I don’t feel that bad.

• 3. Joshua. This man makes my jaw drop. I have no idea how he makes his body move like it does. The jumps he did in the Russian number were outrageous! BUT…he has hardly any technical training whatsoever. It’s hard for me to put in above Katee who is technically perfect. When he dances you can see the “street” in the way he moves.

• 2. Katee. Katee is second simply because Twitch is in my number one slot. Although, I really enjoy watching her dance. I was struggling with my ranking tonight trying to decide if Katee deserved to win more than Twitch. She is a fantastic dancer but she’s not my favorite dancer. The winner receives the title of “America’s Favorite Dancer” so I had to go with Twitch.

• 1. Twitch! This man has been my favorite for a while now. He has the moves, personality, and charisma that anyone needs to win a contest like this. When he was on stage I wanted his routines to last a while. Nigel said to him that he was glad that he was in the bottom so that he could see one of his solos. I totally agree.

This has been one of the toughest seasons to judge, and I have to say that any one of these dancers could easily dance away with the win.

Who do you think will win?

 
 
AnaDVR is an aspiring human television recording machine who enjoys watching good looking people dance on reality television programs while slowly being eliminated and never heard from again. She is also one of Pop Critic’s top commentors and can be found lurking on pages all over the site, leaving brief comments like little nuggets of information everywhere she goes.