I had a little pool going with the It's Hot team and some other coworkers regarding the finale of 'So You Think You Could Dance.' It's Hot Jeff was feeling the love for Lacey, thinking the brother-sister-big-winner thing was a shoe-in. It's Hot Marc thought Neil had it in the bag based on 10 – 13 female demographic. I agreed, Neil probably did get a majority of support from that crowd, but my theory was most of them had already been ordered up to bed by the time the phones were opened for voting. Another co-worker thought Danny's standing ovation Wed. night was a sure sign he had it. I had my money on Sabra – she was my favorite female contestant from day one – and I was so happy it paid off. I had been a little nervous though – on Wednesday, Sabra danced some unconventional routines that drew criticism from the judges. I personally loved this "Fox Mother and Daughter" piece Wade did:

I almost cried at the end, but apparently it went over the judge's heads. And I thought it was a little unfair of them to throw Sabra and Lacey under a bus just because they didn't "get" it. But there were plenty of dances I didn't like that the judges loved – like the routine Mia choreographed for Neil and Lacey that represented seeing her father in heaven. I found it overly-sentimental, not terribly entertaining and, honestly, not very well danced. But they definitely pulled a sympathy vote that week and the judges went wild over it. They even ranked it among their most memorable numbers. I was pleased to see a couple of the routines I considered my favorites ranked among their choices. I hadn't yet updated my most memorable routines post with stuff from the second half of this season but are a couple I had planned to add:

Sabra & Lacey: Jazz

Sabra & Neil: Jazz

And here's a link to the Hummingbird routine since I had the video embedded in the previous post:

Hok & Jaime: Jazz

Shew! Now that the season is over, I can go back to my usual stance of snubbing pop-culture reality TV shows. At least until 'Project Runway' starts back up.

Travis & Benji: Hip Hop

Wade Robeson Opening

Lauren & Neil: Jazz

Travis & Heidi: Contemporary

Sara & Jesus: Paso Doble

Pascha & Sara: Swing

It's safe to say I like pretty much ANYTHING Wade Robeson choreographs. However, the spouse and I were discussing his slight overuse of the word Musicality which neither of us were certain was real word. Apparently it is. See, that's how I justify watching 'SYTYCD.' It's educational. I learn stuff. I had no idea what a "Paso Doble" or when it was appropriate to use "Jazz Hands" (apparently you use them in Jazz routines... go figure). Total pop-culture, mind-numbing brain candy, yet you learn something... I like it.

A Hok Haiku

You knew how to break
gravity in half. Now gone.
Will I still watch? (Yes.)

Let's have a moment of silence for the elimination of Hok.

I have to confess my secret shame. Despite my scorn for mainstream television, I love 'So You Think You Can Dance.' However, I really only love one part. The breakers. Once the breakers are gone, I completely stop watching. Well, I usually stop watching. At least I say I'm going to stop watching. Okay, I totally still watch it. But regardless. This year one of my favorite breakers, Hok, made it to the finals. While he continues to wow me, I still can't get over one of the dancers I saw audition. His dance was so impressive that I was actually motivated to get up off the couch, find the clip on AOL Video and share it. Everyone should check this guy out - it's the most amazing slow break dance routine, made even more amazing by the fact he suffers from Scoliosis. And speaking of crazy auditions, did you see Jamal? He did a pretty good breaking routine, especially considering he's a large fellow, but the judges were suspicious he was a one-trick pony so they challenged him to come back and do a swing routine. The results were hilarious. Meanwhile, go Hok!