Joshua Allen, the 19-year-old, untrained hip-hop dancer was crowned So You Think You Can Dance winner on Fox’s Thursday evening two-hour finale. He was my favorite dancer as well, and I extremely happy he won. But to tell you the truth, it does not matter because this year had some of the best dancers ever to grace that stage. And each one of the top 4 finalists were just incredible, regardless of the order.
Joshua Allen SYTYCD 2008 (Courtesy of FOX)
This has probably been the most intense season on the show. Not only for the competitors themselves, but for us, the viewer. I have watched this series since the start, but not until this summer, have I ever been so emotionally invested into the outcome of the results. I connected with the dancers and their lives.
But there is more to this season than dance…
My favorite dancers were always, Joshua, Twitch, and Gev. What makes these three dancers special in my eyes, in addition to their dance and performance ability, is never hardly having previous technical dance background compared to the other dancers. This proves to anyone, that if you work at any craft, and are willing to grow – one can be unstoppable.
This season was also more than just the dancers. We have come to appreciate the artistry of some of the new choreographers on the show, especially one: Tabitha and Napoleon (Lyrical Hip-Hop). Tabitha and Napoleon are my favorite choreographers period. They have really brought a lot of what was missing from performing hip-hop: the perfect mix of interpreting the lyrics of a great song, adding pure emotion to musicality. Every choreography they made was honest, entertaining and emotional. It connected with the audience on a personal level. We have to give them credit for giving us that ‘Eureka!’ moment that helps a lot of non-dancers understand why the rest of us dance. The routine that made that happen was ‘Bleeding Love’ with Mark and Chelsie. This routine truly shows what dancers do: bring physical life to interpreting a soundtrack.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cGY5lhFZFpc
This season shows to everyone what dance can truly be. It is not about the aesthetics of motion. It is about expression. While this may be addicted2salsa, we are all addicted to dance.
Here are some of my other favorite performances of the season.
Twitch and Katee doing Mercy.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fowBEAZj7cw
Katee and Joshua doing No Air.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bv8XMUtan54
Bloch is carried here as well,...
HOW THE HECK DID U GET THIS PHOTO OF JOSHUA???
Courtesy of Fox.