"So You Think You Can Dance": Raise a glass of Gatorade -- we have a new winner!

Well, I was satisfied with the outcome of Thursday’s “SYTYCD” finale: were you?  Of course, there was a lot of stuff enjoy (or fast-forward through) before we actually got to the results.

The show opened with a Christopher Scott group number featuring the Top 11 and All-Stars, which showcased Melinda and even still-infirm Alex hand-dancing.

Before the judges got to their seasonal review of their favorite dances, we saw some silly but cute montages of the judges, including one of Nigel’s various hairstyles, one of Mia’s made-up words and one of Adam’s various sexy-n’-serious facial expressions.

The encores began, as Kenny Ortega selected Kent and Neil’s “Shoeless Joe” routine, which was not one of my favorites. But I was happy to then see, as picked out by Nigel, Billy and Ade’s “Mad World.”

Then we broke for a funky, bouncy guest performance by Hok’s Quest crew, before Mia chose Adechike and Comfort to reprise “Fallin’.”  Once again we saw Kent and Anya’s “My First Kiss,” and then, another one of my favorites of the season, Dominic and Robert’s creepy clown routine “Scars.”

I still get a warm and fuzzy feeling from all the footage of people celebrating National Dance Day, which is an example of why I admire Nigel Lythgoe.  He could sit back and count his millions as a TV producer and personality but he’s out there making things like that happen. And he’s not too big to get up onstage and ham around. I was kind of bummed that we didn’t actually see him dance, but it was fun to watch him share the stage with 7-year-old tapping prodigy Luke.

Next the Manzari brothers showed us some grown-up tap-dancing. While I was watching them I started thinking about the Hines brothers, so it’s funny that when I Googled the brothers I found this footage of Maurice Hines introducing them.

Back to the contestants. Nigel introduced Lauren and Pasha’s Argentinean tango, and Adam selected Robert and Allison’s “Fix You,” which I think was actually better this time around, thanks to Robert’s improvement throughout the season.

Last season’s winner, Russell, returned to do a krump routine with Li’l C. I can’t believe we only had one krump routine all season...and it featured Billy Bell.

Speaking of returns, Mary Murphy came back to introduce her favorite dance, Dominic and Jose’s “Battle for the Beat.” It was nice to see Mary again but personally I think this was the perfect amount of Mary for the season. The screaming: I can only take so much.

Before our first round of results, “SYTYCD” UK winner Charlie Bruce performed a Mandy Moore jazz dance with Neil.  It was a lovely dance with some amazing catches, and she seems to deserve the exposure. I have friends who watch international versions of the show when the U.S. version isn’t on the air, so this is an example of what I’ve been missing.

Then we learned who came in third in the competition and I’m sad to say it was Robert. I would have liked to see him place better than that, but I didn’t vote so I guess I got what I deserved.

No time to mourn, though! On to Lauren and Twitch reprising “My Chick Bad,” which served as a good visual reminder of Lauren’s strength in different genres.

Alex got to live once again in the competition as we watched video of him performing “Hallelujah” with Allison, and then we moved on to Billy and Robert’s Bollywood dance and then Neil and Kent’s wonderful Travis Wall dance about a broken friendship.

Before we got to the show’s VERY SPECIAL SURPRISE SPECIAL GUEST (can you tell I got a little sick of the hyping?), the band Black Gold came on to perform the song “Shine,” the song to which the contestants’ “You lose! Go home!” packages are set.

Are you ready to learn who the VERY SPECIAL SURPRISE SPECIAL GUEST was? I’ll give you a hint: It’s someone who used to be on a show that Nigel Lythgoe now (again) produces: Ellen DeGeneres! I have to admit that since I got the news about her appearance early on Wednesday, I was a little burnt out on the buildup. But I came around. She reprised Alex’s role in his famous Nappytabs hip-hop routine with Twitch. The dance was edited a bit so Ellen could clown it up but I’ve got to admit, she did the work and it was clear that she practiced and took it seriously, so all sarcasm aside: Go Ellen! After the dance she put in a plug for National Dance Day.

After this bit of fun came some good news: We have a new winner of “SYTYCD” and it’s Lauren!  Cue an explosion of star-shaped confetti. Lauren looked thrilled although Russell presenting her with a bottle of Gatorade was maybe not as triumphant as if she’d be handed a huge bouquet of flowers. I loved the fun the contestants had with her at the end of the show, carrying her on their shoulders and throwing streamers at her.

So, yes, it was a strange season.  I’ve seen other blogs dissect what went wrong with it, and while it won’t go down in history as the best season of the show, as someone who’s watched a lot of longstanding reality TV shows, I’m happy that Nigel Lythgoe and the other producers took some risks.  A lot of other shows (“Idol,” “Project Runway,” “Top Chef,” “ANTM”) could use similar shakeups, in my opinion, just because it shows more creativity and thoughtfulness than churning out the same thing season after season.  The biggest problem with the season, obviously, was the injuries, and I think three hours a week throughout the entire season was a bit much. But while I missed the contestants pairing with each other at the beginning of the show, there’s no doubt that dancing with the All-Stars did help the contestants improve at an exponential rate. Not all the changes worked, but overall, in my opinion, change is good.

-- Claire Zulkey

Photo: The final 11 contestants and the All-Star dancers perform. Credit: Frank Micelotta / Fox

Comments

[Milly]

SO disappointed. Robert, Billy, and Alex should have been the ones in the finale. Since Alex and Billy were not able to be the other two, I wanted Robert to win.

[Charlie]

I was so pleased that Lauren won, especially after I voted for her a few hundred times on Wednesday evening. I think she deserved the win, but was surprised that it was Kent, who seemed to be the favorite. Maybe this was another case in which many of the Kent fans thought he was a shoe-in so didn't bother to vote. Or perhaps the majority of Adechike voters switched to Lauren. Most of the favorite season dances were well selected, I thought, but I would have preferred that they replay the entire Twitch-Alex hip hop dance. Having Ellen as a substitute was totally silly, in my opinion.

[Lori]

Awesome show this year!! You're right -- best change was having the allstars because it made the contestants come up a notch and they did! Great choreography and great dancing!!! I'm just so glad the right dancer won this year. The best dancer has rarely won, but this year everyone got it right!!! Lauren was great and what the judges shared about her was true--she is the whole package. I would never go to see a dancing show, but this year I definitely would go see all of these "stars" dance. Soooooooooo happy Lauren won!! Congrats to all!

[Grace]

After the exits of Alex and Billy, I've really felt quite "equal" about all the remaining dancers, and so felt it was quite a worthy winner indeed. Still think the first and second runner up could have gotten something for their efforts though. Even Lauren's prize is pretty petty compared to what she's been making for the show and Fox.

The show itself was great for me, because it included so much dancing and so little talking... unlike all the other shows, but the reappearance of Alex F. Wong (who I know I should stop mourning the loss of but am not able to) just made the pessimist in me think about all the awesomeness I (everybody) potentially missed this season after his injury. Still though, enjoyed the show but kind of glad that it's over for now.

I had not read anything about the show since last week, so I didn't know Ellen would be the super star and it was a pretty good surprise for me. I enjoyed the performance but it was obviously not at the Alex/tWitch level. Still, the overhyping for once didn't bother me that much.

[Lady Jane]

So Lauren won! Now I have to take back all the mean thoughts I had about those alleged Tweens who would only vote for the darling little boys on the show.

Lauren winning gives me a nice warm feeling in the sisterhood department, given that she's such an athletic female specimen, so strong, so versatile, but also so gracious and grounded. Contrast her to the English winner who swanned around the fog covered stage trailing chiffon and you get the idea of what it means to be an American Girl!

That said, I wish Mr. White Teeth himself would take the most daring step of all in revising his show's format and rule out multiple voting by speed dialing freaks. Yes, I mean reprogram the answering system so that it's one vote per device. If I thought my vote counted, I would pick up the phone and dial in for my favorite dancer. As it is, I don't bother.

Do you hear me, Nigel? Doing that would certainly get you a lot of press and it might give the tired old call-in-reality format a welcome boost. From an advertiser's standpoint, being able to say you had six million votes is meaningless when three million of them came from the same phone in Wapakoneta. (Thought I'd throw that in there, knowing how much you love to say that word!)

[Jack Scribe]

Ellen's appearance offered just the right amount of comedic relief before the final result. I hope she has the three finalists on her show next month - separately. Would love to know what's in store for these terrific dancers. Completely agree that the best change this year was adding the All Stars. However, someone needs to keep the choreographers in check to avoid injuries.

[kate]

I wish Kent would have gotten his moment at the end to thank everyone. Every season this leaves me feeling terrible for the 1st runner up! I can hardly even remember who last season's runner up was in the face of Russell's emotional win! (Was it Jakob?!) Doesn't seem right. I, too, so hope Ellen has all 3 of them on her show, separately. I miss them all so much already!! And Kathryn! What will life be like without getting to see all this wonderful wonderful dancing every week?! (At least the new season of Weeds premiers Monday.) I thought Ellen was very impressive .. a really great example of what is possible for people of any age or ability. I think Lauren's great but Kent will be the winner of this season in my eyes forever more : )

[cshargeit]

happy to say, i was able to find the alex wong - twitch routine on youtube. i credit ellen for her highlighting it. alex contains lightening in his moves and extensions-- true art. happy 4 lauren. - she's only 18?

[Kelsey]

I am so proud of Lauren for winning America's favorite dancer! Lauren will be joining 6 finalist and 5 All-stars on tour! Too see her perform live check out dance.aeglive.com for tickets and additional information!

[Punky]

how do your friends watch the international versions? online?

[bettye198]

Clapping my hands for Lauren, especially since I voted for her! She was consistently excellent all through the season. Her darling affect, her comradry with anyone she danced with was extraordinary. Surely there were many who could have won, but the girl has the crown. Robert was my second fav and Kent my third fav. How does one choose? I am sorry they couldn't give to all three, they certainly have the money for it.

[Claire Zulkey]

Punky, I am not endorsing this type of illegal activity but my friends watched international SYTYCD on BitTorrent.

[Jan Mintz]

I enjoyed the show - though I watched on DVR so I could fast forward through commercials and other extraneous stuff. I was happy with Lauren's win; however, I voted for Robert throughout the season.

I think the pairing with "All-Star" was a success,, but the weakness, I think, is when someone comes in so strong that they can't really improve a great deal. So the weakest dancers get selected because they "grow" so much. Maybe the best dancers need to hold back some to be strategic. Whatever the case, I love watching such great dancing season after season.

The reason I didn't watch the show live is I saw "In the Heights" so I was surprised by the so-so dancing in the Broadway show in contrast to the great dancing on the show!

[Pam]

Raise the Gatorade to Lauren! She and Kent were my immediate favorites since the first round of auditions. I am no pro when it comes to dance, but their pure raw talent set them apart from the 'git go'. After the show was down to the top "11" and I saw Alex perform one awesome routine after another, I felt he would "dance away" the winner. He is a truely class act & I wish him a speedy recovery & hope to see him next season. I also enjoyed watching Robert and Billy grow and develop their skills each and every week. This was the first season for my husband & I to watch the entire show & we loved it! Correctly, they focused on the dancers for the finale and the Ellen, Twitch routine was a hoot! All of it was so entertaining. Now that we're so invested in these dancers, I hope we continue to hear about their careers & lives.
Congrats again to Lauren, our local hometown heroine. She & her family live only a few miles from us & she attended Greenway High School right down the street from us. Arizona has gotten so much negitive press lately, it's great to have Lauren bring a positive light to our city and state.

[Myeshia Barnes]

I really wished I could have seen the show, but I think work was more important than So you think you can dance. I wonder if the show comes on DVD? Anyways, I would have to say that I was really happy about this season, and looks foward to season 8!!! Also this was a great review!!!

[Crystal]

I'm happy Lauren won, but am a little saddened that 2nd runner up Robert got flowers and basked in the glow as they ran a synopsis of his special moments. As for Kent, the 1st runner up, he got no flowers, no synopsis of his great dance moments. It was as though he was obliterated right from the T.V. screen. He deserved the same treatment that the other (2) finalists got. He worked just as hard and was a fan favorite throughout the series. Shame on Nigel and the producers for reducing Kent to a mere unknown. The 1st runner-ups deserve some time to thank the audience, etc. and tell what they have learned and accomplished over the series as well as the 2nd runner up. I sure hope that this does not happen again next year. It (for me) was brutal to watch.

[captainsora]

I am happy for Lauren, even though I was secretly hoping that Robert would pull of a dark-horse win.

Seeing Alex Wong in the audience and in replay made me wistful for what could have been if both he and DJ Smart had not gotten injured. *That* would have been a glorious season. All the best to Alex for a swift and complete recovery.

[jillian euskie]

i am 14 years old, & i love sytycd! i love lauren froderman, & i would like to know can i buy the gatorade bottle ? & where can you buy it ? cause i want one sooo bad!

[logan casey]

I hope next year SYTYCD goes back to the old format of 10 women and 10 men...I hope Mary Murphy returns as a judge, and Mia Michaels is FIRED and sentenced to Anger Management classes for a few years....I hope Bollywood dancing becomes obsolete (because of the injuries)...Remember when Twitch and Joshua were injured practicing this genre in season 4 and of course the best dancer of all Alex Wong....I hope we see more of the contestants and Cat Deeley and less of the judges and Choreographers...