I have been an avid viewer of the Fox Sensation, “So You Think You Can Dance”. The show has taken the airwaves by storm each summer for the past three years and with every passing year, the talent was taken to an indescribable level.
It's truly hard to believe that some of these dancers have only been dancing for a couple of years. This show gives people of all ages, a glimmer of hope to continue to seek out their dreams, no matter how old or how small.
This past season, we had some of the BEST dancers from around the USA on the show. Danny Tidwell- the adoptive brother of last year's 1st runner-up Travis Wall- was simply amazing every time he took the stage. After being put into the bottom three for 3 consecutive times, this pirouetting pleasure fought his way back to finish the competition in second place. If you never got a chance to see Danny on the show, don't worry I am sure you will be able to get the chance to see him again. He's a force to be reckoned with.
B-boy and B-girl dancers; Dominic “D-Trix” Sandoval and Sara Von Gillern were my favorites from the beginning of the competition. They both brought a unique style and stage presence that the show hadn't seen before. Not to mention Dominic's antics and boyish crush on host Cat Deely provided the audience and home viewers with some much needed comedic relief. However, Gillern and Sandoval's time was coincidentally cut short at the same time two weeks before the season finale.
I like many other viewers huddled around my television set on Thursday, August 16, 2007 to see the season finale of one of my favorite shows. After weeks of competition, Sabra Johnson was crowned the winner of “So You Think You Can Dance”. Johnson received the title and the $250,000 grand prize. This pint size powerhouse had only been dancing for four years, but she took the stage like someone who had been in the business for decades. She was as the "underdog" in the beginning of the competition, but somewhere and somehow, this girl began to shine and stole the hearts of viewers across America. Her win is well-deserved and we hope that this is only the beginning for this starlet.
Many people thought Lacey Schwimmer- sister of Benji Schwimmer who was last year's winner of SYTYCD - was a shoe in to follow in her brother's footsteps and take the whole shebang, but I guess some things weren't meant to be. A humble Lacey ended up placing fourth and didn't seem surprised or disappointed by her last official standings in the competition. One thing that can't be denied is that Miss Lacey definitely does have the "IT" factor to make a HUGE name for herself. She has two titles under her belt and I am sure there are more to come.
All in all, it is absolutely amazing to see and hear how many young kids, teens and even some adults have been inspired to take up dance just because of this show and the talent that it has produced. SYTYCD isn't just an entertainment show; it's an inspirational show. And that is defiantly a rare entity with Reality TV Shows nowadays.
If you've never heard of this show, now you have. If you've never seen this show, I am sure after reading this you will certainly tune in next summer. It's an addiction, a good one nonetheless, that you can't shake and without a doubt, won't want to shake.
Now we all know that with every review, there comes some "negative" feedback. I am certain that the viewers/fans of the show will agree that the finale wasn't up to par with what we had been seeing all season. Many viewers were disheartened and upset with the layout of the finale.
Even though we had been seeing guest performers throughout the entire season, I think it's safe to say that we could have done without seeing a performer shake their backside while doing a horrendous job at lip-synching their own song. Let's not forget this is a dancing competition, we viewers would much rather see dancing than "singing". The more dancing you show the happier the viewers will be.
A few days prior to the finale, we consistently heard Cat Deely mention that her and executive producer Nigel Lythgoe would do a routine for us. Little did we know that we'd be met with a jibjab version of the pair on our television sets. I know the producers tried to be funny with that one, but the joke failed miserably and even though it lasted for only a minute, it was still too much time wasted on something that none of us wanted to see.
Now this is the part that has most SYTYCD fans/viewers peeved. The winner of the series wasn't announced until the very end of the show and what I mean by "very end" is that the finale was slated to end at 10PM EST and the winner was announced at 9:58 PM EST. As soon as Sabra Johnson's name was announced, the credits began to roll. All we [the viewers] saw were mounds of confetti and the top of Sabra's head. We didn't get to hear how she felt or what she felt or even what she was planning on doing with the money.
Unlike the other finalists, who got a montage video and a bouquet of flowers, poor Danny Tidwell was pushed to the side like stale bread.
There was no time to hear comments from the judges or how they felt about Sabra winning. Cat Deely attempted to mutter something through the downpour of confetti, but through the screaming and celebration, none of us could actually hear what she was trying to say.
The viewers got to see 10 seconds of the top 20 celebrating with the top of Sabra's head and then it cut to the local 10'oclock news. I sat there on my couch for five minutes wondering what had just occurred. It was very bad time management on the producers' part. The show had a full two hours to fill and they gave the most important part of the show the least amount of time. So as an avid viewer and fan, I think I speak for all the enthusiasts of the show when I say; next year please limit the fluff and give us more meat and potatoes.
