Jeanine is America's Favorite Dancer

This is it friends, the last night of SYTYCD for the summer. This night usually signals kids going back to college for me and makes me sad-but knowing another season is but a few weeks away, I am not letting the melancholy set in. Tonight the judging table was full of choreographers from the season: Lil' C, Mia Michaels, Tyce Diorio, Debbie Allen, Adam Shankman, Mary Murphy and Nigel Lythgoe.

We are treated to a video recap of this season, and I am reminded just how talented this group of dancers is. I actually get chills when the fab four came out on stage at the end. There were a lot of great numbers brought back by the panel tonight, and I was so excited that they stayed away from showcasing too many guest artists and stuck to the great dance we saw all season. Let's reminisce, shall we?

The Groups
Top 20 - "Brand New Day," The Wiz
(Broadway, Tyce Diorio) The larger stage really brought this number to new heights, but I was ready to tear my hair out at some of the camera angles. There were some video shots from the top balcony and you couldn't see anything. WTF?

Top 16 - "I Know You Want Me (Calle Ocho)," Pitbull
(Hip-Hop/Latin ballroom, Dmitry Chaplin, Napoleon & Tabitha D'umo)
I loved this number the first time, and was so excited to see Janette showcased here. My daughter and I kept trying to figure out the water element (was some of this pre-taped?) and how they were cleaning all of this up for the next number. While we are watching she is surfing the net and finds out that there were a couple of things pre-taped. My girl is such a multi-tasker.

Top 8 - "One," A Chorus Line
(Contemporary, Mia Michaels)
I absolutely loved that they brought the judges out to dance, but I sure wish that there would have been a little more to this than a few moves and an ending pose.

The Surprise Guests
Talia Fowler - "Shot You Down," Audio Bullys
(Sonya Tayeh) What a great thing to bring a winner from another country to the finale. I thought she was a brilliant dancer, and Sonya put together an interesting routine that showed, once again how much she enjoys the arabesque.


The Rage Boyz Crew - "Feel It," Colby O'Donis & Mauli-B
(Hip-Hop, Tiffany Burton)
There were about 4 or 5 Numbers that I would have rather re-watched than to see this group again. It was cute, but not finale material in my eyes.


The Judges' Choice of Encores
Jeanine & Phillip
"Mad," Ne-Yo (Hip-Hop, Tabitha & Napoleon D'umo)
(Adam Shankman's choice)
I actually thought they took this performance to a new level. This was the start of season 5 and the first time we really saw Jeanine, so it was an appropriate start to the finale.

Janette & Brandon
"Libertango," Forever Tango (Argentine Tango, Miriam Larici & Leonardo Barrionuevo)
(Nigel Lythgoe's choice)
Oh Janette, how I wish it was you in this finale. I thought this piece was one of the best of the entire season. They were fantastic again and I have to agree with Brandon. Janette made him better. He looked fantastic and strong in this routine.

Asuka & Vitolio
"Dreams Are More Precious," Enya (Waltz, Louis van Amstel)
(Debbie Allen's choice)
While these two were not my favs, I did enjoy them in this choreography. I thought they performed it even better than the first time, except that I was a litte worried that Asuka was going to shoot off the end of the stage at her ending pose.

Jeanine & Jason
"If It Kills Me (The Casa Nova Sessions)," Jason Mraz (Contemporary, Travis Wall)
(Mary Murphy's choice)
I don't know if it is the excitement of the finale, or just the reviewing of my favorite numbers, but this was better the second time around as well. The kiss was not so spontaneous as it was the first time, but still believable and was the perfect blend of flawless dancing and inspiring choreography.

Kayla & Max
"Jum Buh Day," House of Gypsies (Samba, Louis van Amstel)
(Mia Michaels' choice)
Really?

Caitlin & Jason
"Jai Ho," Slumdog Millionaire (Bollywood, Nakul Dev Mahajan)
(Lil' C's choice)
I was so happy to see Jason get a second chance to perform this evening. I really enjoyed their energy and seeing those two together again.

Randi & Evan
"Koop Island Blues," Koop f. Ane Brun (Contemporary, Mia Michaels)
(Adam Shankman's choice)
I was thrilled that Randi and Evan got a second chance at this brilliant number, as some of the problems they had in the first performance were all worked out in this one (the shoe dropping, Evan's stumble when Randi put her leg over his shoulder's. While I enjoyed the camera work much better the first time, I loved getting to see them both on the top of their game with one of the more memorable routines of the season.

Jeanine & Brandon
"Tetsujin," The Matrix Revolutions (Paso Doble, Louis van Amstel)
(Mary Murphy's choice)
This was a great piece both last night and tonight. That music really gets your blood pumping, doesn't it?

Kayla & Kupono
"Gravity," Sarah Bareilles (Contemporary, Mia Michaels)
(Nigel Lythgoe's choice)
This was artwork, and Kayla's emotions were right there on the surface (probably because she was just put in last place-did anyone else think she looked really mad initially when they said her name??) Kupono was even more scary this time around. While I felt most of the season that Kayla came off artificially, I can't take anything away from her on this dance. It was a masterpiece.

Janette & Brandon
"Loving Is Really My Game," Brainstorm (Disco, Doriana Sanchez)
(Tyce Diorio's choice)
I am not a huge disco fan, but if they had to bring the style to the finale, I am so glad it was this one. Janette took it up a notch (she didn't stumble this time around) and it was a great reminder of how much she and Brandon had accomplished this season.

Melissa & Ade
"This Woman's Work," Maxwell (Contemporary, Tyce Diorio)
(Mia Michael's choice)
I was really touched again by the beauty of this piece, and to see Christina Applegate in the audience (a breast cancer survivor) and read the reaction in her eyes was especially moving.


AMERICA'S FAVORITE DANCER
I got this one wrong, and for the record, I am glad. I think this went down exactly as it should have, with the best two dancers standing side by side at the end. Was anyone else just blown away that Kayla seemingly withheld her congratulations from Jeanine and stood off to the side of the stage talking to Tyce? Not too classy Kayla!
Tune in next month when we get to do this all again!