So You Think You Can Dance named its Top 4 dancers tonight before heading to next week’s Season 4 finale. Before the night was done, original partners Chelsie Hightower and Mark Kanemura were eliminated from the competition - leaving Katee, Twitch, Joshua, and ever-improving Courtney G. to compete for the title of America’s Favorite Dancer next week.
For Chelsie, it was the elimination of my favorite competitor from the auditions. For Mark, he was an underdog throughout the competition who seemed to manage to stay in despite improbably odds (Mark stayed longer than Will?? Really?? The Debbie Allen backlash was that bad??”).
Ever since her audition, Chelsie Hightower was by far my favorite contestant all season. Not only did she conquer Latin Ballroom with a style and flare that would give even Lacey Schwimmer a run, but her tomboyish personality offstage made for an entertaining transformation everytime she took the stage.
Chelsie was the rare mix of talent and personality that makes a contestant last this long in a competition like this. So You Think You Can Dance is not necessarily about finding the “best dancer,” but it’s about finding viewers’ favorite dancer.
And for me, Chelsie possessed the personality and talent to take the title this year, after not taking a wrong step all season and blowing away challenge after challenge every week. Losing Chelsie before the finale feels extremely premature, especially considering how many of her performances were the most memorable of the season.
For Mark, it was clearly his time to go, despite his charisma and great partnering skills when paired with Chelsie, then with Courtney G. this past week.
Mark was a feel good story, an unorthodox dancer, like Kameron from last season, and a guy who was a little “out there,” but was embraced by voters. In terms of defining his style, it was impossible to really define, but he danced with such wreckless abandon for what anyone thought that it made it all incredibly entertaining.
After losing the show’s ballroom beauty and Hawaiian personality champion, this year’s finale pairs two contemporary girls with two hip-hop guys. By losing Chelsie and Mark, the finale is going to be lacking the diversity that makes this show so entertaining - pairing dancers with styles outside of their comfort zone to see how they perform.
Clearly, the show has had some questionable “coincidences” this season, with contemporary dancers Will and Katee being paired for the show’s first-ever Pas de Deux and Chelsie H. consistently pulling Latin Ballroom, while Twitch and Comfort kept pulling hip-hop.
And now, with the lack of diversity in the finale, it would be a crime not to give Twitch and Joshua a Tabitha and Napoleon hip-hop routine, while Katee and Courtney would get a Mia Michaels contemporary routine. Anything outside of that would be a shock.
While Katee has been stellar throughout, I’d love to see Joshua or Courtney walk away with the title next week. Joshua, because he could be the hip-hopper to break the mold and win the competition, much like David Cook did for rockers on American Idol this season, and Courtney simply because I don’t think anyone expected her to make it this far after the first week of Top 20 competition.
You’ll be missed, Chelsie H.
Who I want to win So You Think You Can Dance Season 4: Joshua
Who I think will actually win So You Think You Can Dance Season 4: Katee
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1 response so far ↓
1 Ron // Aug 1, 2008 at 9:25 am
I thought Chelsie was the best “dancer” of the group. She def out-danced Twitch in the Mambo & held her own in the hip-hop routine. But someone had to go, and I wouldn’t have been surprised no matter who it was. IMHO, Chelsie has a chance at being a Julianne Hough-type of entertainer. Pretty, certainly talented, but approachable.
Don’t forget, Courtney is a NY Knicks dancers, so she may have a built in fan base, though I doubt many Knicks fans are watching & voting. She is a doll when she breaks out that open mouth smile she has.
Katee, great routines, but ultimently forgettable.
For the men, Joshua is a better dancer than Twitch, all around.
Finale is a toss-up. Good luck to all.
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