SYTYCD: Performance Finale

Last night's performance finale showed why Kent Boyd, Lauren Froderman, and Robert Roldan deserved to be called "America's Favorite Dancer" which will be decided in tonight's season finale. They all showed off their artistry, strength, personality, and heart. Judge Nigel Lythgoe declared last night that he "really doesn't mind" who wins this season because they all deserved it. Fellow judge Adam Shankman went one further and called the top three dancers his "favorites out of all the seasons" of the show.

Again, for their part, the top three worked their asses off performing FIVE routines each--two with an All-Star, two with their fellow contestants, and a solo number. Apart from a slightly lightweight Mandy Moore jazz routine danced by Kent/Lauren, the rest of the performances including the solos went BALLS OUT and the dancers more than kept up.


They all had their moments to shine last night. Kent started off the night with a fun, energetic Bollywood number which was tailor-made for him. He followed it up with an open-shirted and effective solo then that lightweight jazz routine with Lauren. His final performance was a dramatic and cool "Malevos" routine with Robert, but his penultimate performance was what got the judges riled up as Kent was overcome with emotion. Shankman told Kent that he just "became an artist."


Lauren showed off how strong she was by keeping up with Twitch in her first routine which to me was a little tongue-in-cheek Obama/Hilary 2008. Next was the absolutely beautiful and dreamlike contemporary routine she danced with Robert showing both of their great balance and strength. After that was her routine with Kent followed by her hot solo. My favorite dance last night was Lauren's final one and it was a Cha-Cha with Pasha. It literally left me breathless as did the judges with Mia Michaels even saying that if she was still a young dancer, she'd want to dance just like Lauren. Wow. Just... wow.


Finally we get to Robert who probably had the most consistent night powering through all of his routines with aplomb and humility, which the judges pointed out time and time again. They also noted how much he has grown, more than the rest. He began with a wonderfully quirky Jazz routine with Mark to the tune of "Whip It" which showed off his strength and personality. He followed that with his routine with Lauren and then he did his fluid solo. Next was his sexy Broadway number which was better than I thought it would be and finally his "Malevolos" routine with Kent.

For this entire competition, I've been rooting for Kent, but Nigel is 100% right on the money when he said it didn't matter who won since they are all so talented and likable, that they all deserve it. Usually there will be one or two people in the finale I really would prefer not to win, but that's not true this season. As for who is most likely to win... Kent has certainly been the frontrunner most of the season, but when all the girls left, Lauren blossomed and turned into a bit of his rival. In the last few weeks though, including last night, Robert has surged. It's all about who is most likely to vote and that probably means that Kent has this in the bag with his legion of girls screaming his name.