A Round-Up of my Favorite Dances from SYTYCD this Season

I love dance. It inspires me and fills my writing. I have loved it since I was a little girl and I didn’t have as much formal training as I would have liked back when I was a kid (or even now) but I have taken dance classes and have studied ballet, jazz, tap, some ballroom and belly dancing. I’d say that my most interesting dance-related stories involve either my ballroom or belly dance training. Maybe I’ll share some of those stories in the future.

But for now, I want to talk about So You Think You Can Dance. I’m a big fan of both SYTYCD and Dancing With the Stars. (Is anyone else excited to see Bill Nye the Science Guy on DWTS?) This has been amazing season of SYTYCD. I have one overriding favorite for both male and female dancers but for the most part, I have absolutely loved everyone and have been so sad with each elimination.

In preparation for the finale tonight, I thought I’d share some of my favorite dances from this season with you as well as some thoughts if I have them. In no particular order, here are my favorite dances:

Amy and Alex’s Bollywood routine, choreographed by Nakul Dev Mahajan. If there’s a Bollywood routine, chances are I’m going to love it. They’re just so much fun and even though they’re also hard, most dancers seem to pull it off well. I also love Alex and loved how excited he was to perform Bollywood, even though it’s how he injured himself before.

Jasmine and Neil’s Contemporary routine, choreographed by Tyce Diorio. I know there are a lot of people who are tired of contemporary routines, but I’m not one of them and I don’t think I ever will be. They’ve quickly become a favorite of mine. I love the movement, the storytelling, the emotions. This season I have really enjoyed watching Jasmine. She’s my favorite of the girls. I also love Tyce Diorio’s choreography so this was perfect.

Top 6 Group Dance. I can’t even tell you what I love about this one other than… everything. It’s so fun! I wanted to join in and once it was over I went back to watch it again and then looked it up on YouTube.

Amy and Travis’s Contemporary routine, choreographed by Travis Wall. I wasn’t watching the show during Travis’s season, but I am always in awe of his choreography. He’s a genius and I’m not just saying that because the judge’s did. He’s amazing. So I was really excited when I heard that he’d be performing… and that he’d be choreographing the dance as well! I think Amy lived the dream of most fan’s of the show, to dance with Travis to his choreography. And it was beautiful.

Jasmine and Fik-Shun’s Contemporary routine, choreographed by Travis Wall. See? Genius. And gorgeous dancing, too!

Aaron and Kathryn’s Contemporary routine, choreographed by Stacey Tookey. Kathryn is such a beautiful dancer and I love that Kathryn was hoping that she’d be partnered with Aaron and then was. They made a great pair, too! For the longest time I couldn’t remember what Aaron’s style is because he has done so well with whatever has been thrown at him. (He’s a tap dancer.) He’s my favorite of the guys.

Aaron and Melinda’s Tap routine, choreographed by Anthony Morigerato. I love all the little details in this routine and the emotion that Aaron brought to it. I always forget how much I like tap until I see it performed.

Jasmine and Aaron’s Contemporary routine, choreographed by Justin Giles. This is inspired by The Giving Tree and I love the story that’s told in the dance. The costumes were perfect. I had to rewatch this one right away when I first saw it too because I was so nervous that they would drop the apple the first time through!

Hayley and Dmitry’s Rumba routine, choreographed by Dmitry Chaplin. I love good ballroom dancing and this was amazing. I first saw Dmitry on Dancing With the Stars and I wish they would bring him on more often. He’s a beautiful dancer and choreographer. This was a lot of fun.

Jasmine M and Alan’s Contemporary routine, choreographed by Travis Wall, AKA the blindfolded dance. I have no words.   …   Actually, that’s not true. I have two. Genius. Trust.

Wow, this has been a great season! Have you been watching? What were some of your favorite dances?