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“So You Think You Can Dance” crowned Melanie Moore the season 8 champion Thursday night. She took the victory with 47 percent of the Top Four vote. The final two dancers were both female, which is the first time that has happened in the 8 seasons that the show has been on the air.
Emmy nominated host Cat Deeley told both Sasha and Melanie “You two are both exquisite dancers, you have both been amazing.” Sasha Mallory came up with 32 percent of the vote followed by Marko Germar with in third place and Tadd Gadduang in fourth place.
The season originally began nine weeks ago with a pool of thousands of people all competing for their shot to win the grand 250,000 dollars prize along with a sponsorship deal. What started as thousands would eventually be reduced to just 20 and then only four contestants would participate in the finals.
During the course of the season, Melanie Moore was often viewed as the frontrunner due to her consistently stellar performances regarless of who she was paired with. Sasha opened the competition with a partner that she struggled to find any sort of connection with, but once she was rid of him, she truly flourished and began to put pressure on Melanie and the rest of the contestants. In the end, it is a shame to see either of these talented women lose, and it will be intersting to see where both of their careers go from here.

So You Think You Can Dance.

Tonight on Fox it’s the season finale of “So You Think You Can Dance”. The four remaining contestants dancedtheir hearts out last night. Keep reading to find out if you agree with whoAmerica chose as the best dancer!
The show opens with the top 20 performing an amazing dance choreographed by Sonya Tayeh. The host tells us that the show will be a look back at the amazing season, including the best dances. But for now the four finalists hit the stage to receive congratulations and words of advice from all the judges.
Now it’s a look back at the audition process. A montage of the good, bad and ugly dance routines are shown from the very beginning to the top 20.
What were your favorite dances? The judges get to share their favorite dance routines and watch them be performed again! Mary picks first and her favorite dance was “Full of Me” by Sasha and Kent. Nigel is up next and his choice for favorite dance routine is, “I got you” performed by Melanie and Marko. Robin tells us she was obsessed with her choice, which is Tad and Lauren performing to Queen. Next is Miranda and Robert hip-hop dancing to Busta Rhymes. Now the host, Cat Deeley, picks the performance that brought her to tears – the top eight Circus routine.
Now a break from the favorites to see the champion perform… well sort of… the UK champion of SYTYCD performs a tap routine to Michael Buble. Nigel is blown away by the tap routine, calling it one of the best he has ever seen!
Back to the judge’s favorites! Mary picks another favorite of hers, which is Melanie and Neil performing to the song Total Eclipse of the Heart. Jessie, from Modern Family, is on the judging panel and he chooses his favorite dance routine which he thought was so touching. It’s Marko and Allison performing to Jeff Buckley, which is also the dance that brought Lady Gaga to tears. “It’s sick” is how Tyce describes his choice for best dance of the season, which is the top ten Geisha girl dance. Nigel chooses another favorite dance from the season and it’s Sasha and Twitch in the “soggy cornflakes routine.” Finally it’s Sonya’s choice and she wants to “bring on the boys” with the top ten guys routine! A ballroom routine is chosen next as one of Jessie’s favorites, an Argentinean tango. A dance that gave Mary chills was when Marko and Melanie performed turn to stone and she wants to see it again tonight. And the last judge’s pick goes to Nigel who chooses Sasha and Melanie performing to Game On.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QShwpF8utrQ&feature=fvst

No surprise here – “So You Think You Can Dance” frontrunner Melanie Moore, the pixie contemporary dancer from Marietta, Ga., clinched the title of America’s favorite dancer tonight – with 47 percent of the four-way vote, no less – over also-rans Sasha Mallory, another fierce contemporary dancer, jazz dancer Marko Germar (who placed third) and B-Boy Tadd Guadduang (who placed fourth).
Melanie (a 19-year-old who had been studying art at Fordham University in the Bronx) has been a consistent favorite of the judges since her audition, and solidified her place at the front of the pack with her first performance with partner Marko, a contemporary routine from Travis Wall about two statues that yearn to become one. The judges continually praised her acting ability in addition to obvious dance chops.
Other notable performances – A dark, propulsive jazz routine with Sasha choreographed by Sonya Tayeh, a gorgeous contemporary with All-Star Neil Haskell from Mandy Moore, and a standout solo from the top six show (see below). Notable for an entirely different reason – A truly dreadful, ham-fisted disco routine with Marko from Wednesday night’s show, but thankfully the viewers overlooked that one.
The top 10 dancers from the season, including Caitlynn Lawson, Clarice Ordaz, Jess LeProtto, Jordan Casanova, Mitchell Kelly, and Ricky Jaime, will be embarking on a 32-city tour on September 17. They’ll be at Trump Taj Mahal in Atlantic City on September 30 and at the Prudential Center in Newark on October 4.
One more note from the finale – Apparently a tapper can make it far in this competition. Along with the more memorable routines of season eight, the show also featured the winner of Britain’s version of SYTYCD, Matt Flint, a tapper who was joined on stage by Little Falls’ own Jess LeProtto and Nick Young in a really entertaining tap trio.