Jordan Clark was named Canada's favourite dancer during tonight's fourth season finale of So You Think You Can Dance Canada.
The final moments of the show saw the competition come down to the 19-year-old contemporary dancer from Tottenham, Ont. and 23-year-old Melissa Mitro, also a contemporary dancer, from Richmond Hill, Ont.
The other finalists coming into tonight's finale were Matt Marr (second runner-up), Lindsay Leuscher, Shane Simpson and Christian Millette (one hunk of man, let me tell you).
I attended the taping of tonight's finale, and can say it was truly a joyful exhibition of top dancing talent. Not having watched the whole season, it was also a super-quick way to get acquainted with the very deserving talent, and it was lovely to see how emotionally caught up they were in the whole experience. The way the contestants spoke of the journey, their hard work, and the support they got from the choreographers and fellow dancers, it felt like a graduation of sorts. And you know how I love a good celebratory ritual.
As per my first visit to the show earlier this season, audience-warmup guy Josh Hellyer owned my heart from the start, being all cute and shit in his bedazzled argyle sweater.
Nine -- count 'em, nine -- judges came back to highlight their favourite routines from the season, including my personal faves Mary Murphy, Rex Harrington (who made a great honey badger reference!) and Mia Michaels. Having this many judges on the panel thankfully meant not any single one could ramble on as they sometimes like to do. Phew!
And say what you will about Leah Miller, but I really appreciated how emotional she got in the results, wiping away tears as each of the six finalists gave thank you speeches.
The show was live-to-tape, and due to costume and set restrictions a number of the performances were pre-taped or re-aired from their original broadcasts. That includes all the group numbers, except for the 'Final 6' routine choreographed by Sean Cheesman. I would've loved to see Stacey Tookey's 9/11 tribute live in person.
But as it was, I was once again in awe of the talent on that stage. As you know, the thing I love about So You Think You Can Dance is that it really is about celebrating talent, boosting up the dancers and showcasing what they can do. And as I watched some of the season's top routines unfold before my eyes, I thought the experience these dancers are living must feel like nothing else. Because even as a lowly audience member, it felt pretty unbelievable.
Congrats Jordan!