Finale last night - thoughts?
Watching Robert and JT do their last dance together was heart-tugging, as both were literally, physically grimacing throughout the number to hold back tears.
But --- still made pointedly creepy by Paula's consistent characterization of the two as "a couple". It's creepy that Paula refers to all the other participants in terms of "partnering" - except for these two. It's also been uncomfortable to hear her tearfully point up these two as an example of the phrase "love is love" (a phrase that has appropriately been used many times in defense of LGBTQ romantic relationships). It's creepy when she applies that context to an adult and a 10-year-old boy.
She's also been creeping me out on a weekly basis with her tearful, hyper-emotional commentaries about the two, using language most commonly associated with toasting a couple on their wedding day.
Robert and JT's mentor/student relationship didn't creep me out at all. I thought both the 'Mr. Bojangles' number and the mirror piece were especially moving and made for good TV, but Paula's chronic characterization of the two as a couple was over the top, and super skeevy.
All of the finalists are exceptionally talented young people. As the weeks went on, it was uplifting to see them grow as performers. IMO, Tate was the most versatile and expressive dancer of the bunch, and I think she should have won. Her salsa with Jonathan was absolutely amazing! Her contemporary pieces were always astonishingly, beautifully executed.
I was also consistently amazed by Emma's tap. I was very happy to finally see a tapper last throughout a whole season and be allowed to tap every week. In previous seasons, it seemed that tap wasn't nearly as respected as the other forms of dance, and tappers got the "heave-ho" in the earliest weeks. Neither were they allowed to demonstrate their tap skills on a regular basis, as was the case for other dance forms like Contemporary and Hip-Hop/Crunk.
For Tate especially, I'm happy that these dances are recorded for them to look back on in their later years. I wonder if (like with gymnasts) all the exquisite extensions and hyper-extensions will be as executable when their bodies, and especially ligaments, mature into adulthood. (I couldn't help but notice that this is the first season where there were absolutely NO injuries...)
For many of these contestants, I'm looking forward to see what the future holds for them and their careers. The four finalists were all exceptionally great dancers.
Updated On: 9/13/16 at 10:27 AM
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