S13.E13: The Next Generation: Winner Chosen

[Drogo]

After incredible auditions across America and weeks of jaw-dropping live performances, the nation will finally decide who joins the ranks of America's Favorite Dancers. The final 4 dancers show the judges and the country what they've got one last time before the winner is crowned.

[farrahslax]

Kida. Meh. At least it wasn't JT. Just goes to show you 'Murica always loves the mediocre. Ruby is magnificent.

[SSAHotchner]

Wow, no one has a comment yet? Okay, here's mine. I DVR'd the show and fast forwarded through all the crap. Didn't listen to a single judge's comment. Fast forwarded through dances I didn't feel like watching again. I know it's tough to let kids know they didn't make it in this "we're all winners" generation, but I thought the kids handled it pretty well. I was so disappointed that Emma was the first to go. She really was my favorite, and I know none of the others could have done her style at all. So much energy, cute, enthusiastic spirit, loads of talent. Very disappointed. 

Sorry to see Tate go next. She was amazingly talented and a nice kid. 

So down to the 2 guys and I really thought JT would win. I didn't care for him at all, but there was so much hype about how cute he is. People felt he would win because he'd get the cuteness vote. I actually thought he was more likely to get the pity vote. He's so tiny and not at all the best dancer, so folks will want to give him a chance figuring he would be less likely to make it on his own, unlike some of the other contestants who were genuinely talented and well-trained. After all, I sat through many seasons of American Idol where less talented singers would win because voters just wanted to give them a chance. 

Kida, was okay. Some of his routines I enjoyed, but not all. In fact, this season in particular, if I didn't care for the music, if the music didn't grab me, I would fast forward through the dance. The dances that really entertained me were the ones where the choreography and the music blended perfectly. Anyway, I was pleased that Kida won over JT, but I would have preferred either Tate or Emma to have been the winner. That said, I hope he uses the prize wisely and really makes a life for himself. If he wants to keep dancing, I hope he gets training in lots of styles to make him more marketable, more well-rounded. 

While I hope they don't do the kid thing again, at least not for several years, I thought the kids were all nice kids, hard workers, eager to learn and loved to perform . I wish them all luck. 

Edited September 13, 2016 by SSAHotchner
Senior moment. Mixed up Emma and Gabby.

[Court]

I'm thrilled J.T. didn't win. That's all I wanted. I would have preferred he came in 4th.

[ketchuplover]

Seconded.  Bring back the 18=30 y/o dancers please. Thank you.

[yourpointis]

I'm just happy Tate didn't win. Yes I'm that petty. For me she was just another Melanie 2.0 where all her dances looked the same and not one of them made me want to watch "her" when being performed. I always preferred to watch whatever partner accompanied her. Very disappointed Emma didn't win. Of the four left, I was hoping Emma would win, Kida runner up and JT (should have never been put into top 20) third, and Tate fourth. 

I'm generally the type to always find someone to pull for for the win, but for some odd reason I spent the better part of this season wanting Tate to lose more than anything. That's why I felt petty. If there is a next season, please let it be the adult version again and no obvious producer favorites from the start. 

[ElectricBoogaloo]

I was out of town last week so I didn't get to watch the top 4 episode until tonight. After slogging through all that filler, I didn't have it in me to watch the actual finale just to find out who won, so thanks to @SSAHotchner for letting us know the final standings. Of the four dancers we had left, I was hoping that the two girls would finish first and second because I felt they had the best technique and had the most versatility (you know, in the three or four times that the producers had them dance outside their own style). JT shouldn't have been on the show this season, let alone in the top four, and I hated that the judges kept praising him when it was obvious that he was nowhere near the level of the other dancers in the top ten. I didn't think that Kida was the best hip hop dancer who auditioned this year but I think that the producers liked his story. While I think he did improve slightly over the season, I felt like he wasn't as good outside his style as some of the other dancers.

I wish Ruby had made the top four and won, but barring that I thought that Emma or Tate should win based on dance ability. I'm just glad that JT didn't win (even though it galls me that a little kid who had bent knees and unpointed toes ALL SEASON finished higher than Tate and Emma).

[adhoc]

I didn't watch but did go online later to see who won. I only watched Kida 3 times this season; I found his total lack of humility off-putting (considering he was good for his age but not a great dancer, and certainly not great relative to, say, Fikshun)  and I always turned the channel thereafter. Now he'll have an even more inflated ego, I suppose. 

I read comments from posters elsewhere online, and they frequently said they were glad the two guys were 1 and 2 because they displayed the most growth. Well, duh--they had the most room to grow, I would venture to say, relative to Emma and Tate (and Ruby, for that matter).

I actually was bored by Tate initially (bad idea to have dancers just stay in their style week after week, it began looking the same) but she really grew on me. Ruby should have been in the top 4, not JT. I thought his overpraised Bollywood was laughable (his partner does all these neat moves, while JT stands and poses--this is good dancing?) 

The one good thing, at the end of the day, is that for the exceptional dancers--Tate, Emma, Ruby--they got good exposure and hopefully this will be an advantage in their continuing journeys.

Edited September 13, 2016 by adhoc

[Tikichick]

My jaw actually dropped when Emma was in fourth.  Then Tate came in third -- the dancer with the genuine chops to have competed in the previous seasons, and acquit herself well.  I assumed it was a JT coronation.

I can't bash a kid winning, even if it wasn't my preference.  I do think Kida worked exceptionally hard and definitely improved -- in hip hop.  He gave other things an honest effort, but his feet bugged in everything else.  I think a lot of the vote came in because of Fikshun as well -- Kida's mentor with horrible feet for pretty much everything but hip hop.  I hope the prize brings nothing but positive into Kida's life, it seems like there's a big hole with dad gone and I hope the prize brings only good things and no sorrows.

Cannot believe the Savion Glover routine was not selected, for political reasons alone, absolutely stunned.

I hope Nigel was speaking from some solid information from the network that they will be back next season -- and are considering a mature cast.  I have my doubts any of that came from the network on either count.

The top ten gets a dance ... and it features Maddie, front and center extensively?  First, she didn't belong there, at all.  That dance deserved to belong exclusively to the ten kids who earned being in it.  Throw her in with the All Stars to do a performance, all of them together, and let her show what she's made of like the competitors have done. 

I enjoyed the season more than I expected to, but I miss my favorite show in all its glory -- Mary Murphy, occasional ballroom routines, Lil C's glorious critiques and comments, more variety in the choreographers, less forced filler -- or at least forced filler in much shorter snips.

[Primetimer]

After an interminable parade of character moments, flashbacks, b-roll, and recycled performances, SYTYCD: TNG finally crowns a winner.

View the full article

[WhineandCheez]

Ruby wuz ROBBED.  She was fantastic.  I hope someone grabs Emma and makes her a huge star.  She is awesome all around.  Perhaps some of Kida's vote came from the fact that he presumably needs the prize more, with his father being gone and such.

[crowceilidh]

I haven't finished watching yet, but it is fascinating how much air time Ruby got.

[Morgan of Hed]

I was OK with any of the top 4 except JT winning, so a Kida victory is just fine by me. Tate was my favourite and ridiculously gifted but I can see the criticism of her being a little generic. I don't think 3rd place is going to hold her career back any.

[brokefromdance]

Disappointed with the results but not as disappointed if JT had won. Not surprised at all that Emma and Tate placed how they did unfortunately. I had a feeling that it would be between JT and Kida but thought that the cuteness factor would bring JT the win so glad I was wrong about that. I think that my waaaayyy too many years of being a dance mom (not like the ones on TV! Haha) and sitting through endless competitions resulted in my frustration that JT had made it this far. I have seen so many 10 year olds at competitions that have much better flexibility and technical skills than JT. Most of those kids know how to point their feet by this age if they have been dancing at a competitive level and their teachers and judges would not have been easy on those who don't. I just couldn't understand the praise and coddling that JT received other than it was producer driven. It was quite clear by the choreography he was given and praise he received that production wanted him to be one of the last ones standing. 

I am biased towards Tate because I have a personal connection with her but I felt pretty much all along that she wouldn't win. Knowing Tate's abilities like I do they boxed her in with the choreography. While she focuses now on her ballet and contemporary she hasn't always trained that way and still does dance in jazz and hip hop. In fact she's danced onstage with Justin Beiber doing hip hop. She's danced a in music video prior to SYTYCD. Her (and my daughter's)  old studio required tap classes as well. Instead they gave her basically the same choreography week after week. I don't blame people who thought she was boring and only able to lift her leg up in the air. That's all they seemed to want her to do. I just know that she's capable of more than that so I found that frustrating. She has had so much talent shining through from a young age. She can sing, she actually has done choreography on her own for a couple of years now, she has done voice over work for a cartoon series. She has said in the past she'd love to be on broadway. She's a humble and sweet kid that has an amazing amount of drive for her age. She'll be fine in the future. This has given her a lot of exposure. The right kind of exposure for the dance world, not the dance moms kind. Because I know she'll do well anyways I'm happy for Kida as I suspect the money is more needed in his family than in Tate's. 

TL;DR I'm disappointed that Tate didn't place higher but glad it was Kida over JT.

[Morgan of Hed]

16 minutes ago, brokefromdance said:

Because I know she'll do well anyways I'm happy for Kida as I suspect the money is more needed in his family than in Tate's.

Given how well-travelled she already is, it's probably a solid guess that Tate's family is quite comfortable, money-wise.

Edited September 13, 2016 by Morgan of Hed

[Tikichick]

I didn't realize Tate had as much professional experience already, but I'm not surprised about her expansive training and know she'll be able to work if she wants to.  I also think that there will be no shortage of opportunities for JT, however I wonder if he's likely to have as large of a future, or may fall victim to growth spurts, puberty and/or not keeping up age appropriate training as he ages up.  I have no doubt he will have no shortage of people lining up to represent him, if he didn't have that in place already.

[Morgan of Hed]

My biggest problem with JT is that the kid is 10, but they played it like he was 4 or 5.  He would have been amazing if his age matched his height.  The other kids were only a year or two older.

[Lemons]

1 hour ago, Morgan of Hed said:

My biggest problem with JT is that the kid is 10, but they played it like he was 4 or 5.  He would have been amazing if his age matched his height.  The other kids were only a year or two older.

The whole time I was watching, I thought I was watching a 7 or 8 year old dance.  I'm sure a lot of the audience did too.  He doesn't have the skills of a talented 10 year old boy. 

What was the prize?

[Morgan of Hed]

31 minutes ago, Lemons said:

What was the prize?

$250K plus the cover of a dance magazine, I think.  Kida's family can probably make good use of that cash.

[adhoc]

$250K, I think I heard Jason Derulo say last week, when talking about Tate's salsa with Jonathan. Which dance I was very impressed with, BTW. Sure, Tate wasn't as crisp and sharp in her movements as Ruby would have been--you could tell Latin dance was not her wheelhouse--and I'm not sure the choreography would have been exactly the same (not sure what tricks Ruby has up her sleeves, but I'm guessing maybe some different ones from Tate), but overall I ended up being very impressed with Tate by the end of the dance. The athleticism required was amazing.  

Though I would also have liked to see Ruby dance salsa with Jonathan.

Oh, and I was also glad that during Tate's salsa, she was not all glammed up like a teen hooker. (I thought her little fringe-y number looked fine and sufficiently modest. And thankfully, there was no heavy makeup to make her look older.)  I realize that Latin dancing can have a lot of seduction and sensuality as part and parcel of the presentation, but I don't need to see a 13-year-old girl and an adult man bringing the sexy. Tate (like Ruby) was exuberant and connecting well with Jonathan (and he with her) without being seductive. I really liked the direction that Stephanie's salsa went--athletic and fun and friendly but still age-appropriate. 

I remember that Ruby had a couple of dances earlier with Paul that I felt might be a little too suggestively choreographed for a 13-year-old, no matter how well she can pull them off technically.

[brokefromdance]

6 hours ago, Morgan of Hed said:

Given how well-travelled she already is, it's probably a solid guess that Tate's family is quite comfortable, money-wise.

Yes, you would be correct lol

[LoquaciousAudacity]

So, I tried flipping between this and DWTS, but couldn't keep up. Given that Jenna was on DWTS, I'm assuming she skipped the SYTYCD finale? 

[Shannon L.]

I haven't checked in all year, but I thought I'd just jump in and say that I was surprised that Kida won--I was sure it was going to be either JT or Tate. 

I was hoping that the final four would be all girls:   Tate, Ruby, Emma and Tahani.  I'd have been happy if any of them had won. 

Ruby:  My God....I just love watching her dance.  I kept hoping that either this (if it goes back to adult dancers) or DWTS would still be on the air in 5 years so we could hopefully see her again. 

Tate:  I'm less impressed with her flexibility (which is amazing) and more impressed with her balance! 

Speaking of DWTS:  Is that the same Jenna who was on this show?  She and her dancing seem so much more mature and pulled together on this one than DWTS.  I watched last night and kept thinking it was her, but wasn't sure.

[dcalley]

1 hour ago, LoquaciousAudacity said:

So, I tried flipping between this and DWTS, but couldn't keep up. Given that Jenna was on DWTS, I'm assuming she skipped the SYTYCD finale? 

She was on SYTYCD (in pre-recorded numbers, I guess).

11 minutes ago, Shannon L. said:

Speaking of DWTS:  Is that the same Jenna who was on this show?  She and her dancing seem so much more mature and pulled together on this one than DWTS.  I watched last night and kept thinking it was her, but wasn't sure.

One and the same.

[Morgan of Hed]

Same Jenna, she got the DWTS job off her run as a contestant on SYTYCD.  She was on the SYTYCD finale.  Probably lots of those dances were pre-taped.  I note that Tate danced immediately after getting the boot, that would have been a remarkably fast costume and mood change for her.

[Shannon L.]

1 hour ago, dcalley said:

2 hours ago, Shannon L. said:

Speaking of DWTS:  Is that the same Jenna who was on this show?  She and her dancing seem so much more mature and pulled together on this one than DWTS.  I watched last night and kept thinking it was her, but wasn't sure.

One and the same.

Wow.  I wonder if the difference (that I can see--maybe I'm the only one) is that she's not choreographing her own dances on SYTYCD. 

[Court]

Don't the DWTS usually dance down to their celebrity? Maybe that's part of it.

Edited September 14, 2016 by Court

[calipiano81]

I absolutely loved the group ballroom number. I only caught the performance video on YT... Who was the choreographer?

The trading of partners back-and-forth within the whole group made it exciting and interesting to me. I am thankful that, if anything, this New Generation season brought some great ballroom back to the SYTYCD stage.

[pivot]

Man, that was a pile of BS. Emma was by far the best contestant of the season. 

And I am so over contemporary dance. It just overwrought flailing at this point.

[dcalley]

14 hours ago, calipiano81 said:

I absolutely loved the group ballroom number. I only caught the performance video on YT... Who was the choreographer?

I watched it the same way, so I don't know for sure, but Wikipedia says Dmitry and his fiancee (right?) choreographed it. I liked it, especially when we got the adults alone for a bit.

Jonathan's salsa shirt, still awful.

Wish we could have had more than 60 seconds of Sergei.

[realdancemom]

42 minutes ago, dcalley said:

I watched it the same way, so I don't know for sure, but Wikipedia says Dmitry and his fiancee (right?) choreographed it. I liked it, especially when we got the adults alone for a bit.

Jonathan's salsa shirt, still awful.

Wish we could have had more than 60 seconds of Sergei.

According to the show, the group ballroom number was choreographed by Dmitry and Jenna.  Maybe, his fiance also helped but they didn't mention it.  I would have also loved more Sergei.

I was rooting for Emma, Tate, and Ruby.  Tate was really able to show her versatility in the finale since they showed both her hip-hop and salsa numbers.  I was bummed that Emma and Tate went out first.  I thought for sure that JT was going to win after that.  Kida did improve with his hip-hop performance and even with his hip-hop technique.  I still don't think he's very versatile.  He's similar to his mentor that way.  They're better than somebody like Cyrus with other genres but their lack of technique shows.  I hope he uses some of his cash winnings for more lessons.  At least, I can say that Kida was better with hip-hop than JT was with jazz. 

With JT, I do think that people thought he was younger than he really is because of his size.  He did have a wonderful connection with Robert but I thought all the mentors and kids connections were great.  I didn't enjoy his dances with other kids but I liked his dances with Robert and Marko.  He can perform the kid/younger self well.  I was also impressed with his stamina in the Bollywood number.

I enjoyed this season more than I thought I would.  Unfortunately, I know people that didn't give this season a chance because it was kids.  We saw a lot more good ballroom and tap numbers this season.  I wished they had the kids dance with other All-Stars sooner so that we had more variety.    I hope SYTYCD comes back next year.  Thanks to whoever mentioned DWTS being on since I didn't realize that.  Glad that I record the series so that I can watch Monday's show later.  I'm also looking forward to watching Jennifer Lopez's World of Dance and I hope to see people comment on that show.

[Adez]

2 hours ago, realdancemom said:

According to the show, the group ballroom number was choreographed by Dmitry and Jenna.  Maybe, his fiance also helped but they didn't mention it.  I would have also loved more Sergei.

I was rooting for Emma, Tate, and Ruby.  Tate was really able to show her versatility in the finale since they showed both her hip-hop and salsa numbers.  I was bummed that Emma and Tate went out first.  I thought for sure that JT was going to win after that.  Kida did improve with his hip-hop performance and even with his hip-hop technique.  I still don't think he's very versatile.  He's similar to his mentor that way.  They're better than somebody like Cyrus with other genres but their lack of technique shows.  I hope he uses some of his cash winnings for more lessons.  At least, I can say that Kida was better with hip-hop than JT was with jazz. 

With JT, I do think that people thought he was younger than he really is because of his size.  He did have a wonderful connection with Robert but I thought all the mentors and kids connections were great.  I didn't enjoy his dances with other kids but I liked his dances with Robert and Marko.  He can perform the kid/younger self well.  I was also impressed with his stamina in the Bollywood number.

I enjoyed this season more than I thought I would.  Unfortunately, I know people that didn't give this season a chance because it was kids.  We saw a lot more good ballroom and tap numbers this season.  I wished they had the kids dance with other All-Stars sooner so that we had more variety.    I hope SYTYCD comes back next year.  Thanks to whoever mentioned DWTS being on since I didn't realize that.  Glad that I record the series so that I can watch Monday's show later.  I'm also looking forward to watching Jennifer Lopez's World of Dance and I hope to see people comment on that show.

SYTYCD Jenna danced in the routine, but it was Jenya Shatilova who co-choreographed the group number along with Dmitry. Cat even mentioned it in her intro.

[realdancemom]

34 minutes ago, Adez said:

SYTYCD Jenna danced in the routine, but it was Jenya Shatilova who co-choreographed the group number along with Dmitry. Cat even mentioned it in her intro.

Sorry, I didn't know Dmitry's fiance's name.  I thought Cat said Jenna instead of Jenya. 

[comosedice]

On ‎9‎/‎13‎/‎2016 at 10:48 PM, Shannon L. said:

Wow.  I wonder if the difference (that I can see--maybe I'm the only one) is that she's not choreographing her own dances on SYTYCD. 

No, Jenna choreographed a good routine on DWTS, it's just that her partner is not used to dancing and she expected too much of him. Also, 12 year old Jake on SYTYCD is a much, much better dancer and partner for Jenna than older Jake on DWTS.

[Shannon L.]

2 minutes ago, comosedice said:

On 9/13/2016 at 7:48 PM, Shannon L. said:

Wow.  I wonder if the difference (that I can see--maybe I'm the only one) is that she's not choreographing her own dances on SYTYCD. 

No, Jenna choreographed a good routine on DWTS, it's just that her partner is not used to dancing and she expected too much of him. Also, 12 year old Jake on SYTYCD is a much, much better dancer and partner for Jenna than older Jake on DWTS.

That's a good point. 

[Blue Plastic]

Well at least that untalented little twerp didn't win.  That's about the best I can say for this wretched season.  Well, that and we got more tap dances than usual because of Emma and Gabby, which I enjoyed.  The bad:  Ruby, Tate, and Emma were robbed!  Robbed, I say!  I was blown away by Ruby's tango with Paul, just like I was the first time they performed it.  Just awesome.  Emma and Gabby gave us a bunch of cool tap routines over the course of the season.  Tate is a wonderful dancer but over the course of the season they gave her so many overwrought, angsty, "emotional" routines that it got repetitive.  I enjoyed her a lot more in her solos and wish they had given her a full-length routine more along those lines instead of all these super serious and IMO boring themes.

[WhineandCheez]

Finally got to watch it last night.  It was cute to See Kida's, Fikchun's and Kida's family's reactions. No one thought the Juggernaut of Tiny Cuteness could be defeated.  JT was pretty gracious though.  Nigel kept talking about how they didn't know if next year the format wouldn't revert back to adults.  GOD I HOPE SO!!!  I hope it comes back at all, no way is that a given, from what I understand.

[realdancemom]

56 minutes ago, WhineandCheez said:

Finally got to watch it last night.  It was cute to See Kida's, Fikchun's and Kida's family's reactions. No one thought the Juggernaut of Tiny Cuteness could be defeated.  JT was pretty gracious though.  Nigel kept talking about how they didn't know if next year the format wouldn't revert back to adults.  GOD I HOPE SO!!!  I hope it comes back at all, no way is that a given, from what I understand.

I agree that I prefer an adult season.  However, I would take a kid season over no SYTYCD at all. 

[Guest]

Finally watched the finale.  I was shocked Emma got fourth and Tate third.  I thought they were much better than the boys.  From that point, I fast-forwarded to the winner.  

There were times in that group ballroom routine where I thought Ruby outdanced Jenna.