After weeks of wondering who will be America’s favorite dancer and voting for favorites, fans of So You Think You Can Dance have narrowed the field of four finalists.
Which of those four -- Brandon Bryant, Evan Kasprzak, Jeanine Mason and Kayla Radomski -- will win the $250,000 prize and be voted America's favorite dancer?
Has America already chosen a favorite -- -- or can performances next week convince voters to shift their votes from one dancer to another dancer? Will fans vote based on dancing performance, likeability or the choreography of routines? And who will the fans of recently eliminated Melissa Sandvig and Ade Obayomi now support?
Fans of the show will soon have the answers to those questions when they watch the crowning of the 2009 America’s Favorite Dancer!
A TV Guide poll conducted when there were six remaining dancers, placed Evan at the top of the chart. The site’s overview stated: "He competently conquers new dance styles every week. Unless he makes a huge mistake on the dance floor, he may take the top prize this year." But an even more recent poll, conducted by eonline, showed Brandon in the lead – with Evan also trailing Jeanine.
What recent polling seems to indicate is how close the competition is in viewer’s eyes – and that it is up to the dancers to pull out all of the stops next week in hopes of garnering the highest number of votes of fans!
Judge Nigel Lythgoe has already termed this season’s four finalists as among the most skilled dancers who have ever appeared on the So You Think You Can Dance show. And he has repeatedly explained that the level of talent has been so high this year that there are no losers even among the Top Twenty contestants – sixteen of whom have already been eliminated. The talent is so high and the competition is so close, he said, that the eventual winner could actually be determined by such factors likeability or the specific routines designed by the show’s choreographers.
In terms of likeability, our own independent poll finds Evan in top place. A young, clean-cut dancer with exceptional work ethics, a broad smile from ear to ear for contestants and fans alike – there is hardly a viewer whose heart has not been captured by Evan’s schoolboy grin and Fred Astaire/Gene Kelly dance style.
Juliana Pirpinelli, who runs Juliana's Academy of Dance in Evan’s home state of Michigan, explained, “He’s kind of like that boy next door."
And who was not touched by the love and support shared by Evan and his 29-year-old brother, Ryan, when they initially tried out for So You Think You Can Dance together? (Ryan was cut right before the Top Twenty dancers were established.)
As for Evan’s reaction to making it into the finals of the competition – “I’m ecstatic to have made it this far,” he graciously explained. "When I made it to the Top 20, I never thought that I'd make it to the Top 6, or be here for the 100th episode. It is really amazing!"
Evan also credits the support of fans with helping him in his performances each week. "When I am dancing,” he said, “I kind of try and embrace the audience and use the energy they have and morph that into whatever it is I might need.”
Evan, 22, was born into what his mother, Barb Kasprzak, calls a "theater family” – the family being involved in the local Monroe (Michigan) Community Players. She recently opined, “I don't think we often realize what a great asset a good community theatre can be to a community. I certainly never imagined the impact being involved with community theatre would have on my children. Even our non-performing family members gained a lifelong love of the arts."
It was at the tender age of six that Evan began dancing – and began developing a passion for the classic Broadway style of dancers such as Fred Astaire and Gene Kelly, the style that he has so aptly brought to the So You Think You Can dance stage.
"We didn't know how people would respond to the old classics," Mrs. Kasprzak said. "We were shocked at the reception he received. The classical style is resonating across the ages, from grandmas to teenagers. It caught us by surprise."
As for Evan’s success on the show, Mrs. Kasprzak said their family is thrilled. "We thought it was great that he reached the top 20 and ecstatic he made the top 10," she enthused. "But way beyond (the prize money) are the career-changing opportunities. ... We are so happy for Evan and we hope he wins.”
Evan, from West Bloomfield, Michigan, is a graduate of Birmingham Groves High School and currently a senior and music theatre major at Wesleyan University.
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