by Kylene Hamulak

It's all over but the confetti for Season 9 of So You Think You Can Dance! For two hours until the girl and guy winners of this season are announced, all the people who've contributed to a great season will be back to entertain us. From the dancers and choreographers to the judges and special guests, everyone is ready for a party.

As the Top 20 return for the final roll call of the season, I'm reminded of all the dancers I've missed since their eliminations, I'm still sad that Matthew, Amelia and, especially, Will, didn't last a few weeks longer. The six choreographers involved in choosing the Top 20 dancers are also introduced - LiL' C, Adam Shankman, Debbie Allen, Tyce Diorio, Mary Murphy, and Nigel Lithgoe. They call them all judges, but why? Isn't all the judging done?

Dancers: Group Routine
Song: Torn - Nathan Lanier
Choreographers: Sonya Tayeh and Christopher Scott
The show opens with a group routine that puts all of our dancers in a twister. Seeing them dance as a group again, they could easily be a professional company, as there is not a step out of line with the group. It's a dramatic routine that's perfectly executed.

After the group routine, Cat reveals WHY there are six judges - each of them will be choosing the routine they'd like to see again from Season 9.

Dancers: Matthew and Audrey
Style: Contemporary
Song: Unchained Melody - The Righteous Brothers
Choreographer: Travis Wall
This was definitely one of my favorite performances of the season, so I'm excited that Nigel asked to see it again. Audrey's leap over the chaise lounge was as beautiful this time as the first time we saw it, and if I didn't already know it wasn't meant to be? I would've totally thought they'd have made it to the final.

Dancers: Witney and tWitch
Style: Hip Hop
Song: My Homies Still - Lil' Wayne
Choreographer: Luther Brown
LiL' C chooses a hip hop routine featuring Witney and tWitch that was probably the farthest Witney could've ventured from her comfort zone. I think she has a little more attitude in the performance tonight - she and tWitch looked like they were having a great time.

Dancers: Tiffany and George
Style: Contemporary
Song: Turning Page - Sleeping at Last
Choreographer: Sonya Tayeh
Debbie Allen chose an early routine that Tiffany and George performed, and I have to admit I don't think I appreciated it enough the first time around. Maybe I just wasn't paying enough attention to these two dances earlier in the competition, because their performance is gorgeous. But then...there's a reason Tiffany's in the finale, right?

Because it's a reality tv finale, we, of course, have to have some recaps of their favorite auditions from Season 9 that didn't make it to the Top 20. I figure it'll be all the joke auditions but, surprisingly, the first feature story is an inspirational one about a dancer with a lot of heart, who is the first one in his family not to have gotten locked up in jail.

Group Dance: Lindsay and Cole
Style: Paso Doble
Song: Unstoppable - ES Posthumous
Choreographer: Jason Gilkinson
Lindsey and Cole's powerful paso is chosen as Adam's favorite number of the season, and it's just as impressive as it was the first time around. As in the original routine, Cole's martial arts fusion paired with Lindsey's ballroom skill are a great mix for this dance.

Dancers: Amelia and Will
Style: Hip Hop
Song: The Lovecats - The Cure
Choreographers: Napoleon and Tabitha
Tyce chooses another of my favorite pairs - I don't think Will and Amelia did anything I didn't enjoy. They're both such characters that a routine like this - where they become a couple of alley cats - is a perfect fit.

Dancers: Chehon and All-Star Kathryn
Style: Contemporary
Song: Eli, Eli - Sophie Milman
Choreographer: Tyce Diorio
I remember this routine as being a very powerful one (particularly when Kathryn lifts her suitcase with her feet), and it's the one Mary chooses to showcase tonight. Chehon might be the most technically perfect dancer on the stage so far, and he and Kathryn deliver another mesmerizing performance.

In addition to the judges, the finalists are given the opportunity chose a routine they would most like to perform again.

Dancers: Eliana and All-Star Alex
Style: Contemporary
Song: Bang Bang - Nancy Sinatra
Choreographer: Stacey Tookey
To the shock of no one, Eliana chooses the Bang Bang routine she performed with Alex. She's previously said that dancing with him was her first time feeling like she was in her element, so it stuck as a sort of turning point for her. Not surprising - they pair well together. After the routine, Nigel once again tells us Eliana is his favorite girl in the competition and that all the choreographers loved her.

Not to be left out, Cat gets to pick a routine too.

Dancers: Tiffany and All-Star Brandon
Style: Disco
Song: You Make Me Feel - Cobra Starship
Choreographer: Doriana Sanchez
Oh, Cat. You WOULD choose the disco routine! I'm totally disctracted by all the sparkles on stage, but it's another terrific routine that features 11 - yes, count them, ELEVEN! - lifts.

Dancers: Chehon with All-Star Anya
Style: Argentine Tango
Song: Breaking Below Surface - Jesse Cook
Choreographer: Miriam Larici and Leonardo Barrionuevo
Chehon's choice of encore actually DID surprise me, as I would've expected him to chose something totally within his comfort zone. Instead, he selects the Argentine Tango, which has a lot of the technical elements that make him a beautiful dancer, but also forces him to exhibit more fierce emotion than he's typically shown. Mary tells him he was extraordinary, and that this performance, with his mom in the audience, really broke down his wall in the competition the first time he performed it.

And then So You Think You Can Dance gave us something a little unexpected. After showing a montage of the terrific hip hop routines from Season 9, a special group of performers took the stage.

Dancers: Cyrus with tWitch, Comfort, and Christopher Scott
Style: Hip Hop
Song: Holy Ghost - Messinian
Choreographer: Christopher Scott
I know there are going to be a lot of excited people after this performance, which features Cyrus cheating at a poker game that his fellow dancers don't take too well. The unique styles of each of these dancers brings something special to the stage, and it's really awesome to see them work the animation and hip hop into the routine, making pieces of it look as if it's happening in slow motion. It's really well done, and will probably be a highlight of the finale.

Dancers: Tiffany with All-Star Ade
Style: Contemporary
Song: The Power of Love - Celine Dion
Choreoprapher: Mandy Moore
I know a lot has been said about Eliana's versality, but Tiffany's no slouch either. Looking back at her performances, there are some really terrific characters that she brought to the stage, and she chooses this one as her favorite. It's a beautiful performance and one of my favorites of the All-Star pairings. Mary says she's done everything she could possibly do this season and then some.

To finish off the top five moments from the audition, the dancers from Dragon House take the stage and perform to Cryosleep - Cyberoptics. I wonder if any of those other guys regret leaving the competition now that Cyrus has made it so far.

The next special finale guest? Carly Rae Jepsen, performing her new single, "This Kiss." I'm an unapologetic pop music junkie so I can't say mean things about the girl who gave me "Call Me Maybe" but I also can't believe she's 26.

Dancers: Cyrus and All-Star tWitch
Style: Animation
Song: Like a Criminal - District 78
Choreographer: Christopher Scott
The only thing less surprising than Eliana choosing her performance with Alex is Cyrus, of course, choosing this routine with tWitch. And who can blame him? It was a kick ass routine the first time around, and now, amplified with the electricity of the finale? It's even better, and it earns a standing ovation from everyone in the room. Nigel tells him he stole the season with this performance, and that it's been an incredible journey. And then Nigel admits that he got my (aka, half of America's) tweet about how crazy he was to say he wasn't voting for him.

Dancers: Top 10 with All-Stars
Song: The Circle of Life (Remix) - District 78
Choreographers: Tabitha and Napolean
The final routine of Season 9 is the Top 10 taking the stage with the All-Stars in a "Circle of Life" themed performance complete with grasslands and Pride Rock. If the Lion King was a little less Broadway and a lot more funk, this is exactly what it would look like. It's an incredible performance, with bodies flying across the stage and perfectly choreographed steps with dozens of dancers in sync.

And then it's time to name America's Favorite Dancers. Every step has led up to this for Eliana, Tiffany, Cyrus and Chehon. Eliana and Tiffany face off first, and after watching a great recap of their journeys, Eliana is named America's Favorite Female Dancer while Tiffany is shuffled off the stage.

Even Eliana doesn't have a lot of time to celebrate though - the guys are still waiting to hear THEIR results. After their own recaps, Chehon and Cyrus stand in the spotlight to learn that America's Favorite Male Dancer is....Chehon!

So apparently America's Favorite Dancers are also Nigel's favorite dancers!

Eliana and Chehon, Season 9 champions of So You Think You Can Dance, are both well-deserving and talented contestants. So many steps have led to this moment for all four of the finalists, and one thing is for sure - regardless of the results, Eliana, Chehon, Tiffany and Cyrus are all destined for success in the world of dance.

(Image courtesy of FOX)