Take a Bow, Rihanna

Since my cousin, Liz, and I got tickets to the So You Think You Can Dance Finale (SYTYCD), we decided we had better go.I have always wanted to be a part of a reality show ending. These episodes seem to have a unique thrill of celebrating a contestant's win as confetti embraces the audience. It's an interesting phenomena. 

Before we left, I contacted one of my favorite blogger for advice. (Her blog focuses on various filming locations for TV and movies.My favorite post of is when she received the opportunity to be part of the background on The Hills).With her nice response, she encouraged us to wake up early and wait around all day.

After a few thoughtful conversations, my cousin and I embarked mid-morning to get in line.  After a normal El Lay drive, aka traffic monster,  we arrived near the CBS Studios just before noon. We parked in a mall nearby and walked around the long block to where the SYTYCD line was forming. There were only 4 people in line so we decided to venture off for lunch at the Cheesecake Factory.

Have I ever told how much I enjoy the Cheesecake Factory?  Sure almost every item on the menu is bad for you, BUT every morsel of their food is so tasty--minus the cheesecake blech. Their motto should be "Whatever you order, it is guaranteed to be AMAZING!"  

One semi-sweet  moment was that we happened to end up at a table where it was our waiter's first day. It ended up being one of the longest lunches I have ever had!  Once our checks came, our waiter mistakenly charged too much. We noticed it and mentioned it to him, and about a half hour later the total was fully corrected. Much of this time was due to having a managers first day as well, and they had to learn how to issue a refund together.

After a crazy good lunch we took a walk back to the CBS studios, past the signs for the Price is Right, and Betty White's hit, Hot in Cleveland. When we got into the line we ended up being the 15th person in line.To keep ourselves occupied, Liz had brought a mock up book titled "Putting Christ in Christmas."   The book helped us become temporary friends with the people next to us for the next few hours. The friendly Dad from San Diego looked at the title, and asked where I fellow-shipped. We then enjoyed a conversation about Christ, the holiday season, and the fact that SYTYCD is a decent family show.

After a few hours of waiting in line, moving through security and more waiting,  we were ushered into the studio!  Once in, I shuffled, danced, and sang to top 40 songs while we waited for everyone to be placed according to height and looks. Then many "aha moments" took place:

• Turns out all the young people (50 of 'em) in front of the stage are from various dance studios in Los Angeles. 
• The stage is about half the length and width of a high school auditorium stage. 
• The studio is not fond of tall people. We were moved from a pretty close spot, to the end of the audience.  Then we were told to stand against the bleachers where the choreographers sit. With only a few feet away, I waved to Travis and Nappytabs.   We were then given permission to be seat fillers.  The show had started and we were rushed to sit in in the bleachers between Lauren and Kent's family. PRIME spot!  After a few minutes, additional family members arrived and we were ushered down to the audience floor in the very back. 
• Cat Deeley: Tall, great energy, genuine, and 100% my favorite host!  Stood behind me for a bit.
• Nigel Lythgoe loves to have total control on his show. Before the little tapper danced, he told us not to cheer because it messes him up. It was somewhat awkward when he later tried to get us to cheer for him. Perhaps he forgot what he had mentioned to us???
• Once Lauren was the winner, someone opened her Gatorade bottle and in typical sports celebration, gave her a shower. Once the show wrapped, we all chanted, "Lauren! Lauren!" It was quite fun!
• I really enjoyed seeing the opening number with all the contestants. My favorite routines happened to be the Travis Wall routines, specifically the following one. I love the haunting melody, the intense story of betrayal, and it the high flying talents of the dancers.

Clip of How it Ends:

I really loved being apart of one of my favorite tv shows, not to mention the finale.  Now I just need to find my bucket list so I can cross off attending a reality show!