JEANINE MASON WINS "SO YOU THINK YOU CAN DANCE"

This article appeared in LaToya's Reality TV Blog on About.com

Thursday August 6, 2009

So You Think You Can Dance has crowned its fifth winner!

Jeanine Mason, 18, waltzed away with the $250,000 prize and the title of America's Favorite Dancer on Thursday night. Jeanine's win came at the end of a fabulous finale, which featured encores of some of the judges' favorite performances from season five -- including the memorable addiction number choreographed by Mia Michaels and the touching breast cancer-themed routine choreographed by Tyce Diorio.

But the hot dance numbers weren't the only exciting part of the show. The eliminations also kept us glued to the screen.

First to go was Kayla Radomski, who said she would miss working with the choreographers the most. Next, it was Evan Kaspraz's turn to get the bad news. "This has been an absolutely amazing journey," he said. "I never thought that when I auditioned in Memphis with my brother that I would be standing here."

In the end, it came down to Brandon Bryant and Jeanine Mason. When Kat Deeley announced that Jeanine was the season five winner, the newly crowned winner was emotional. "I never thought that auditioning for the show would lead me to such amazing people," she said. When Kat asked Jeanine what she wanted to say to her mother, Jeanine replied "I don't know what it was that led you to push me mom, but thank you mom, whatever that was."

So with Jeanine Mason's win, another season of So You Think You Can Dance is officially over. But we won't have to wait too long for more dancing fun -- the show's sixth season premieres September 2.