What a long strange trip it's been for Ashleigh Di Lello on
So You Think You Can Dance, from Top 20 reject to finalist, but she certainly didn't do it all on her own. I hate to sound so harsh, because I've enjoyed watching Ashleigh's journey and growth as a dancer. If she'd
been able to step on the stage and dance during the Top 8, there's no doubt in my mind the dancer we would have witnessed would have been 100 percent different than the dancer we first saw in Salt Lake City.
But she didn't. Instead, much like how she first made it into the Top 20, Ashleigh Di Lello made it into the finale on a technicality or by the grace of the producers.
As much as Ashleigh has grown on
So You Think You Can Dance, I unfortunately think her journey will be characterized thusly:
-Ashleigh Di Lello only made it into the Top 20 because Paula Van Oppen refused her spot
-Ashleigh Di Lello made it into the Top 10 on the strength and popularity of her partner, Jakob Karr
-Ashleigh Di Lello made it into the finale on sympathy
And the person I feel worst for with this easy summation isn't the eliminated Mollee Gray, but Ashleigh herself. Week after week Ashleigh proved she wanted to prove she belonged in the Top 20. It was clear during the Top 8 performance it was killing her to be unable to dance and that if she could just distract Cat Deeley long enough to tie up Shane Sparks and Nakul's assistants, she would have snuck on stage to perform.
Unfortunately, that's not how it played out and instead she made the season's most important milestones on technicalities and not just her dancing. That can't sit well for a fighter like Ashleigh and it certainly doesn't sit well with me or the 40 percent of you who said the Di Lello's should have been eliminated last night.
No matter how well Ashleigh dances in the finale, a spectre will be hanging over her placement there, just as it did her placement in the Top 20. But I wouldn't worry too much Anti-Ashleighers, she won't be crowned America's Favorite Dancer. That battle seems to be squarely between Russell and Jakob now, with a Kathryn surprise win on the rise.