TORONTO - A body in motion tends to stay in motion, as the saying goes, and the top four contestants of "So You Think You Can Dance Canada" are definitely evidence of that.
After nearly three months of gruelling, non-stop practising and performing on the hit CTV series, the competitors say they're looking forward to finally having a day off following Sunday's finale -- and then quickly returning to the dance studio.
"I can't wait to get back to class," Allie Bertram, a bubbly 18-year-old ballerina from Calgary, said in a conference call with reporters after the final performance episode this week in Toronto.
Miles Faber, another Calgary native who specializes in popping and boogaloo, plans on "training hard" once the show wraps up. "Train, train, train," said the 21-year-old.
"We don't get to train here," added 24-year-old Nico Archambault, a contemporary/hip-hop dancer from Longueuil, Que. "We learn choreography, we learn steps but we don't train our bodies and our technique, and we're missing that."
Natalli Reznik, a 29-year-old hip-hop and Latin dancer from Toronto, rounds out the field of finalists in the running for the $100,000 grand prize and a new car.
The winner is determined by viewers' votes.
This inaugural season of the show, which is hosted by MuchMusic VJ Leah Miller and is a spinoff of the hit U.S. version, has been a ratings success, averaging about 1.4 million total viewers each week, according to BBM Nielsen Media Research.
A series-high 1.5 million watched Wednesday's final performance episode in which Archambault and Bertram delivered a stirring duet that had judges/dance stars Tre Armstrong and Jean Marc Genereux in tears.
"When you're dancing you kind of almost pretend you're in your own little world just dancing by yourself," said Bertram, who was widely praised for her technique and big smile.
A total of 20 contestants performed sensational moves and grooves that were choreographed by world renowned talent and ranged from tango to ballet to krumping.
Alternating in the third spot on the judging panel were hip-hop guru Luther Brown and choreographer Blake McGrath. Guest judges included ballet star Rex Harrington and Mary Murphy, the enthusiastic judge from the U.S. version.
No one in the Top 4 would predict who might win the contest, saying it was a battle against themselves.
"Canada is only going to like you for the best that you are, the best that you can be," said Faber.
"You're there for yourself," added Reznik, who wowed audiences with her pasa doble on Wednesday.
"You're there to learn, you're there to meet choreographers and dance with amazing dancers, and whatever will happen will happen."
