The final competitive show on the fourth season of Fox TV’s “So You Think You Can Dance” was not the predictable love-in of year’s past. Wednesday night was the last time Courtney Galiano, Twitch (Stephen Laurel Boss), Katee Shean and Joshua Allen danced competitively and the judges left voters with a laundry list of the top four’s technical shortcomings. 

Courtney took the brunt of critiques, beginning with flashback footage of an audition in which choreographer Tyce Diorio commented on her lack of foot and leg extension. 

After Courtney’s solo, guest judge Mandy Moore — not to be confused with the pop singer and actress — told a teary Courtney to get into a dance class and work on defining her lines, while judge Nigel Lythgoe harped on her for not finishing every move after she danced a Diorio-choreographed Broadway routine

During Courtney’s jive number with Joshua, Lythgoe reprimanded the exhausted pair for a lack of energy and double bounce saying, “It was tough on you? Tough! Be better every single time.”

Even the highly-praised Katee was not immune as Moore encouraged her to continue taking ballet classes in order to work on her feet and artistry.

However, the absence of technique lead to a shower of superlatives for the top two guys as Lythgoe praised the hip-hop finalists for being an inspiration to untrained dancers everywhere. 

After performing a haunting Wade Robson contemporary routine with Katee, Lythgoe said Joshua had set a new standard on the show for street competitors, adding that America got it right when voters cast off Debbie Allen’s protégé Will Wingfield.

So the question now, for voters on the TV talent show is whether the final technique critiques will hurt the ladies’ chances of becoming “America’s Favorite Dancer” or can a lack of training work in favor for the top-two guys?

Millions of voters will have their say and on Thursday’s season finale, the results show.

(Reporting and writing by Ashleigh Patterson)