And I thought I could dance! (I can, btw)

Now, I don't want to brag, but I used to bust a move at many an Our Lady of Lourdes High School dance in the early '90s.

But I was nothing compared to what we saw last night, when the "So You Think You Can Dance" tour opened up at the Times Union Center in Albany!


You might know it as STYTCD for short or, if you're like I was about three months ago, you might not know it at all, but here's the jist:

Think of "American Idol" ... but instead of singing, they're dancing! (It's even produced by the same folks who bring us "AI.") Every week, someone gets kicked off the show until the winner is crowned and wins $250,000, and the top 10 finalists all go on tour.

This year's champ was Sabra Johnson, a tiny little thing who can dance like nobody you've ever seen before. "Wow! From nothing to all of this," she said right before she posed for a picture with me (at left) after the show.

Again, I never watched the first two seasons of the TV show, but it's one my my GF's favorite shows, and we spent several summer Wednesday and Thursday nights watching Sabra and her pals strut their stuff.

Hearing the tour was coming to the Capital District, I had to get us tickets and make it a happy b-day for her. Me? I was thinking of it the same way rich people take in a night of ballet at Lincoln Center ... except Avril Lavigne music was blaring and there was a pretty cool light show, complete with three disco balls.

This is third-runner up Lacey Schwimmer & me. Nice, huh?

In short, the SYTYCD kids did everything from the quick-step to samba, from contemporary to even popping and locking. Each of the 10 finalists (that's Sabra, Danny Tidwell, Neil Haskell, Lacey, Pasha Kovalev, Lauren Gottlieb, Dominic Sandoval, Sara Von Gillern, Kameron Bink and Jaimie Goowin) did a solo throughout the night, each teamed up for couples routines, and there were even several dances that included all 10 together.

Click above to watch Sara and Neil dance a lil' disco

After the show, my GF and I met all 10 of the finalists (except Danny) and she got each of the autographs on her program. She event met choreographer Jean-Marc Généreux and got him to sign it; I had no idea who this guy was, but she spotted him out of the 10,000 or so people in the arena!

The gang continues its tour throughout the northeast in places like Hartford, Long Island and Atlantic City. Not knowing what to expect going into it, I can say it was a pretty cool night out.

So ... you think you can dance???