Watching Ricky Ubeda dance Tuesday night at The Hanover Theatre for the Performing Arts in Worcester, it was absolutely clear why he won season 11 of the Fox televised dance competition, "So You Think You Can Dance." Performing near the end of a more than two-hour show, his sole solo performance of the evening was absolutely spellbinding: His presence was palpable, and each movement was infused with a steely commitment. Everything had purpose. You could feel it.

It was no wonder the performance garnered a standing ovation from the packed house, bringing Ubeda visibly to tears. It was a crescendo in what had already been an exhilarating evening of dance, with the top 10 finalists from this past season of "SYTYCD" taking the stage and bringing the routines from the small screen to life.

In addition to Ubeda, the performance featured finalists Bridget Whitman, Casey Askew, Emilio Dosal, Jacque LeWarne, Jessica Richens, Rudy Abreu, Tanisha Belnap, Valerie Rockey and Zack Everhart, along with lower-scoring contestants Carly Blaney, Teddy Coffey, Emily James and Marcquet Hill, mostly assisting during group numbers.

It actually seems a little odd to separate out the "swing" dancers from the top 10 finalists: For the most part, their performances were no less integral to the show than any other's, and Hill's hip-hop routine with Richens to Cajmere's "U Got Me Up" was a definite highlight. (Hill's part was originally danced on the show by former contestant tWitch Boss.)

This group worked best as an ensemble, which was immediately evident from the opening number: A jazz routine featuring the entire group dancing to "Dr. Jazz," from the Broadway musical "Jelly's Last Jam." It was tight and exciting, the group decked out in tuxedos, each one having a moment to display his or her specialty. The energy was loose and upbeat, and there was a distinct feeling the group was having fun on stage, and that sense was contagious.

There's an inclination to try to compare what you're seeing on stage to what you saw on television. When Dosal reprises his "pharaoh's tomb" hip-hop routine, it's hard to forget that the magnificent former contestant Jasmine Harper was his partner on the show, rather than Belnap, who filled the role Tuesday. But that's a self-defeating way to watch the show: This is the sort of performance that demands you lose yourself in it, and if you can push the TV reception out of your head, it's easy to do that. (Although intermittent video projections featuring the show's judges and choreographers made things more difficult. They were probably there to give the dancers time to change, but they interrupted the show's energy. Really, anything that wasn't dancing was a distraction.)

Belnap filled Harper's role admirably, and, indeed, was really one of the surprise standouts of the show. The ballroom dancer seemed to be in more routines than most of the performers and stood out for bringing a more mature feel to the evening. While youth and energy were constant strengths throughout the show, Belnap's ability to convey steaminess as well as a more adult sense of loss was well-appreciated.

Still, if you were a fan of the show, it was impossible to completely push it out of your head, especially when you saw the double staircase being pushed on to stage: You knew tap dancers Rockey and Everhart were going to reprise their breathtaking tap routine to Ed Sheeran's "Sing," which had the pair not only performing intricate steps quickly and precisely, but also while dancing up and down the stairs, sometimes backward. On TV, it looks impressive. Live, it looks downright perilous. It was hard not fear for them, but they pulled it off without a hitch. The applause was thunderous.

The second half the show began with an intricate hip-hop number that had the cast done up as chess pieces and dancing to District 78, an impressive spectacle that, like the first half's opener, allowed each dancer a moment to shine. That said, while all of the hip-hop numbers were good, they were the ones that made it most clear which dancers were most comfortable in that element. Hip-hop dancer Dosal and contemporary dancer Whitman's routine was laden with swagger, and the pair maintained a solid groove, maintaining a feeling of authenticity. Likewise, Ubeda and Everhart's routine to "The Antidote," by Two Kings," gave a nice roughness to the otherwise exceptionally polished performances.

The evening was filled with exceptional and memorable performances, and it's impossible to single them all out: Everhart and Richens' scorching tango to "Hernando's Hideaway," Ubeda and Rockey's wonderful Fred and Ginger tribute, the male dancers' powerful recreation of choreographer Travis Wall's forceful "Wave," Abreu's solo performance, where he ripped off his T-shirt and threw it to the crowd, making some teenage girl's night just that much better. It was a demanding show, and the ensemble put everything they had into it.

Following Ubeda's solo performance, the night ended with the entire ensemble done up as cheerleaders and performing to Taylor Swift's "Shake it Off." It was a youthful note to end on, and again, it both played to the group's strengths and re-enforced the sense of fun that had percolated even through the more serious pieces. The crowd rewarded the dancers with the second standing ovation of the night. And it was utterly well-deserved.

Email Victor D. Infante at Victor.Infante@Telegram.com and follow him on Twitter @ocvictor.