Archive for November, 2009
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Finalists Channing Cooke and Kevin Hunte were Eliminated
Host Cat Deeley with Channing and Kevin
Finalists Channing Cooke and Kevin Hunte were eliminated tonight on SO YOU THINK YOU CAN DANCE. Cooke, 18, is a Contemporary dancer from Haverhill, MA; and Hunte, 23, is a Hip Hop dancer from Brooklyn, NY. This week’s results show also featured special performances by Australian guitarist Orianthi and dancers from NDM Bollywood Dance Productions.
The three couples who received the fewest votes after Tuesday’s performance show were: Karen Hauer and Kevin Hunte; Channing Cooke and Victor Smalley; and Mollee Gray and Nathan Trasoras. After each of these six dancers performed solo routines, the judges eliminated Cooke and Hunte.
The competition continues on television’s most original dance show Tuesday, Nov. 24 (8:00-10:00 PM ET/PT) on FOX when the remaining 12 finalists (Ashleigh Di Lello, Ryan Di Lello, Russell Ferguson, Mollee Gray, Karen Hauer, Jakob Karr, Noelle Marsh, Kathryn McCormick, Legacy Perez, Ellenore Scott, Victor Smalley and Nathan Trasoras) compete as couples once again.
The following night, Grammy Award winner Shakira will perform her latest hit, “Give It Up To Me,” before the judges send two more dancers home on the live results show Wednesday, Nov. 25 (8:00-9:00 PM ET live/PT tape-delayed).
One of the few truly global superstars of our time, Shakira is extending her reach with her eighth studio album, “She Wolf.” The daring, innovative project is the long-awaited follow-up to 2005’s groundbreaking one-two punch comprised of “Fijación Oral Vol. 1” and “Oral Fixation Vol. 2,” a pair of albums that combined to sell over 12 million copies worldwide and secured the young Colombian-born singer’s place among pop-music royalty. On the heels of its widely successful international debut, Epic Records recording artist Shakira is set to release a special U.S.-only edition of her third English-language studio album, “She Wolf,” on November 23. The special U.S. edition of “She Wolf” will include bonus tracks such as “Give It Up to Me” (produced by Timbaland ft. Lil Wayne) and “Did It Again” (ft. Kid Cudi), as well as exclusive live performances, that are available for the first time anywhere all on one disc. The international release of “She Wolf” has already become an instant success occupying the No. 1 spot in 18 countries and selling 1.5 million albums to-date. Over the course of her career, Grammy winner Shakira has sold close to 50 million albums. Her collaborations with such stars as Beyoncé and Alejandro Sanz have helped keep her audience expanding continually. She is the only artist from South America to have a No. 1 song in the U.S., and her performance was a highlight of the concert celebrating President Obama’s inauguration. She has four of the 20 top-selling hits of the decade – more than any other artist – and that includes 2006’s unforgettable “Hips Don’t Lie,” the biggest-selling single of the 21st century, which reached the No. 1 spot in an astonishing 55 countries.
Dance fans can still flex their judging skills and critique the dancers’ performances now through Tuesday, Dec. 15 on the SO YOU THINK YOU CAN DANCE Judge-Along Live at http://dancefans.fox.com.
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Pauline and Peter Discuss Time as Finalists on SYTYCD
When it was time for America to vote for their favorite dancers, Pauline Mata and Peter Sabasino found themselves in the bottom three couples and were ultimately sent home. The morning after their elimination, Peter and Pauline opened up about performing their solos, dancing the dreaded Quickstep, and their plans for the future.
After all three tap dancers were sent home in two weeks, people are beginning to wonder if 30 seconds is ample enough time to perform a solo, especially in the tap genre. Peter feels that 30 seconds is a short time to show all of your best moves without coming across as desperate, so he suggested 45 seconds to one minute as a more practical length for solos.
On the performance show, Peter revealed that he volunteers with SPIN (Special People in the Northeast), and organization that helps people with disabilities get jobs. Every year they put on a talent show and Peter goes there two to three times a week to teach them a dance and rehearse with them. “I absolutely love it and they put on an amazing show,” Peter said. “It’s just so great, because every time I go in there, I’m always greeted with a smile and a hug. It’s a really good feeling and I love it.”
Season 6 was the first season with tap dancers in the Top 20, and with all three eliminated in the last two weeks, is So You Think You Can Dance the right venue for tappers? Peter sure thinks so. “I definitely thing So You Think You Can Dance needs more of it. I’m just proud that the three of us, Bianca, Phillip and myself, got to represent tap the way that it needed to be represented.” He also doesn’t think that the early elimination of tap dancers this season should discourage tappers from auditioning for the show in the future. “I definitely hope that I inspired tappers to audition for the show because if I can make it, any other tapper can make it. All it takes is a little bit of belief in yourself.”
Last week, Phillip mentioned that he’d like to see tap as a style that dancers can pick from the hat on the show. Peter agrees. “I think it would be nice if maybe one season attempted to have the other dancers learn tap. I understand where the judges are coming from when they say that you can’t teach everyone to tap in the amount of time that we have. But, I believe that you can teach somebody to do a Time Step or you can teach somebody to do a Maxie Ford in the amount of time that we have. So I think dancers that are tap dancers are at a little bit of an unfair disadvantage, but at the same time, you have to look at it from where the judges are coming from also.”
Season after season, the Quickstep has been known as the “kiss of death” on SYTYCD, but drawing the style didn’t discourage Peter. “I was actually really excited when I got the Quickstep because it was a new style of dance that I’ve never learned how to do. I know that it’s called the ‘kiss of death,’ but when you go into it, you really can’t look at it like that. You just have to look at it as it’s a new style of dance that I’ve never done before and I just have to really try in the amount of time that I have to master that and to give them the finished product that they need to make it look good.”
As for now, Peter is keeping his options open on what he’s going to do next. “I’m just going to keep my options open because I don’t want to commit to one thing and overlook other opportunities that are going to come to me, because I think that would be unfair to myself.” That doesn’t mean Peter hasn’t thought ahead. He’s decided, “One thing that I would love to do is maybe start my own tap show because I feel as though there aren’t any shows anymore that are primarily tap based…I would like to definitely start my own tap show.”
Pauline has been on a roller coaster ride this season. After being cut at the end of Season 5 auditions, Pauline came back for Season 6 auditions. On the last day of auditions, Pauline sprained her ankle and ended up on crutches. “I actually thought that I was going to get cut and I didn’t think they would take me,” Pauline stated. “When they did, that was like another shock. So then I had Billy as a partner, and then having him gone was stressful. But when I found out who the replacement was, I was actually excited because I actually knew [Brandon Dumlao] from the previous season and this past season. And then having him gone and then having Peter come in and step in as a partner, it was…stressful.” Despite the ups and downs, Pauline remains optimistic. “Things happen for a reason and God has his plan for everyone.”
Pauline was a little nervous heading into Wednesday’s results show. “It’s hard for the audience and America to relate to the Quickstep and in the past seasons, every Quickstep that I’ve seen has either landed in the bottom…It was a shocker to both of us because it wasn’t a train wreck like Mary said. It’s kind of hard to relate to people with the Quickstep because if they’ve never done the Quickstep, then they don’t really know how hard it is to do it.” Despite it being a difficult style, Pauline had fun with it. “Coming into the rehearsal, our choreographer started teaching us and it wasn’t bad at all. The whole movement was just really fun and just really energetic. I didn’t feel like there’s one dull moment in that rehearsal, but I did feel some sort of dread in it, some sort of like, ‘Oh, no, this is the Quickstep. This is what everyone doesn’t want to draw out of the hat.’”
In the weeks that Pauline has been on the show, she’s grown a lot as a dancer and as a person. She explained, “I would say that I’ve grown in many different areas. I’ve opened my arms so big that I’ve actually grown in my dancing because there’s no such thing as a perfect dancer. And you can always grow no matter what happens. I think just being here for the month that I’ve been here, I’ve just grown so much as a person and as a dancer, just learning new styles, trying new things and at the same time meeting new people and finding out who I really am from this.”
During the Top 18 week, Pauline got to dance in her style, jazz, to a Wade Robson piece. “I think that one was actually my favorite dance that I did while I was on this experience. It was so creative and the concept was so good…Just working with Wade, it was considered jazz, but I don’t think jazz. If I would have to put a card in the hat, it would be ‘Wade’ because Wade’s choreography and Wade’s style has no actual name for it. I would call it Wade because he’s just so different and his stuff is very unique.”
When Pauline was asked what lesson she learned by being on the show that people that aren’t on the show wouldn’t know, she quoted the producer saying, “‘You can’t expect what is expected.’ So basically you can’t expect anything because everything is going to twist and turn and be really shocking in the end.” Pauline thinking she was going to be eliminated after injuring her ankle is an example of that.”
What’s next for Miss Mata? “I’m going to go back and teach at the studio that I grew up at, so that should be fun…I want to tour teaching in other countries and around the U.S.” While on So You Think You Can Dance, Pauline found a new interest. “I was working with wardrobe and they were putting stuff on me. I’ve always had this fashion sense in me that I wanted to be a fashion designer…I can get into that industry and be creative with the costumes because it was really fun.” Well, whatever the pint-sized jazz dancer decides to do, we’re sure she’ll excel!
Congrats to Peter Sabasino and Pauline Mata on their journey! Learn more about them and the remaining contestants in the Top 20 contestants section.
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Notes From the Season 5 Tour at the Nokia Theater in Los Angeles
So You Think You Can Dance Season 5 Tour
The Top 10 dancers plus Phillip Chbeeb and Caitlin Kinney have been touring across the country for the past couple months. With two weeks left on the tour, the dancers traveled to Los Angeles to perform at the Nokia Theatre. It was like a family reunion to see the dancers that graced our television sets all summer long back on stage and performing together.
Throughout the night, the dancers each performed a solo, recreated some of the most memorable partner dances of the season, and participated in skits. The night started with a lot of energy – a new group number, dancer introductions, the fastest disco in SYTYCD history by Janette Manrara and Brandon Bryant, “Mad” hip hop from Jeanine Mason and Phillip, the infamous “butt” dance with Randi Evans and Evan Kasprzak, a solo from Janette, and Broadway from Jason Glover and Kayla Radomski. Next came the first classical pas de deux on SYTYCD recreated by Melissa Sandvig and Ade Obayomi. After Kupono Aweau showed off his quirky style in his solo, we saw a dance from the first episode of the season – Bollywood with Caitlin and Jason. Evan channeled old Broadway dancing in his solo, and then three “Supergirls” took the stage: Jeanine, Kayla, and Melissa. Edgy vampires in the form of Kayla and Kupono performed together, and then Caitlin danced a solo. Ade’s afro pick hypnotized businesswoman Janette into a hip hop trance, Kayla reprised her “Blackbird” solo from auditions, and Evan and Melissa had a Broadway wedding. Jason danced a solo and then Jeanine and Brandon battled it out to “Battlefield.”
Since the show was in L.A., the Top 16 dancers on Season 6 were in town and in the audience. They were invited up on stage and the audience cheered them on. It was amazing to think that in just a few months, ten of these dancers would be treating us to their best dances from the fall season. After the Season 6 dancers left the stage, the Top 12 performed the “Calle Ocho” group dance complete with table dancing and splashing water. It was such a hot number, everyone needed an intermission break after that piece.
Back from intermission, the dancers performed a Broadway group routine with mirrors, Janette and Brandon robbed a bank, and zombie Jason attacked Kayla with his hip hop moves of horror. Randi performed a solo, Kayla and Brandon performed their Broadway number from the finale episode, and Phillip’s solo had the majority of the audience leap to their feet for a standing ovation. Then, the Top 3 boys danced their oompa loompa jazz routine. Next, Melissa performed a ballet solo and her 200 friends and family members in her hometown audience held up signs for her.
Throughout the night, there was a hilarious skit involving Jeanine, Phillip, and Russian Folk dance. It all came to fruition when the Top 12 danced a Russian Folk group number that proved that Russian Folk is a serious style of dance.
Brandon’s powerful solo called for another standing ovation from his many fans. The night took an emotional turn with “Addiction” performed brilliantly and hauntingly by Kayla and Kupono and “The Necklace” danced with so much chemistry by Jeanine and Jason. Season 5 partners Brandon and Janette performed the Cha Cha and then America’s Favorite Dancer performed her amazing solo from the Season 5 finale. The room got quiet and emotional for Ade and Melissa’s moving tribute to breast cancer. During Jeanine and Brandon’s Matrix paso doble, Jeanine’s dress got caught on her heel and her skirt slipped down below her behind. Despite flashing the audience, Jeanine recovered and moved on like the pro that she is.
The night ended with a final Broadway group number, and thousands of fans left with smiles on their face. If you haven’t seen the Season 5 Top 10 on tour yet, you have until November 21, 2009 to check it out. View the remaining shows and buy tickets here.
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Finalists Pauline Mata and Peter Sabasino were eliminated tonight.
Finalists Pauline Mata and Peter Sabasino were eliminated tonight on SO YOU THINK YOU CAN DANCE. Mata, 19, is a Jazz dancer from West Covina, CA, and Sabasino, 22, is a Tap dancer from Philadelphia, PA. This week’s results show also featured special performances by members of the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater.
The three couples who received the fewest votes after Tuesday’s performance show were: Ellenore Scott and Ryan Di Lello; Pauline Mata and Peter Sabasino; and Karen Hauer and Kevin Hunte. After each of these six dancers performed solo routines, the judges eliminated Mata and Sabasino.
The competition continues on Tuesday, Nov. 17 (8:00-10:00 PM ET/PT) on FOX when the remaining 14 finalists (Channing Cooke, Ashleigh Di Lello, Ryan Di Lello, Russell Ferguson, Mollee Gray, Karen Hauer, Kevin Hunte, Jakob Karr, Noelle Marsh, Kathryn McCormick, Legacy Perez, Ellenore Scott, Victor Smalley and Nathan Trasoras) compete as couples once again.
The following night, Australian guitarist Orianthi will perform her hit, “According To You,” and dancers from NDM Bollywood Dance Productions will take the stage before the judges send two more dancers home on the live results show Wednesday, Nov. 18 (8:00-9:00 PM ET live/PT tape-delayed)
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People’s Choice Awards Nomination for So You Think You Can Dance
Yesterday, So You Think You Can Dance host Cat Deeley helped announced the official nominations for the 2010 People’s Choice Awards at the SLS Hotel in Beverly Hills, CA.
So You Think You Can Dance received a nomination for “Favorite Competition Show.” Since it’s the people’s choice, YOU get to vote! Click here and scroll down to vote for the 2010 Awards. You can vote as many times as you’d like, so vote for So You Think You Can Dance from now until December 8, 2009 when polls close.
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Dizzy Feet Gala Event in Los Angeles
The Dizzy Feet Foundation is having a Gala event in Los Angeles at the Kodak Theatre on 11/29!
There will be performances from SO YOU THINK YOU CAN DANCE, STEP UP 1,2 & 3D, as well as performances by the first recipients of Dizzy Feet scholarships from Juilliard, Alvin Ailey and American Ballet Theatre.
It’s going to be a CELEBRATION OF DANCE to NOT be missed!! Tickets on Ticketmaster and available at dizzyfeetfoundation.org
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Inteviews with Tap Dancers Bianca and Phillip
Bianca Revels and Phillip Attmore made So You Think You Can Dance history as the first tap dancers to make the Top 20, along with Peter Sabasino. The morning after their elimination, Bianca and Phillip discussed what it was like to be a tapper in the competition, their future plans, and more.
Bianca first discovered tap when she was just three years old. “My mom used to play old-school music when she’d clean the house and I would dance around and had no rhythm at all,” Bianca reminisced. “So she was like, ‘Oh no! We have to put you in dance class.’ So she put me in a dance class and out of all of the genres that I’ve studied, tap was my main love and my first love.”
Third time was a charm for Bianca, who auditioned for Seasons 4, 5, and 6. After auditioning last season, Bianca vowed that she would not try-out again. So what made Bianca give it another go? “Over the years of trying, every year I noticed that I grew not only as a dancer, but as a person and, like I always say, they never had a tapper on the show and I was really the first one to bring a wide exposure to it. So I figure why would I just open the door and not walk through it? So I wanted to make sure that I at least made it to the Top 20 and inspired someone to get up and dance, or to show them what tap is really all about.” Bianca said learning different dances wasn’t hard for her, but finding the stamina to tackle dance after dance was difficult. The SYTYCD experience allowed Bianca to develop endurance and stamina.
Due to Major League Baseball’s World Series, America wasn’t able to vote for their favorite dancer during the first two weeks of the competition. Although Bianca would have liked to see what America thought of the tap dancers on the show, she said, “I feel like God had me on this show for the amount of time that he wanted me there and maybe I’m meant to do other things and this is just a beautiful foundation.”
After an amazing contemporary performance week one, Bianca and her partner, Victor Smalley, pulled Broadway out of the hat and danced a southern-style church praise dance. Bianca mentioned that a praise dance can look sloppy if not executed well. However, she thinks they lived up to the challenge. “We gave 110% and that’s all I was concerned about. I don’t like walking off stage with regrets, and I didn’t.” Bianca uses the comments and critiques for her own benefit. “Every critique that I’ve been given over the years, I take it to heart…that’s one thing I will say about the So You Think You Can Dance judges, is that they really do care about our well being…our development as people and as dancers. So every critique that I was given about my speed, about going the extra distance, I will take to heart and apply it and move forward.”
A Detroit native, Bianca has recently moved to Los Angeles (which was shown on the Top 20 show). “I want to get into movies. I also act and I model, so I definitely want to get into movies and a lot of print work and…just keep on pushing and keep on moving.” She said she hopes to be like her entertainment idol, Halle Berry.
Like Bianca, Phillip Attmore discovered a love for dance at three years old. “I don’t remember the first time that I saw Singin’ in the Rain, but I used to watch that over and over and over again,” Phillip said. “Gene Kelly is one of my heroes, and Fred Astaire, and Gregory Hines, and Sammy Davis, Jr. Those four, in particular, had a huge impact on my life. I remember stepping into a tap class and saw that that’s exactly what people were doing from what I saw on the screen and from there I fell in love. I took other styles of dance as well. I took singing lessons and I just decided then and there that I wanted to be a performer - at the age of three!”
People have been wondering if it’s hard for a tap dancer to prove themselves in a 30 second solo. Phillip shared his point of view: “It’s not actually that hard to convey what you’re trying to do. I mean my style in particular is very much a fusion between like theatrical jazz dancing and like rhythm tap. I take a little bit of Gene, a little bit of Gregory, and splice different things together, the best of different things so that I can create an art in 30 seconds that’s really a mini piece. I like to create an art, not just do tricks and stuff like that, but create a mini piece.”
When it came time for the judges to reveal their decision, Nigel Lythgoe voiced that he was not happy about cutting Phillip. After the show, Nigel approached Phillip. “Nigel came up to me. He said he was sorry for my loss. I don’t know that he and the judges knew that I had lost my father. And yes, he said it was really hard to let us go, so he expressed that as well, which was really a nice exchange before I left, you know, to be able to thank him,” Phillip said.
For both weeks of the competition, Phillip and his partner, Channing Cooke, had to dance in the ballroom genre. “I’m not a ballroom dancer, and in three days I had to learn 30 years worth of partnering. I actually am stronger and I have studied extensively in contemporary and hip-hop and other styles other than ballroom, so I would have loved to have had contemporary, or hip-hop or something else other than a ballroom style two times in a row.” After having to learn a classical competitive samba, Phillip said that if he is required to learn that technical of a dance, other dancers could pull-off learning a tap routine.”
During the Top 20 week, Phillip revealed that he writes and performs spoken-word poetry. Phillip is playing with the idea of taking a break from dance to pursue some other dreams. “I’m a writer as well and something that I’ve always wanted to do is publish a book, and I do have something prepared. My next step is just getting it out to literary agents and publishing companies.” Having danced in squatter camps in South Africa, Phillip stated, “I’m quite passionate about traveling the world and seeing my poetry reach people around the world, in addition to dancing…Then I can always go to New York and audition for the next Broadway show. You know, that’s sort of my background, but publishing is what I’d really like to pursue.” A while back, Phillip performed in a cabaret show in Paris and is interested in performing tap with poetry in the future. “I think that a lot of my writing in the last few years, and especially now with an even deeper arc with my father’s passing, I think there’s going to be a lot that’s going to fuel me to produce a show with not only dancing and poetry for entertainment, but with heart value as well.”
After a roller-coaster few weeks on SYTYCD, Phillip said, “I’ve left this show with 19 other incredibly gifted friends that I will always support and always vote for as long as the show is running. I’m just looking up. I’m looking forward with hope and with an expectation that God’s going to do great things in my life.”
We wish our history-making tap dancers all the best on their next endeavors. Learn more about Phillip and Bianca and the rest of the finalists in the Top 20 contestants section.
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Bianca Revels and Phillip Attmore Were Eliminated
Finalists Bianca Revels and Phillip Attmore were eliminated by the judges tonight on the hit series SO YOU THINK YOU CAN DANCE. Revels, 20, is a Tap dancer from Detroit, MI, and Attmore, 25, is a Tap dancer from Pasadena, CA. After their first performances, the judges asked four finalists – Phillip Attmore, Noelle Marsh, Bianca Revels and Victor Smalley – to perform a solo routine and then eliminated Revels and Attmore.
The competition continues on television’s most original dance show Tuesday, Nov. 10 (8:00-10:00 PM ET/PT) on FOX when the remaining 16 finalists (Channing Cooke, Ashleigh Di Lello, Ryan Di Lello, Russell Ferguson, Mollee Gray, Karen Hauer, Kevin Hunte, Jakob Karr, Noelle Marsh, Pauline Mata, Kathryn McCormick, Legacy Perez, Peter Sabasino, Ellenore Scott, Victor Smalley and Nathan Trasoras) compete as couples once again.
Beginning next week, the phone lines will open after each Tuesday performance show, and the fate of the finalists – one of whom will be named America’s Favorite Dancer – will be left up to the voting fans.
Then tune in Wednesday, Nov. 11 (8:00-9:00 PM ET live/PT tape-delayed) when the three couples with the lowest number of votes will be announced on the first live results show. The six contestants comprising the bottom three couples are given a chance to perform solo routines in the hopes of convincing the judges to keep them in the competition. The judges then decide which dancers stay and which two are sent home. In the event that a couple is split apart, the two individual dancers who remain become a couple the following week.
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So You Think You Can Dance Tour 2009 Widget
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Ariana and Brandon Talk about the Top 20
The morning after Brandon Dumlao and Ariana Debose were eliminated from So You Think You Can Dance, they opened up about their experiences and hopes for the future on a press call.
There’s only one word Brandon Dumlao can use to some up his So You Think You Can Dance Season 6 experience: whirlwind. Last Friday at 11AM, Brandon got the call that he was selected to replace an ill Billy Bell. Two hours later he was on a plane, and one hour after that he went to the studio and found out his good friend Pauline Mata was his partner. He headed straight to the studio to meet with choreographer Jason Gilkison and tried to make up for lost time. “It was such a whirlwind. It was really crazy, but it was such an amazing experience,” Brandon said.
When Brandon found out he would be dancing the smooth waltz this week, he was nervous. As a hip hop dancer, Brandon had never danced a smooth waltz before, but he “was really comfortable to do it with Pauline because we were partners in Cha Cha for Vegas this season.” That wasn’t the start of Brandon and Pauline’s friendship. They both made it to the green mile episode during Season 5 and they’re both Filipino, so they’ve always had a bond. “She’s a really sick dancer. She’s not just a jazz dancer, but she really knows how to do hip hop. I really feel like she’s Top 10 material…I really love her. She’s such a good dancer. I was really excited to be her partner.”
The smooth waltz may have made Brandon nervous, but he is grateful for getting that style. “I’m really happy I got to learn a new style and show America that I can do another style, so I’m really happy with my adventure so far. Hopefully, it continues with this show next season.”
Brandon is optimistic about how everything played out. “This cast was amazing. Billy was such big shoes to fill that I felt it was unfair to even take another guy’s spot. So, I was happy the way it turned out because I didn’t think it was fair for me to come in and take another guy’s spot because everyone earned it. I want to earn it myself, so I really hope that, for Season 7, they let me come back so I can prove it myself.”
In case Fox and Nigel work out the rules so that Brandon is eligible for Season 8, he’s getting prepared. “Right after I got cut, I went and got into a ballroom class and took some more hip hop. I’m ready.”
Although Brandon’s time in the Top 20 was short, it was well worth it. “I just want to let everyone know that I’m really happy for the Top 20 right now and how everything’s going. I support everyone. I hope for the best for everyone.” As for his thoughts on America, Brandon says he hopes they “show support for me if I get to come back, but if not, I want everyone to just remember me how I was on the show. I’m just very grateful for everything. I tried my best out there.”
Ariana Debose, a contemporary dancer from North Carolina, got serious about dancing after realizing the “freedom that I felt when I was dancing,” Ariana said. “I felt like I was flying. I was just so happy.”
This season, SYTYCD tried something new when they introduced the Top 20 in a special “Meet the Top 20” show. “I loved the Top 20 special simply because some contestants got more airtime than others. I was one of those contestants that you didn’t get to know during Vegas Week. I was so excited that I really got to show what I could do and show America why I was in the Top 20,” Ariana stated.
What you may have seen of Ariana during Las Vegas auditions was a clip of her powerful solo during which Mia threw a pen at her. Ariana’s inspiration for that solo came from her friend and Season 2 SYTYCD finalist Martha Nichols. The piece was inspired by a tough time Martha went through. “It’s hard when you watch a friend go through something that’s challenging for them. It was a great piece that we came up with. I was so proud being able to share it with them – with everyone at Vegas Week.”
Ariana said she wasn’t too surprised that she was eliminated just based on the fact that everyone there is so talented and no one is safe. However, she says she always has confidence in her dancing and trusts her self as a dancer. “I did the best that I could do. This Top 20 is fantastic, so every week it’s going to be hard to eliminate someone just because of how wonderful everyone is. Everyone is so different. It’s almost hard to compare us to each other…I was very proud of what I did last night. The outcome is what it is. Now it’s just time to move on.”
Top 20 finalist Noelle Marsh’s fate is unclear after she suffered a knee injury before last week’s show. In regards to the potential opening in the Top 20, Ariana said, “Noelle and I come from the same studio, so honestly I would probably feel a little funny about taking her place. I mean, who doesn’t want a second chance? But honestly, I wouldn’t want to be eliminated again. I wish her the best of luck. I hope she goes very far in the competition.”
What’s next for Ariana? She’s been acting and singing all of her life, so she plans to move to New York City and pursue dancing on Broadway and acting in commercials and movies.
Best of luck to both Ariana and Brandon! Read more about them and the rest of the finalists in the Top 20 contestants section.
Widget Now available for the 2009 Tour. Here it is: 
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