Posts Tagged ‘elimination’
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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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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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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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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.
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Finalists Ariana Debose and Brandon Dumlao Were Eliminated by the Judges
Top 18 Finalists Compete as Couples on Next Performance Show.
Finalists Ariana Debose and Brandon Dumlao were eliminated by the judges tonight on the hit series SO YOU THINK YOU CAN DANCE. Debose, 18, is a Contemporary dancer from Newbern, NC, and Dumlao, 21, is a Hip Hop dancer from Concord, CA. After their first performances, the judges asked four finalists – Ariana Debose, Brandon Dumlao, Russell Ferguson and Pauline Mata – to perform a solo routine and then eliminated Dubose and Dumlao.
It was also announced that Noelle Marsh was unable to perform due to an injury but is expected to return next week.
The competition continues on television’s most original dance show Tuesday, Nov. 3 (8:00-10:00 PM ET/PT) on FOX when the remaining 18 finalists (Phillip Attmore, 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, Bianca Revels, Peter Sabasino, Ellenore Scott, Victor Smalley and Nathan Trasoras) compete as couples once again on a two-hour performance show. At the end of the show, judges Nigel Lythgoe, Mary Murphy and Adam Shankman will send two more dancers – one male and one female – home.
The following week, on Tuesday, Nov. 10 (8:00-10:00 PM ET/PT), the Top 16 will take the stage in another two-hour performance show. Beginning this week, after each Tuesday performance show, the phone lines will open and the fate of the finalists – one of whom will be named America’s Favorite Dancer – will be left up to the voting fans. Tune in the following night, Wednesday, Nov. 11 (8:00-9:00 PM ET live/PT tape-delayed) when two finalists are sent home on the first live results show.
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Season Finale: Jeanine Mason is America’s Favorite Dancer!
Jeanine Mason
The fifth season of the summer hit SO YOU THINK YOU CAN DANCE came to a spectacular conclusion tonight as Jeanine Mason was named the champion on the two-hour season finale broadcast live from the renowned Kodak Theatre in Hollywood. Mason, 18, a Contemporary dancer from Pinecrest, FL received the most votes out of the record-breaking 21.6 million votes cast. Additionally, she danced off with the cash prize of $250,000, the title of America’s Favorite Dancer and a cover feature in the November issue of Dance Spirit Magazine.
Mason’s fellow finalists – Brandon Bryant, Evan Kasprzak and Kayla Radomski – were eliminated as host Cat Deeley revealed the voting results. Mason had this to say about winning SO YOU THINK YOU CAN DANCE: “This has been the craziest time of my life, but in the moments when I thought I absolutely could not do it, it was the fans and their immense support that got me through. So I have to thank you!”
In addition to naming America’s Favorite Dancer, the Season Five finale of SO YOU THINK YOU CAN DANCE featured performances by this season’s Top 20 dancers, Hip Hop dance team The Rage Boyz Crew and Talia Fowler, winner of Season Two of “So You Think You Can Dance Australia.” The celebration also showcased dancers from the first four seasons, encore performances of the judges’ favorite routines from Season Five and a special performance of “One” from “A Chorus Line” featuring the judges and the Top 8.
Mark Your Calendars:
A special featuring favorite routines from previous seasons of SO YOU THINK YOU CAN DANCE will air Wednesday, Sept. 2 (8:00-8:58 PM ET/PT), and the sixth season of the original dance competition will premiere Wednesday, Sept. 9 (8:00-9:00 PM ET/PT) on FOX.Dance Tour:
This season’s Top 10 dancers will participate in the 40-city SO YOU THINK YOU CAN DANCE Tour 2009. The tour kicks off Sunday, Sept. 20 in Manchester, NH, and tickets are on sale now. Ticket and tour information. -
Melissa Sandvig & Ade Obayomi Talk About Their SYTYCD Journey
Melissa & Ade
Melissa Sandvig and Ade Obayomi were partnered up for the first five weeks of So You Think You Can Dance’s fifth season. After a week with new partners when they reached the Top 10, Melissa and Ade were reunited again during the Top 8 week and performed one of the most memorable dances in So You Think You Can Dance history. Coincidentally, Melissa and Ade were eliminated at the same time. The morning after leaving the show, they each opened up about their experience on the show during a press call.
At 29 years old, Melissa Sandvig was the oldest contestant on So You Think You Can Dance, and she was also the first classical ballerina on the show. As a ballerina who hadn’t trained in other styles of dance, almost every style was out of Melissa’s comfort zone. She found the ballroom choreography to be particularly challenging, since that area of dance requires completely different technique than ballet. In regards to tackling the heart-wrenching cancer themed contemporary routine by Tyce Diorio, Melissa said, “With Tyce’s piece, ‘This Woman’s Work,’ that was so much more of an acting piece, an emotional piece, and I really connected with that, and the response that Ade and I got was amazing. So that was one of the high points of this whole process.”
With little airtime during the audition rounds, Melissa was first introduced to the audience as the “Naughty Ballerina” as she made her way into the Top 20 dancers. On breaking the ballerina mold, Melissa said, “I’ve been in this ballet world for so long and we always just kind of do what we’re told and put on a smile and make everything look easy. So it was really fun to kind of throw that away a little bit and put a little bit more personality into it all, and just not be scared of trying new things. That’s how I’ve been for a long time, and it’s pretty amazing to see what you can do when you step out of your comfort zone.”
Often times, football players and basketball stars will enroll in ballet to learn about movement. Melissa further discussed the benefits of ballet, “It requires the most discipline, every movement is so precise, and there’s not a lot of interpretation…having that discipline can take you into other styles of dance, because you know what you’re doing with your body. So working on posture, flexibility and technique in general can help with all the other styles of dance.”
Melissa and Ade made a great pair, with Melissa’s grace and lines and Ade’s strength. Since both Melissa and Ade didn’t receive much airtime during auditions, they didn’t get to know each other well until they were matched together. “He’s a really funny, laid back guy and I’m really laid back too. So our chemistry kind of worked right away. We are both technical dancers and strong dancers, so that allowed us to do a lot of the crazy lifts that we did in some of those numbers…I was very lucky to have him as a partner and I think we complemented each other very well,” Melissa said.
When Melissa isn’t dancing she enjoys spending time with her family, doing stuff outside, going to the beach, doing Pilates, and exercising. In the past, she has danced in a ballet company, so now she’s looking forward to pursuing other styles of dance, doing some work in TV and film, Broadway, and pursuing any other opportunities that arise.
Finally, Melissa would like to say that “making it to the final six has been amazing. I surprised myself and hopefully have inspired other ballet dancers to step out of their comfort zone and see what they can accomplish.”
Ade Obayomi, a 20 year old “contemporary with a hint of hip hop” dancer from Orange County, CA, showed great strength while dancing, and it was something the judges always admired. As the other half of the “This Woman’s Work” breast cancer inspired dance, Ade said, “Seeing the responses from the judges and the audience members and the people at home and all the responses we’ve gotten through e-mails and messages has been incredible and I don’t think we could ask for anything better. We are privileged to have done this piece and share it with the world and bring it to the stage…so it was great to be a part of it, and I’m happy.”
Besides dance, Ade has a passion for sound engineering and DJing. He said that dance and making music “goes hand-in-hand.” His music inspires his dance, and his dance inspires his music. They work together to create art.
Ade has no regrets about his experience on So You Think You Can Dance and wouldn’t do anything differently. “I did my best… I danced from the heart and kind of just left it on the stage that night… I’m just happy I made it this far; top six, that’s pretty good, considering all the dancers that tried out,” Ade commented.
Ade’s dance inspirations are Desmond Richardson, who performed on the show this season, and So You Think You Can Dance Season 2 runner-up Travis Wall. He considers Desmond Richardson as “probably the most incredible male dancer out there right now. His presence and technique, his execution and everything is on fire.” Meanwhile, Ade is inspired by Travis’ return as a breakthrough choreographer on this season of Dance. “He’s so young and he’s already killing [it] and he came from the show, so it’s just anything is possible and he’s one of them that kind of inspires me to dance a little harder and a little more.” Ade wouldn’t mind following in Travis’ footsteps by being a finalist-turned-choreographer for the show. “I love creating and choreographing, and Travis is definitely a prime example of that. He danced on the show and then he went on to choreography and he’s successful and everyone is loving him right now. I would definitely love to follow that path and get into that, because it’s something I like to do.”
The week before Ade was eliminated from the competition was the 100th episode, during which dancers from the first four seasons returned to the show to celebrate. Ade said, “It’s always great to see them come back, because it’s like a huge family. We saw everyone from the first season all the way up to the fourth. So when they come back and showed that they’re still dancing and they’re still killing it, we kind of look up to them, because we’ve seen the show in the past…they tell us about their experience and that they would do it again. And even though it’s hard when we’re in it, when you leave it, you miss it. So it’s nice to hear that, because we kind of get so tired and wrapped up that we forget that we had this amazing opportunity.”
Ade has advice for dancers everywhere- “When you get tired, just keep pushing through, because you might feel tired, but the reward at the end is definitely greater than anything else in the world.”
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