Hypable spoke with Season 10’s favorite male and female dancers about their experience on the show, their partnership, and getting ready for the SYTYCD tour.
Amy Yakima and DuShaunt “Fik-shun” Stegall had quite the night last Tuesday, as they became America’s favorite female and male dancers on the finale of season 10 of So You Think You Can Dance. It was a big victory, as season 10 has seen some of the most talented dancers in SYTYCD history. Amy and Fik-Shun spoke to Hypable after their victory, to discuss the ups and downs of their SYTYCD journey.
Winning combination
Paired together at random for the top 20, what was it that made the two dancers click? “I think we have the same work ethic; we’re perfectionists when it comes down to it,” Amy says. “There’s little things that were different, and we learned how to work with each other and communicate, but at the start, our chemistry just clicked right away because of how hard we worked.”
Fik-shun adds, “Like the first time working together for our first contemporary piece…like she said, we had our little differences, but realizing we were the same as far as work ethic, we really just saw in each other [that] we really wanted it, we really wanted to work hard to get the best performance we could.”
He continues, “Once we realized that that’s how we think, that we think alike in that aspect, and that we had the chemistry when we went onstage, we pretty much knew that it was gonna be a good partnership, because we knew that we could always connect.”
Was their partnership what carried them to the end, or was it the spectacular solos they pulled out in the final episodes? “I think everything…it all comes into play,” Amy says. “I think America loves to watch two people grow together, and we did! We started literally from nothing, we had no idea who each other were, what we were about. We just knew every single week with whatever style we were given, and it may not have been the best, but we really tried to put ourselves into it. We tried to put everything on the dance floor, and I think that’s something that people really love to watch, is someone really just going for it, and letting go of everything they’ve thought about, all their doubts, and just putting it on the dance floor.”
“Yeah, I think our partnership did play a part in it,” Fik-shun says, “because America got to see us grow and connect at the same time. We invited them in, which was really cool; that you can connect to two people through a TV screen. So that was really awesome, and I feel like America did dig that.”
Amy adds, “I think both of us, we got to shine with some amazing dancers who brought something out in us that we never thought could be possible. So I think everything comes into play when it comes to the voting.”
Fikshun agrees: “Like Amy said, we got to dance with amazing dancers, outside of working with each other. She got to dance with Travis, which was awesome, and I got to dance with Twitch, which was like a dream come true. So it was the whole thing that had to be taken into consideration. I feel like it, as a whole, got us through to the end.”
Team Small vs. Team Tall
At 5’6 ½” and 5’3”, respectively, Fik-shun and Amy were definitely Team Small to fellow finalists Aaron and Jasmine’s Team Tall.
Part of one of the most talented seasons SYTYCD has ever seen, what do they think set them apart from the rest of the pack, particularly Jasmine and Aaron? “I think that, yeah, we were Team Tall and Team Small, but I think all of us were completely different dancers,” Amy says “Fik-shun was a hip-hop dancer that had not as much training as everyone else. I was a technical dancer, I was more jazzy than contemporary. Jasmine just could do everything, she was just beautiful. And Aaron’s a tap dancer and the best performer I’ve ever seen. We just all had something different.”
“Also, they were partners from the beginning too, so people saw them grow together, as well as they saw us, and I think we really got to shine when we got to dance with the all-stars, so I think it was the whole journey. You just have to be yourself. That’s what I wanted to do from the beginning: just to go on the show and not let it change me and just be who I was from the beginning.”
“I definitely agree with that,” Fik-shun says. “I think in the end it’s just about showing who you are, and always staying true to yourself. I feel like once we did that, and we just kind of let America see that, and then they take it how they take it. Some like it more than others, and some reject it, but you don’t know unless you try.” He continues, “You always want to give it all no matter what, and stay true to you. I feel like we did that the whole season, as well as Jasmine and Aaron. So to be honest, it was just in the hands of America to vote, and it just happened to go our way, which was awesome.”
Team building
“Amy definitely has more training than me, by far, and I feel like I definitely did grow a lot because of her, just in different things,” Fikshun admits. “As far as her technique and what she can do, like tell me what it is that I should be doing, and explain it to me in a way that it makes more sense. I just feel like she knows it so inside out that she knows how to explain it to someone who doesn’t do that, or wouldn’t get it, if you were explaining it to someone who understands more about jazz and contemporary and whatnot. Definitely a big help was from Amy, hands down, and it definitely made our rehearsals easier. Yeah, I can definitely just say thank you.”
“Aww, well I learned a lot from you too, seriously,” Amy adds. “He has the best musical ear you can ever imagine. He hears things that I’m like, ‘Where was that in the mix?’ So, yeah, he taught me how to listen to the music and actually dance with the music, instead of just going by the counts. That’s what I learned.”
There have been lots of romance rumors flying about the top 10 this year. Were Amy and Fik-shun more than friends off-stage? “What America doesn’t know about Amy is she has a boyfriend,” Fik-shun explains. “Definitely not happening. But I mean, we are friends behind closed doors. It’s not like…”
“We definitely hate each other,” Amy adds helpfully.
“Yeah.” Fik-shun laughs.
“Really a lot.”
“But no, there’s nothing romantic going on like that,” Fik-shun clarifies.
Amy adds: “We’re just really close and really good buddies, that’s what I like to say.”
Sorry, Team Small shippers!
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