This week’s two eliminated contestants spoke with Hypable about their experience on the show, and what it was like to just narrowly miss out on competing in next week’s performance finale.
Hayley Erbert and Paul Karmiryan have been front-runners in the competition from the very beginning. The judges praised their dancing week after week, and they each had a big fan following, as evidenced by the big cheers from the audience after their performances.
However, as part of one of the most talented seasons the show has ever seen, each of the top six dancers were incredibly skilled and very popular. Unfortunately, in the end, Hayley and Paul just didn’t get enough votes to make it into the finale. But after handling their eliminations with incredible grace, they spoke with Hypable about their experience as part of season 10.
Eliminations
“It wasn’t a shock to me,” Paul says. “I would love to be in the finale of course, but [Aaron and Fik-shun] also deserve to be there, so I’m not disappointed. The thing is, the show is so unpredictable. I hand’t fallen in the bottom at all, and I had a great run with the hip-hop [last week]. The thing is, what we’ve come to understand is it’s not always about America’s best dancer. It just depends on what America thinks, and it has to do with being a favorite dancer also, and I guess we just weren’t the favorites.”
“Yeah, basically, what Paul said: it really wasn’t that much of a shock to me,” Hayley agrees. “I think it was more of a shock to me that I even made it that far to begin with, so I was not disappointed at all. I mean, I was a little disappointed, because of course everyone wants to make it to the finale and the main goal is to win the show, but it was just so great to be a part of the show. I’m so blessed to have made it this far.”
She suspects her rumba routine last week with all-star Dmitry Chaplin may have led to her elimination. “It is all based off of America’s votes, so you never know what’s going to happen. A lot of times, people don’t connect with a ballroom dance, because America doesn’t know how difficult ballroom truly is, and that could have been a part of it.”
Post-elimination feelings
Both dancers are torn about making it this far in the competition, only to just miss out in the finale: “I mean it’s a really bittersweet moment at this point, because we were so close to the finale…I’m really upset that I didn’t get to show America my last bit, but I’m still so happy that I even made it this far, because I never expected that I would make it this far to begin with, so, I mean, I’m so blessed to have even gotten this opportunity at all.”
Paul adds, “Of course everyone’s goal is to make it to the finale and to make it all the way, but just thinking back to, for me, L.A. auditions and just the journey I’ve made from L.A. to now, it’s amazing even thinking that I’ve come this far.” He continues, “Of course it is bittersweet, like Hayley said, where you would want to go all the way to the end of the experience and actually have the full potential of dancing each possible dance that you could have on the show, but then again, everything happens for a reason.”
Contestant cameraderie
As many dancers have said before, the relationship with their fellow contestants is the best part of being on the show. “It was just so great to be a part of the show, because of the camaraderie that we had: we were just a huge family,” Makenzie said. “We were all just so supportive of each other, we didn’t really consider it a competition very much.”
It’s also an amazing experience for them to watch their fellow dancers grow and develop: “Whenever you’re behind the scenes and you just see the growth of the dancers and you see what they’ve become,” Paul says. “From the choreographer to the dancer, So You Think You Can Dance can create this masterpiece. It’s like every [routine] just grows on you, that’s what creates the season, all the different dances. There were so many that were so impactful. Even if the audience didn’t like it, it was very impactful to us, because you saw the difference of the dance. Like for example: there were so many dancers that did dances that were out of their genre, and it was just very amazing to see them do so great in that genre, and it made that dance great for me.”
As hard as it had to be for them to just miss out on the finale, they have nothing but good things to say about the dancers that made it: Amy Yackima, Jasmine Harper, Aaron Turner, and DuShaunt “Fik-shun” Stegall.
“I’m so proud of Aaron, Fik-shun, Jasmine, and Amy for making it, because they’re just amazing, obviously, at dance, and they’re just incredible human beings too.” Hayley says. Of her direct competitors: the girls, she says, “I’m so so so proud of Jasmine and Amy because they’re amazing and they deserve it so much…so I’m completely content with leaving the finale to them.”
“It was a really hard decision for America, I think; this season has been so strong,” Paul says. “Especially for the guys…well, everyone, they’re just so talented, and I’m just happy for them. They all deserve to be there and…I wish them the best.” As for the boys, he says, “Definitely Fik-shun and Aaron deserved to be in the finale… everyone here deserves to, and anything that would happen, happens for a reason.”
The Armenian experience
This is not Paul’s first So You Think You Can Dance experience: he actually won the Armenian version! “Armenia’s So You Think You Can Dance brought so many great moments for me, and it was a life-changing experience for me,” he says. “It made me grow as a dancer, I think, because I had only been dancing for four-and-a-half years and it really made me mature very quickly. Through that experience I strived to come to So You Think You Can Dance America, because I knew that I would grow even more.”
“There are many differences between Armenia and America [So You Think You Can Dance]. They are the same show, but both of them were completely different in my life as a whole. There’s no doubt that comparing Armenia and America, the level is different, because Armenia’s population is less than Los Angeles’ population,” he explains. “There’s different choreographers there, and there’s different contestants and competition there. Here it’s on a different level also: we have choreographers that are known worldwide. Both of these experiences I would never take back and never regret any moment of.”
As for the highlight of this season, for him personally, he has a hard time choosing. “I feel like every week was its own highlight, was its own moment,” Paul says. “Really thinking about how each genre literally brought a different aspect to the table, I was attached…well, not attached, but I enjoyed every single genre differently. There wasn’t one routine where I was like, ‘Oh my God I hate this routine, I don’t want to do it.’ and I feel like that was very rare, because sometimes there are moments where people are not content with their genres. In my case, I really enjoyed all of my genres. I was thinking about it today, if I could think about one genre that I liked the most, and I really can’t.”
He continues, “In a sense that you want me to give an answer, I would probably say the “Edge of Glory” dance by [choreographer] Mandy Moore, the contemporary [piece] that [Makenzie and I] did. It was our last dance together, and the moment that we shared together onstage was very genuine, it just meant a lot to us.”
The whole season was really a highlight for him. “But then again, the week after, I worked with Witney [Carson, season 9 all-star] and we did a cha cha, and then I worked with Comfort [Fedoke, season 4 all-star] and we did a hip-hop, then Kathryn this week, and Hayley. Just every week was its own great moment, and the thing is, I have no regrets with any of them, so the whole experience was great, just as a whole.”
Former future college girl
Just a few months ago, Hayley was a high school senior planning to go off to college in the fall, and now she’s heading off on a national tour with SYTYCD. Could she have ever imagined she’d end up here? “It is honestly so strange,” she says. “I mean, I auditioned in Austin in January, so I knew that I was going to Vegas for quite a few months until Vega actually happened. But I never imagined that I was even going to make it through to Vegas, and then when I made it through to Vegas, I didn’t think I’d make it to top 20, and then when I made top 20 I never thought I’d make it this far, so it’s just been crazy.”
“I was planning on going to Chapman University this fall, and as I just kept going further and further in the show, I was like, ‘Okay, I guess I’m not going anymore.’ But it’s just kind of crazy to even think about that, because right before I left for the show, I was graduating high school, and I was planning on going to college. Now I’m here, and I get to go on tour, and it’s just completely mind-blowing for me. My life has changed in so many ways, and I think it was for the best.”
Hayley and fellow Kansas native Fik-shun have represented their home state pretty well as part of season 10, but Kansas is not exactly known for excellence in dance. “Honestly, I don’t think people think of Kansas as being very…resourceful or anything. So it really proves to people that just because you’re from a small state or a small town, that doesn’t mean anything, as long as you put the work and effort into it.” She continues, “All of the studios in Kansas are amazing, and I don’t think people really realize that, so it really does prove to people that you can get training anywhere, as long as you have good training, and you have the work ethic that you need to be successful, you’ll be fine.”
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