Hypable spoke with this week’s eliminated contestants from So You Think You Can Dance, Mariah Spears and Dorian “BluPrint” Hector, about their experience on the show, their fellow contestants, and how they felt about some of Nigel Lythgoe’s tough criticism.
Eliminations
Mariah and BluPrint’s routine this week was a very difficult and fast-paced jazz routine from Brian Friedman, but did they think that this was their most challenging routine? “In a way I think it was,” BluPrint says, “because of the energy level that we had to have, but it was actually more fun than any hip-hop routine that I’ve learned so far.” Mariah adds, “It was super-fast, and super high-energy, but it made it that much more exciting.”
“We definitely left all we could on that stage and I could have never wished for anything more,” Mariah says of the pair’s final performance. “The whole top 20 were absolutely incredible dancers and it just comes down to, one person has to go home a week, and Makenzie (Dustman, who was in the bottom two with Mariah, and had the best performance of the night with partner Paul Karmiryan) was flawless, you know?”
The eliminations were very emotional, particularly for Mariah, who started crying before she even learned her own fate, as it was revealed her partner BluPrint would be going home. “It is so hard, we’re such a close family and we became so close.” She says of the friends she’s made in the top 20: “It’s so hard to watch people go home, and then to go home yourself, because, not only is it just the end of the road for the competition… it’s just like, we’re going to miss each other so much.”
They couldn’t even begin to venture a guess at which two of their talented friends will win the title of America’s favorite dancers. “I don’t think we can choose,” Mariah says. “Everyone is so good not only at what they do, but you’ve seen everyone grow and do things that none of us expected we could do, so there’s no way, at least I can pick a guy and girl, because everyone is so great.” BluPrint agrees: “Yeah, same here. Everyone’s really great, so I can’t even wrap my mind around who’s gonna win right now.”
Challenges as hip-hoppers
Did they feel that they had an extra challenge, as hip-hoppers, having to do something so different from their own style every week? Mariah says, “It’s definitely more difficult, just because we’ve never done anything like that before, but it just pushes you to work even harder.”
When asked if their ending up in the bottom six stung a little more because the votes were based on a routine in their own style of hip-hop, BluPrint says that “Doing your own style is actually kind of more difficult, because the judges are expecting more from you.” The dancers are usually given a little more leeway if the style is completely out of their comfort zone.
How they got started
“I wasn’t going to audition,” BluPrint reveals. “Some friends kind of pushed me into it because I was going out here with them to Memphis because they wanted to audition and I just wanted to go for the ride but they were like, ‘Well, since you’re here, you might as well audition.’ So I just went ahead and did it and made it here.”
Mariah was much more familiar with the show, having watched it from its first season. “Ever since I saw the first season, I was like ‘Oh my gosh, it’s my dream to be on this show!’” Keen-eyed viewers may have recognized Mariah from her audition last year, where she made it to the Vegas rounds before being cut.
From cheerleader to crumper
Mariah says “It feels so amazing” to be one of very few female hip-hoppers to have made it this far on So You Think You Can Dance. “To be able to be one of those girls, one of the three, I believe, who have been able to do that, is so cool and such a unique thing that I have, that I feel so blessed to be able to portray on the show.”
We learned in last night’s video package that Mariah used to be a real girly girl, and a cheerleader. How does a girly girl get into crumping? “I’ve always been interested in being really diverse, and trying to do things people won’t expect, and so I started doing hip-hop when I was, like, eight.” Her dance teacher, Chris Thomas, took her under his wing, and “I guess I just took it and ran with it because it was so cool and so different.”
Taking his critique in stride
As an animator, BluPrint faced a lot of choreography in a lot of different styles, which was something totally new to him. How did that effect his career as an animator? “It has affected it in a good way. I’m a lot more versatile now. It actually helped me to be more open and do more things with my original style.”
BluPrint’s most common critique from the judges was the lack of expression and personality he showed in his face when he danced. “I was really working on that especially last week, after the judges said what they said I really went home and worked on it to the max.” Is he upset he didn’t get the chance to show off his progress? “I am kinda upset that I didn’t get a chance to show that part, but I did definitely work on it and it’s gonna help me in the future for my future performances.”
Judge Nigel Lythgoe was a little tough on BluPrint from time to time, at one point saying it was vital for BluPrint to maintain personality, “because you’re not a great dancer yet.” “I didn’t really take offense,” BluPrint says, “But the personality part, I knew I was lacking in that area and I really didn’t get a chance to show them that…But I’m glad he gave me that critique though because I know what I need to work on.”
Show business
So You Think You Can Dance has faced a good deal of criticism this season for some of their guest judges, like this week’s Carly Rae Jepsen, not having any background in dance, and therefore nothing of worth to say in their critiques. “They are all part of the entertainment industry,” Mariah says, “which is what dance is a part of, and it’s not always about the technique or anything.” She continues, “It’s more about the whole entertainment value…and that’s what those judges bring: they bring something different, a different perspective on something you see every week.”
There has been much complaint from fans and producers alike that SYTYCD has lacked a results show for the past two seasons (Fox cut them to one episode a week after season 8). According to this week’s eliminated contestants, the lack of a results show is much harder on the contestants, as well. “We all know it might be our last time performing,” BluPrint says, “so it actually pushes us harder to try to make the judges change their mind.” Mariah adds, “Definitely, it is really hard without a results show, to separate your performance from the whole stress of, ‘Okay, well, I might go home after this performance.’”
So what now?
The end of their time on the show is not the end of their journey, however. “I’m just gonna go back to my crew and travel with my crew and do shows and continue to put up YouTube videos,” BluPrint says. He also reveals that the show has left an even more lasting impression on him: “I’m also gonna take choreo classes, because the show has really helped me fall in love with choreo. So I’m gonna take more classes on that and become more fluent in that area.”
As for Mariah, she intends to return to school, and her dance training, “and try to keep training and try to become more of a trained, technical dancer, and then start auditioning and see how it goes from there.”
But this season may not be the last we see of Mariah and BluPrint on So You Think You Can Dance: Would they return as all-stars, like such fan favorites as Stephen “Twitch” Boss, Allison Holker, and Mark Kanemura? “It would be so amazing,” Mariah says, “such a dream to come back as an all-star.” She continues, “So You Think You Can Dance is such a family, and I’d love to be able to stay a part of that family.”
Here’s hoping we see much more of both Mariah and BluPrint in the future.
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