So ‘So You Think You Can Dance’
Though America didn’t always get behind Makenzie, repeatedly leaving her in the bottom after the votes were counted, the judges have had nothing but raves about her grace and technique. After her first audition, the judges raved that she was “SO So You Think You Can Dance“. And just this week, Nigel Lythgoe called her “one of the best dancers ever on So You Think You Can Dance”. And as he announced that she would be leaving the competition, Nigel made a point to say that the vote was split 9-6, and that he had voted to save Makenzie, yet was outvoted. What did his words of support mean to Makenzie?
“Oh my gosh, I mean, that’s the most incredible thing that I’ve ever gotten said to me on the show, and that will definitely stick with me. I just feel so humbled to have him even say that about me, because the show has had some of the most incredible, talented dancers that I’ve ever seen, and for him to put me in that same category, it definitely lifted my spirits. And for him to be on my side, just during the whole show, and saving me, it made the experience. Knowing that he thought I was so capable of going all the way…it definitely lifted my spirits up and I was lucky to have him on my side.”
What does Makenzie think set her apart from the rest of the pack, making her a favorite of Nigel’s and the choreographers? “Well, I don’t want to sound like I’m tooting my own horn or anything, but it was amazing that Nigel did see something in me. When I first auditioned, I was so surprised that all of them saw something in me, and I didn’t know what they did see in me. I think all of us had an amazing work ethic, [but] you know, I’m young, I feel like I was really mature, and I was super-professional in the rehearsal room. I wasn’t afraid to try anything and I think choreographers want to work with someone like that, [someone] that’s open-minded. All of us were like that, and that’s what was so amazing, that everyone had that quality, but it was great that Nigel saw that in me.”
All-star support
Making it to the top 10 not only means getting to go on tour, but it also means Makenzie and Nico got the chance to work with some of So You Think You Can Dance’s all-stars this past week. What was that experience like for them?
“Oh my gosh, it was literally the most incredible experience working with all-stars.” Makenzie gushes. “I mean, they’ve all gone through what we’ve gone through, they’ve been in the position that we’ve been in on the show, and since then they’ve done even more, and all of their careers have taken off because of the show. They come back with us and they have so much to teach us and I think I’ve learned so much in a week’s worth, because of the all-stars. They’re so encouraging and so loving. It was literally the most incredible experience working with all of them.”
“I think the professionalism that they brought this past week…definitely made us want to work harder, and it pushed us to our limits and further.” Nico says. “I think working with them definitely inspired us and it made us realize that once you’re where we are, we have more places to go. They’ve done so much, they’re all so successful, such great people, as well as dancers. I knew Comfort before the show and she’s just such a fun person, and such an amazing performer and great dancer.” He adds, “My dance was so much fun, and I’m honored to dance with Comfort.”
Nico vs. Tucker
Without the opportunity to do his solo, Nico, a contemporary dancer, was left with his reptile-themed Napoleon and Tabitha hip-hop routine with all-star Comfort Fedoke, to prove to the judges he was worth keeping in the competition. Did he think drawing hip-hop put him at a disadvantage, or was it a good experience, because he was able to get so into character, and was praised by the judges for it?
“As far as hip-hop goes, I had hip-hop the first week and it was a pretty rough week for my partner Alexis and I.” Nico confesses. “I was excited to do hip-hop this week to, you know, redeem myself, and to show the judges that I can actually do some form of hip-hop. I was lucky enough to have Comfort, who really inspired me, and she really wrenched that character out of me.”
“I did a whole bunch of research on lizards and I literally would YouTube videos of lizards and I would stand in the mirror and make lizard faces. I was lucky enough to have a routine that got to totally show America that I’m capable of doing hip-hop, but, I mean, it would have been cool…” he laughs, “to have a beautiful contemporary piece, choreographed by Travis [Wall, who choreographed Tucker Knox’s emotional routine], and if that’s what I was competing with that night, I mean, it was gonna go to Tucker. Tucker did such a phenomenal job, and it was beautiful, but I just thought to myself, ‘If this is gonna be my last dance…’ I wanted to make it the best that I could. So I went on that stage and I gave it my all, and I’m proud of myself, and I’m glad that that’s what I left with.”
Did Nico feel shafted competing against Tucker, who was automatically placed in the bottom four after not dancing last week, and then went on to have a breakthrough moment, with an emotional routine that kind of put the judges in a position of not very well being able to send Tucker home after all that?
“Okay, every week, two people have to go home, and if it was down to Tucker’s beautiful dance: That was so heart wrenching, but also heart-warming, to see that they could portray that story through dance, it was just really relatable to so many people out there watching, and it had everyone in tears, and the technique that Tucker and Robert showed, it was just perfect. Like Nigel said, all the stars aligned, and that dance was meant to be, and not that it isn’t fair, but I think it was perfect for Tucker. Especially with his backstory, with the whole car crash and how he survived and now he’s back and better than ever. It all worked out for Tucker and God’s watching out for Tucker, and I know God’s watching out for me as well. But it was definitely Tucker’s time to shine, and he definitely did.”
Reuniting for the tour
They’ve been eliminated from the competition, but this doesn’t mean the end for their So You Think You Can Dance journey: they’ll be joining the rest of the top ten for the SYTYCD tour beginning in October. “I think that is everyone’s goal, kind of, when you make top 20.” Makenzie confesses. “Once you make the top 20, you’re like ‘I want to make top 10, I want to make it to that point.’”
“Being a part of the top 10, and now being able to go on tour, it’s an amazing feeling because even though we are eliminated, we know we’re not done with our journey on So You Think You Can Dance, and it’s gonna start right back up in a couple weeks from now. We’re gonna be back at the finale, and then we’re on the road with everyone for two months. So it’s an amazing feeling…bittersweet…but we’re gonna be right back onstage with them really soon, so that’s amazing.”
Future plans
Both dancers have Hollywood aspirations in their focus. Says Makenzie, “I am planning on moving to L.A. and of course wanting to become a working dancer. But as well as that, I really am interested in becoming an actress and going toward the acting field and doing on-camera movie things. Being part of the show and doing on-camera stuff, I kind of have fallen in love with it, so I think I want to go in the acting direction.”
Nico feels similarly. “I live in Virginia, and definitely it’s always been my dream…I feel like California’s my home, so I’ve always wanted to move to L.A. right after school. I actually applied to colleges in California, so we’ll see how that all plays out. I’ve always wanted to act since I was little, so I think dancing and acting are my main priority goal for now. Being on the show was like killing two birds with one stone, I mean, I got to dance while being on TV on a camera, so it was just two dreams come true in one. So I think acting and dancing and maybe modeling on the side?”
Auditions
Taking a step back in time, how did they get here in the first place? What, or who, made them audition for the show?
“I actually wasn’t planning on trying out for SYTYCD. It was a completely different direction than I wanted to go in with my dance career, actually. But my mom and I have always watched the show, and she really really wanted me to try out. I turned 18 a week before the L.A. auditions, so it just kind of worked out, and I didn’t want to regret it if I didn’t try out. So I really did it for my mom, because she’s a huge fan of the show. I just thought, ‘Okay, why not?’, and just went for it.”
Nico, however, has always been working toward this point: “When I was eight years old, this show came on, and I hadn’t even been a dancer then, but I told my mom, I said, ‘Mom, I’m going to be on this show – it’s gonna happen.’ Not ‘I wish’, not ‘I hope’…I mean, I told everybody. I told all my friends, I told all my family, that I was going to be on that show, and that has been my dream since I was eight years old. So ever since I was eight, I worked my butt off, having that goal in the back of my head. I worked everything towards that, and I was just so fortunate to turn 18 two weeks before my audition. I feel like it was meant to be, and it all worked out, and it’s been a dream come true since my audition.”
You can see Makenzie and Nico on the So You Think You Can Dance Tour, coming to a city near you this fall.
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