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!
Keep reading to find out what Amy and Fik-shun were thinking when they were onstage for the finale.
Finale fun
Were they surprised to win, with all the stiff competition in the field? “We were both actually talking about this,” Amy says, “I was so surprised! I had no idea. Jasmine’s a beautiful dancer. We’re completely different, though.”
Fik-shun adds, “Like Amy said, I was actually really surprised that my name was called. Me and Aaron, it was so cool that we both came from Vegas…and for us to make it that far, to be us two onstage, for the boys, it didn’t really matter who won, because we’re both reppin’ Vegas. I don’t think there’s ever been a tap and a street dancer in the finals, so we were just taking in all the things that we’ve done and our journey together.” He says, “I never really had any idea that I would be picked over him, or he would be picked over me, we just kind of live in the moment.”
Amy’s experience onstage with Jasmine was similar: “We just kind of stood on that stage together and we were like, ‘Well, whatever happens, happens.’ And we were just kind of like, ‘We had an amazing journey, we are the last two standing.’ And we knew how hard it was, this long journey that we had, and we were standing there just kind of reminiscing about how much fun this whole thing was.”
And sharing their victory moment with one another?
“Aww, it was kind of perfect!” Amy says.
“Yeah, it kind of all played out, and we just had to give each other a big hug, and just realize that we really started from the bottom, now we’re here,” Fik-shun says “It was really cool.”
Were they more excited or nervous going into last week’s finale? “Honestly, it was funny, because I didn’t even know myself. I sat down with Marko [Germar, season 8], one of the all-stars, he said ‘How do you feel?’, and I was like, ‘I’m nervous.’ He was like, ‘No, you’re not nervous.’ And I was like, ‘No, I am, I can feel it in my body. Like I’m getting butterflies and my fingers are tingling and all this stuff.’ And he was like, ‘No, you’re getting nervous confused with excited. You wanna go out there and you wanna dance and you wanna have fun, right?’ And I was like, ‘Yeah, I do.’ And he was like, ‘Yeah, that’s because you’re excited. Don’t get your nerves mixed with excited. You don’t want to pass out, you’re not hyperventilating, you’re not nervous – you’re excited!’ And I realize now that I was more excited to have fun and dance those last times onstage, and do some of my favorite numbers. So yeah, I would have to say, I thought I was nervous, but it turns out I was just really excited.”
“Yeah, he nailed that,” Amy says. “You’re excited, though you feel that you have a little bit of expectation because it’s number one, and you’re expected to do it as well, or even better. I think going into the finale, it was just kind of that this is the last time to dance on this stage. I was just like, ‘Let’s just leave it all out there,’ and that’s kind of what I did. That’s really what I will remember from that night.”
And what did they think of judges Nigel Lythgoe and Mary Murphy’s surprise performance of the “Let’s Get It On” routine Amy and Fik-shun had originally performed several weeks before?
“Um, honestly, I think it was one of the best of the night,” Fik-shun confesses.
“They are stars. Stars in the making,” Amy adds.
“They have that ‘it’ factor, it was all there,” Fik-shun says. “I mean, some of the technique was a little…” he trails off to a burst of laughter from Amy. “But the performance was awesome. They definitely brought it!”
New challenges
“I feel like I really stretched my limits, and going beyond my thought of what I can and can’t do,” Fik-shun says. “To be honest, I’ve never had the thought that I can’t do anything, but I would have my doubts about how hard it was gonna be, and if I could do it to the point where it’s good enough that I feel it should be presented. So I was really challenged with doing that every week with different styles.”
“Especially ballroom,” he continues, “because there’s just so much technique in it, and you have to retain it all and also perform, which was really a challenge. So it was really cool to me that I got to grow, as far as learning different techniques and different styles. I feel like I can put those in my own style as well, because I strongly believe in versatility, and I feel like throughout this journey, I’ve gotten to learn that with dance, especially dancing with Amy.”
“Being more aware of the things that I’m doing wrong, and, like, making things bigger, because that was something that Amy always drilled into my head, so like now, whenever I perform, I think that I gotta be bigger than life, because, like, we’re small people.” They both laugh.
“Yeah, this journey has been crazy,” Amy says. “I never in my wildest dreams thought I would be doing an Argentine tango/paso doble, and I really wanna pick that up again! There’s so many things like that, like Fik-shun said: Not that you thought you could do it or not do it, but you didn’t even think of the possibility that you could, you were open to it.” She continues, “I think just being like, ‘Okay, you’re gonna be doing ballroom now, get in your heels and let’s go.’ I think I’m gonna bring that element to my own dancing as well, and that’s what I’m going to take back from this journey.”
Advantages/disadvantages
Though they’ve both come from completely different dance styles, do they think it’s easier for certain styles of dancers to succeed on the show? “I feel like it’s more of, like, your mindset and your ability to learn and pick things up real easily,” Fik-shun says. “Some people can just hear things and take the critiques in and learn it that way. Me personally, I’m a visual learner, so when I see it, I try to mimic it as closely as possible and then just try to add my own flair to it.”
“But I don’t think it has anything to do with the dance style that I came in with before the show.” He continues, “I feel like you just have to really be open to know that you’ve got to be out of your comfort zone, so just go for it as much as you can, and work hard to get it to where you know it needs to be. So I think it’s more of a mindset than coming in with a specific style.”
Season 10 contestant BluPrint has previously said that it’s harder to dance your own style on the show, because the expectations are higher for you. “I would definitely have to say I do agree with that, only because that is how people view it,” Fik-shun says. “When you hear someone getting hip-hop is a hip-hop dancer, you think, ‘Okay, he’s gonna rock, no matter what.’ So if you do anything less than, you know, great, then they think, ‘Okay, well, I wish you would have done better.’…It puts a little bit of pressure on you when you get your own style, and you’re expected to shine.”
Amy disagrees, “Yeah, it’s your style, but I think every style has its own perks, no matter if you feel comfortable in it or not. It’s like, ballroom may not be our style, but we have fun doing it. We don’t feel comfortable, yet, but it’s fun doing it. I enjoy playing the character I’ve been given, and it may not be a style, but I don’t dislike or think it’s hard, I just don’t feel comfortable.”
Read on to find out the season 10 winners’ plans for the tour, and the real world beyond.
Tour travels
Both dancers are really excited for the 42-city SYTYCD tour: “I’m just really excited about that, like to go travel, and just to go see different places, because I don’t travel much,” Fik-shun says.
What stops are they most looking forward to? “I think, Canada, for both of us,” Amy says “The first city [Detroit] is my hometown, so I can’t wait to come back home and see everyone.”
Amy and Fik-shun named Aaron and Jasmine’s hip-hop and Paul and Makenzie’s Viennese waltz as routines they would love to see again on tour. Paul’s performance in that routine stuck out to Fik-shun when it came time for him to tackle the waltz himself: “I had the waltz later on, and the choreographer [asked] me, ‘If you could be like anybody, sophisticated, that waltzes presently…’ I said Paul. When he does his ballroom, I feel like he’s just a Prince Charming, he has ‘it,’ and that was the ‘it’ that I had to look for and find for my waltz. So I would definitely like to see that one on tour.”
They have to carry their energy over from the show to the tour. “Hopefully it’ll be a lot of fun, but I feel like we’ll feed off of each other’s energy,” Fik-shun says. “I feel like that’s how we’ve made it this far, throughout the season, season 10 as a whole. The top 20, we were all so close, anytime we had to go through the long days and whatnot, we always huddled up, and we always came together and talked about what we had to do, and focus. We just gave each other everything we had of ourselves, and I feel like that’s the same thing we’re gonna do on tour.” He continues, “I feel like it’s gonna be fun, it’s gonna be less pressure, because it’s not a competition. We’re gonna be able to just enjoy it, just enjoy ourselves, and just give each other the energy that we need to boost our spirits.”
“But after the tour, I don’t know, I think it’s gonna suck, that we’re not, I don’t know, like, the dance family?” Fik-shun says. “We’ll still be a family and everything, but just to not perform with everybody again is gonna be a little bit of a downer.”
Future plans
This isn’t the end of the dance journey for either dancer: “I definitely just want to just keep pursuing dance in whatever way I can, and try to stay out there,” Fik-shun says. “And I’d really like to go into movies, or any kind of commercial work would be amazing. And possibly, I don’t know, some choreography.”
Amy agrees: “I guess, yes, keep pursuing dance. I want to keep training, I want to keep getting better, I want to keep growing. And I think I don’t want to close any doors, I want to open as many possibilities: I want to do movies, I want to do companies, I want to be in a music video, I want to go on tour with someone, I want to do it all. And I don’t know, I just want to dance! It’s just the beginning, we’re only done So You Think…, we’ve got to get ourselves back out there, ‘cause now it’s on us, to get ourselves into the dance industry.”
Nigel has stressed the importance of using the show as a platform. “He’s just trying to let us know that it really is only the first step to a bigger world, because there’s more out there than just So You Think You Can Dance,” Fik-shun says. “So he just reminded us of that, and just re-informed us that we can do so much more with that we have, with our talent, so we’re really gonna take those words into consideration and just go for it.”
‘If I’m not dancing, I’m probably talking’
Both Amy and Fik-shun were college students before being caught up in the SYTYCD whirlwind; Amy taking online classes, and Fik-shun studying at community college. Do they plan to continue their studies after the tour?
“I’m planning on still studying,” Amy says. “One of the things that I’ve always wanted is to never put my dance career on the side for school. I want to do it all at the same time, I want to make room. And I know that’s a lot to put on my plate, but if I just relax…I mean I only have one life, so I’ve got to do it all now.” She adds, “Major-wise, it’s not related to dance, it’s more computer graphics. I want to major in that as well, but dance can be my true true passion.”
“When I was going to school I was studying in communications, because I figured, if I’m not dancing, I’m probably talking, so that was definitely what I took up,” Fik-shun jokes. But his approach to continuing his education is a little different. “I’m gonna probably put school on hold until after the tour. Honestly, my goal or dream was always just to be just a dancer first. Not that I don’t appreciate having a good education. I feel like it’s probably good, I probably should go to school, but I feel like I should just go as hard as I can in my dance career, just focus on plan A.”
Moments of realization
They got a lot of feedback from a variety of different judges this season, between regular judges Nigel Lythgoe and Mary Murphy, and guest judges ranging from Paula Abdul to Carly Rae Jepsen. But there were some comments, both good and bad, that stuck out for Fik-shun and Amy.
“There was a point, especially with ballroom, where Nigel would basically talk about my shoulders, how I have to move forward with the technique, I can’t just get through with performance. So that’s one of the things I really thought about after hearing that, and it really made me go hard as far as any technique genre that I got, that I really had to point my feet and straighten my legs and keep my shoulders down.”
“As far as the good comment, when [guest judge and director, producer, choreographer] Kenny Ortega said that he believed if a choreographer asked me to fly, I’d find a way to do it. That just made me so…it made me tell myself, ‘Dude, you can find a way to fly. Even if it doesn’t last long, even if you just soar for a little bit.’ I feel like I would try it. That definitely made me feel really, really good, and that’s definitely one that’s gonna stick with me for a very long time.”
“I think the bad was just that we were given characters that were kind of similar in a row, and they were just kind of wanting a little bit something more from us,” Amy says. “A little something deeper, a little something not so happy and cutesy, because that’s how we are in real life, we’re just happy-go-lucky people. So they really wanted to see a different side, and see if we could go there, and we were finally given the opportunity, and I think it was pretty awesome.”
“As far as the good,” she says, “one thing I’ll always remember is Paula Abdul saying that she would hire me, and put me front and center for one of her tours or one of her music videos, and I was like, that’s kind of what I’ve always wanted to do! Just be in the dance world, and start working, and working with artists, and working with people that celebrate art. So it was just kind of a realization moment of like, oh, yeah, that’s what I want to do, and you want me to do that! Okay, yay!”
