by Gina Scarpa
 
Last night, on So You Think You Can Dance, the judges sent not one, but two tap dancers home.  The first to be eliminated was 20 year old Bianca Revels, who tried out several times before finally making the Top 20.  Then, Phillip Atmore, the 25 year old tapper from California, was cut from the competition.  Today, Phillip spoke to reporters in a press conference call about his experiences on the show and how the tappers dealt with the odds stacked against them this season.
 
Q. Gina, RealityWanted: How difficult is it for a tapper to convey what they’re capable of doing in a 30 second solo?
A. Phillip: It’s not actually that hard to convey what you’re trying to do.  My style in particular is a fusion between theatrical jazz dancing and rhythm tap.  For me, in terms of choreographing, I just take the best of both in terms of the flare that I want to portray.  I take a little bit of Gene, a little bit of Gregory, and splice different things together as best I can to create an art in 30 seconds.

Q. Gina, RealityWanted: Nigel expressed how difficult it was for him to eliminate 2 tap dancers.  Did you get to talk to the judges at the end of the show?
A. Phillip: I did talk to Nigel a little bit and I hugged each other the judges.  When Nigel came up to me, he told me that he was sorry for my loss.  I don’t know that they knew that I had lost my father.  It was very hard for them to let us go and we had a nice exchange before I left.

Q. It seems that this year, the men and women are similar in size.  How difficult are the lifts this season, considering that factor?
A. Phillip: It was certainly a challenge and that is a very good observation.  I don’t think that that’s something that the judges took into consideration.  Channing is a beautiful girl and not large in any way, but she’s very muscular.  I think that we were a little bit out of proportion.  It was definitely a challenge in rehearsals and then, going out on stage.  I think we pulled it together as best we could, considering that we had three days for rehearsal. 
 
Q. How did you first discover tapping?
A. Phillip: I don’t remember the first time that I saw Singing In The Rain but I used to watch that over and over and over again.  Gene Kelly is one of my heroes and Fred Astaire and Gregory Hines… they have had a huge impact on my life.  I remember stepping into a tap class and, from there, I fell in love.  I’ve studied other styles of dance and taken singing and I decided I wanted to be a performer.
 
Q. You and Channing both acknowledged that you struggled with the routine.  How difficult was it to hear the feedback?
A. Phillip: I think, in general, the judges had to be quite harsh that night.  Across the board, they were critical with everyone.  I think, in our case, what disappointed me was them not acknowledging that there were several people who had picked their own styles out and the routine that we had to learn was very difficult.  I was expecting to be critiqued but I wasn’t expecting to be sent home.  I don’t think it was fair for Mary to say that I had let my partner down. 
 
Q. After seeing Bianca get eliminated, what went through your head?
A. Phillip: It didn’t make it harder for me to be eliminated.  When Bianca was eliminated, I was said for her and it was very emotional.  I wasn’t thinking about what my fate would be until I got up there.  I did think, “Oh well, are they going to send two out of three tap dancers home?”  It wasn’t something at the forefront of my mind, though.  I knew that, of all the performances, Channing and I were out of our element.  I expected that I had the highest probability of going home.  It was definitely a shocker that Bianca was sent home before me though.
 
Q. Is it frustrating that the show doesn’t ask the dancers to tap, yet the tappers have to take on every style?
A. Phillip: It certainly puts the tappers at a disadvantage.  The only way I can put it into words is that I had to learn the Samba in three days.  No matter what anyone says, the Samba isn't something that you can fake.  It was a very difficult routine.  In the back of my mind, I was thinking, "If somebody has to learn a routine like this in three days, then they can certainly have tap in a hat and have them learn it in three days."  I certainly believe that tappers are at a disadvantage especially since I was ripped apart the way I was.  I obviously wasn't expecting the best of comments.  I was absolutely at a disadvantage in some ways.

Q. What's next for you?
A. Phillip: I'm a writer as well and something that I always wanted to do is publish a book.  i have something prepared and the next step is getting it out to literary agents and publishing companies.  I'm quite passionate about traveling the world as well.  I think my next step is something that will fund some of my own personal endeavors.  I think publishing is my next step.  I can always go to New York and audition for the next Broadway show but publishing is really what I love to do!

Be sure to tune in when the Top 16 take the stage on So You Think You Can Dance, Tuesday night at 8pm ET on FOX.

(Image courtesy of FOX)

Follow Gina at twitter.com/ginascarpa

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