by Gina Scarpa

 

It was a tough night last Tuesday for ballroom dancer Brittany Cherry and contemporary dancer Carlos Garland.  Within minutes of the live show getting underway, they were named to the bottom six, performed their solos to stay in the competition, were told by Nigel Lythgoe that he wasn't overly impressed, and were eliminated from the show.  There was no time to process it all, as both had to perform with their partners, both of whom made it through the cut.  The duo talked to RealityWanted and reporters in a press conference call after their elimination night about their tough night, but their favorite moments as well from being part of So You Think You Can Dance.

 

Q. Gina, RealityWanted: Which choreographer did you feel like was able to pull the most out of you?

A. Brittany: Oh man, I feel like each of the choreographers I worked with had something different to bring to the table and to pull out of me, and I definitely learned something different from myself each time I worked with somebody new. It's hard to pinpoint one choreographer.

A. Carlos: For me, definitely, it was Stacey [from last week's performance]. It was definitely more of an emotion side that I don't display that much and she definitely helped me soften up my qualities and helped me to achieve something new.

 

Q. Gina, RealityWanted: What was your favorite thing about your top 20 partner?

A. Brittany: My favorite part about BluPrint is that he is so funny. He's the funniest person on the earth. He just like turns in to these characters. He has these different voices that he does and it's just the funniest thing in the world.

A. Carlos: I love that Mariah is such a hard worker. She always tries so hard, and I think that helped me as well to get us on the same page and I felt our chemistry was greater that way.

 

Q. Can you try to describe how difficult it was for each one of you to perform right after you were eliminated?

A. Brittany: It was actually difficult to pull it all together and perform after we were eliminated, but that's the name of the game. That's what we're trained to do. We are dancers and that's what we do, and no matter what the circumstances the show must go on. Being able to be there for our partners made it so much better.

A. Carlos: Yeah, it's definitely a message that you have to send to other dancers of what we did because like Brittany said, the show must go on. You have to realize the greater task at hand. You have to kind of pull all your emotions together and just perform and do our duty.

 

Q. Is there anything that either one of you wish that the show could have highlighted that you think, "If they had shown this, maybe I would have gotten to stay a little bit longer"?

A. Brittany: There are so many factors as to what they do show and what they don't show, and to think of all the possibilities like, "I should have done this" or "They should have done that", there are so many different scenarios that could have played out. It's a lot to wrap your brain around.

A. Carlos: Yeah, definitely. You have to take advantage of the time that you are given on air and it's kind of hard to wrap your brain around the possibilities but we're thankful for what we got and what we were given.

 

Q. Were you surprised to be voted in to the bottom six dancers, and were you surprised the judges eliminated you?

A. Carlos: I was surprised to be in the bottom. Oh, actually, I wasn't because I did the jive last week and I think that's a hard dance for people to vote on. But when we were in the bottom, I was surprised that the judges did eliminate us as would anyone be surprised because you never know their reasoning for who they chose or what they chose but you know it's for some reason.

A. Brittany: Yeah exactly what Carlos said. It was definitely surprising hearing your name, but also at the same time, it's not surprising because people do have to be in the bottom three. It was definitely a shock to be eliminated and like Carlos said, everybody has their reasons. There was a reason we were cut. There was a reason we made it to the Top 20, so you kind of just have to expect it and take it with a positive note.

 

Q. Nigel was not impressed with your solos; not just for the both of you, but for Mariah and Jade as well. How do you feel about your own performance?

A. Carlos: You can always do better than what you've done before but at the time, you do give your best, and I think that's what we did given the circumstances.

A. Brittany: Yeah, I feel as though like there's always room to grow, and we can always improve, but I put myself out there and I did the best I could and it didn't come off that way, but I am very happy with my performance.

 

Q. What is the one thing that either of you take away from this overall experience of being a part of the audition process and So You Think You Can Dance?

A. Carlos: Definitely meeting new friends and family. We've grown so close to each other and we all went through this process together. We all worked together doing the same thing. We woke up together, we ate together, we went into the same process of learning choreography and worked hard and pushed our bodies and minds to the limit.

A. Brittany: We've all become such great friends. We've been through this entire journey, hand-in-hand, supporting each other, being there for each other, crying together, working so hard to get where we are so I think I'm going to take away the amazing friendships and this entire journey has been the greatest thing.

 

Q. What are your plans now that you've been eliminated from the show?

A. Brittany: I think we can only go up from here. Honestly I just hope to keep dancing and doing what I love and working, and hopefully be working with Dancing With The Stars. There are so many possibilities in the future and I'm so excited for what is in store.

A. Carlos: The plan is always the same, even before the show, just to keep dancing and work as much as you can. Eventually, I would like to start my own company and start branching into choreography as well as performing at the same time so hopefully some new doors will be opening for me.

 

 

So You Think You Can Dance airs Tuesdays at 8/7c on FOX.

 

(Image courtesy of FOX)

 

Follow Gina @ginascarpa