So You Think You Can Dance Backstage Report: Why Mia Michaels and AdéChiké Will Never Be BFFs

Eliminated dancer reveals how judge's harsh criticism affected him; she says "America got it right" by voting him out

By Drusilla Moorhouse Aug 06, 2010 6:15 PMTags
Cat DeeleyFrank Micelotta/FOX

One thing was clear last night after So You Think You Can Dance's semifinal: There is no love lost between judge Mia Michaels and dancer AdéChiké Torbert.

When it came to AdéChiké's elimination, Mia said, "America got it right."

Did the other judges agree? How does AdéChiké feel about Mia? Find out what they told us backstage after the show...

"I was kind of surprised," Mia said, "because his voting has been really high...but I think America got it right. I'm very happy with the three that are in there. I love them all for different reasons and I would be happy if any of those three won. AdéChiké as a dancer has a lot to work on." Still, she added, "He's a warrior and his tenacity has got him really far. I think that's very respectable. He'll be great at anything he chooses to do. And I'm proud of him."

About Mia's harsh criticism throughout the season, a very subdued AdéChiké told us: "I was a big fan of Mia. I still am. Hearing her harsh words...I don't need for her to recognize me to know that I'm great. If she's not too crazy about me, somebody else is."

Judging by his high votes throughout the season, America is pretty crazy about AdéChiké—and it was a tight race between him and third-place contestant Robert Roldan. "Something we don't really want to acknowledge all the time but is true," judge Adam Shankman admitted, "it's possible had AdéChiké drawn Robert's [routines] and Robert drawn AdéChiké's, it might have gone a different direction—you can only do what choreographers ask of you."

Still, all judges believe the voting "went the right way": "AdéChiké didn't do as well as the other three," said Nigel Lythgoe about Wednesday's performances. One of AdéChiké's downfalls, Adam said, is that "he doesn't just lose himself in the number. Lauren [Froderman] is out there with her partner doing something extraordinary and special and giving it everything—I feel no tension with Lauren—[but] with AdéChiké I just feel tension. But he's going to lose that. He's going to grow."

AdéChiké agrees: "I've learned to embrace the harsh criticism and take it for what it is. I think this journey has shaped who I am right now. I'm gonna apply everything I've learned to my future endeavors—I'm thinking about moving to L.A. [but] I want to do Broadway in New York, too. We'll see where the wind blows."

"I'm happy for the top three," AdéChiké said about Kent Boyd, Robert and Lauren. "All three of them are equally deserving."

But AdéChiké couldn't mask his disappointment at not being able to share their celebration. "I'm a real person," the season's most sensitive dancer told us. "We all have emotions—we all get hurt. It's a bittersweet moment."

Do you think Mia and the other judges criticized AdéChiké too harshly? Did America make the right decision? Hug it out in the comments.

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Pay tribute to all the season's dancers in our So You Think You Can Dance 7 photo gallery.