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So You Think You Can Dance Backstage Scoop: Did an Onscreen Romance Doom a Fan Fave?

Who went home on SYTYCD and why, plus what's to come next week and in season seven

By Jennifer Godwin Dec 10, 2009 5:30 AMTags
So You Think You Can Dance, Top 8Mathieu Young/FOX

Usually we unequivocally love all TV lovers, but after the top-eight elimination on So You Think You Can Dance this week, we're going to have to seriously rethink our position on that! See, according to the authorities, fans of a certain SYTYCD season-six couple swamped the chances of our favorite scrappy street dancer without regard to last night's performances (or lack thereof).

Which two went home and why? Here's what we're hearing from the judges, plus executive producer Nigel Lythgoe shares the rundown for next week's uniquely structured season finale...

Joe Viles/FOX

This week's eliminated dancers were Legacy Perez and Mollee Gray. Why Legacy, who seemed to be a fan favorite? According to judge Adam Shankman, "I can only guess that it wasn't a vote against him, it was a vote for the married couple, you know what I mean?" For his part, Nigel Lythgoe says, "I think the emotion of Ashleigh's injury affected the vote," and later added, "I would have liked to have seen both Legacy and Mollee in the finale."

We'll miss Legacy in particular, and we're not alone. Legacy's former partner Kathryn McCormick told us, "Legacy had a huge influence on me in the competition, and I feel like he made my journey so much better...He's really wise, and he's always giving me advice and encouraging me. He's definitely become one of my best friends from the show. So it is sad that he can't be in the finale with us, but I also know he has a positive outlook on everything. It's OK...we're going to dance together 50,000 times on tour."

What's next for the last two dancers eliminated before next week's SYTYCD season finale? Legacy told us, "I'm looking forward to choreographing, producing, acting, directing. I like this world. I think it's very interesting, and I want to be someone who brings talent to the next level—and leaves a legacy." (Do you see what he did there?)

As for Mollee, she tells us, "I'm young still so I feel like I've got a long future. I'd love to do movies, I'd love to go on tour, particularly with Britney Spears—obsessed with her! love her!—but I think just anything that gets me to perform in front of people, because that's what I love to do."

And as for that upcoming season finale, Nigel spills that it's going to be a little different than usual, thanks to the upcoming holiday. He says, "This is our very first six-person finale, but that's only happening because we're short a week [this season]. Everyone is going to dance with everyone else, but we only have one hour for the performance show, for the 'dance-off,' if you will. So girl A is going to dance with boy A, B and C, and girl B is going to dance with boy A, B and C, and so on. So everybody is going to dance with everybody. Normally in the finale, the boys dance together, and the girls dance together, and they do a group dance as well, but we don't have time to do that." Tuesday's "dance-off" will be followed by a two-hour finale episode on Wednesday, which will be headlined by performances from Adam Lambert and Mary J. Blige, among others.

The final six dancers onstage next week are Ryan, Russell, Ellenore, Jakob, Ashleigh and Kathryn, and they tell us they're all bracing themselves for the climactic week of their SYTYCD careers. As Kathryn puts it, "We're ready. We know that our bodies are going to be hurting, but we're ready for it. This is the last time we're going to be on the stage performing on So You Think You Can Dance, so no matter how tired we are, we fight through that. It's the last time, so what do we have to lose?"

Poll

SYTYCD Top Six Poll

Who do you want to win So You Think You Can Dance season six?
Ashleigh Di Lello
4.7%
Ellenore Scott
8.4%
Jakob Karr
40.5%
Kathryn McCormick
18.3%
Russell Ferguson
25.5%
Ryan Di Lello
2.6%

Vote in our final-six poll above and then tell us how you feel about Ashleigh surviving tonight's elimination despite being unable to dance in this week's performance show.

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Click through our SYTYCD gallery to see those who have gone before.