Jimmy Arguello fell victim to what a multitude of fans are considering a huge injustice. Not through any fault of his own, Jimmy was eliminated from So You Think You Can Dance, after performing better than fellow dancer Cedric Gardiner. The reason: Cedric has more potential and is more unique. Jimmy’s solo routine, as well, was apparently not enough to convince the judges to keep in the competition. Jimmy was kind enough to take some time and speak with us today about his time on the show.
Below you will find both the full transcript as well as the mp3 audio of our interview.
Can you tell us a little bit about what made you want to try out for So You Think You Can Dance what made you go from just being a dancer to wanting to be on the show?
Truly, I really wanted to grow as a dancer you back home in Miami there’s not much you can do, dancing in Miami. I think I needed to step up in the dance community to show that I was able to do all this choreography pick up choreography from different styles and just do my best. I think I did what I came to do you know. So I just really pushed myself to really go out there and show the world that I was able to do so much more than just one style of dancing so I tried my best and I came here and I did what I had to do and hopefully everybody saw that and I think everybody did. I think I left a mark here at this show, I really did.
From the initial auditions on through to Vegas week, what was your level of confidence for getting into the top 20? Did you think you had a pretty good chance?
I was really actually very positive about myself. I’m never really like that, but I really was positive, you know, thinking positive about me being on the top 20. I was just demonstrating who I was when I was Vegas, showing them that I can pick up all this choreography, just being who I was and I was never gonna change and I will never, I just really kept myself thinking positive and like saying “I can do this, I can be there. I’m so ready to be on this show. Look at me I came here and blew everybody’s mind”. I definitely did.
After your performance on Wednesday with Shauna the judges for the most part, especially Nigel, really enjoyed it. Were you surprised then to find yourself on the bottom 3?
I actually was surprised we were in the bottom three. I didn’t think we were gonna be in the bottom 3 because with our choreography and that music, oh my gosh it was intense. I think that the audience was going crazy but I know that while I was dancing people in the audience were going absolutely wild and I thought it was gonna come across to the audience, to America that we were just having a great time as partners and our chemistry, it was there, it’s been there since the first day we met. We became a couple and it was amazing. I was just really surprised that we were in the bottom 3. I didn’t think we were gonna be there at all. I mean everybody did an amazing job so it was just really hard, you know, it was really hard, like Nigel says “there’s always gonna be someone in the bottom 3, always.” You never know what couple is going to be in the bottom 3. I came out and I did my solo and I just did what I could and I did my best and I left the stage just leaving a mark, leaving my mark leaving it all behind. I will always be there, always be there.
The judges pretty much admitted that you had been better than Cedric in the competition, is it frustrating to have to deal with the unfairness of being eliminated instead of him?
Yes it most definitely is unfair. It’s hard to hear that because the last couple of the seasons on the show they always, they’re always behind all the all-around dancers, they were always sticking up for the all-around dancers the first and second season and for some reason this season they’re looking for uniqueness, but to tell you the truth everybody is unique, that’s why they had me on the show. Everybody there is unique every, everybody has their own sense of style and I just think that it was kind of unfair for what they decided, it really was. I’m just so scared for Shauna, I really am scared because he’s gonna put her in the bottom 3. He is really gonna put her in the bottom 3 and I just don’t think that’s fair, it’s just hard but I mean he’s great at what he does, but this competition is about all around, you gotta pick up choreography because then you’re gonna be putting yourself and putting your partner in danger. So it was just really tough for me to be myself going home. It was just really, really hard. I was just really surprised, I really was.
Can you tell us a little bit about what you’ve got planned for the future, are you just gonna keep on dancing?
Oh I most definitely will keep on dancing until my bones say, “Okay that’s enough.” I’ll still be dancing, going in and out. Going on tour, working with different artists. Hopefully, I will move out here soon to Los Angeles and do tours with artists and come to do workshops and do what I can and live life to the fullest like I always say to people and just be myself and hopefully things turn out to be for the better.
(Interview Conducted by Oscar Dahl)
(Image Courtesy of FOX)
Senior Writer, BuddyTV
