This morning I had the pleasure of chatting with Phillip Attmore, the latest dancer to be eliminated from So You Think You Can Dance.
During the interview Phillip was every bit the class act he was on the show, demonstrating maturity and wisdom, all while remaining refreshingly frank about his disappointment and time on the show. Phillip chatted about struggling with lifts, his surprise at the judge’s harsh critique, and thoughts on if tappers were at a disadvantage on So You Think You Can Dance.
On Struggling With Lifts:
“You know what it was certainly a challenge. I don’t think that that’s something the judges took into consideration, I mean Channing is a beautiful girl and not large in any way, but she’s very muscular. So I think we were a little out of proportion as far as the lifts we did. Yes, it certainly was a challenge throughout the entire run of that piece.”
On The Judges Criticism Of His Samba:
“I think in general the judges had to be quite hard. I think across the board they were quite critical for everyone. I think in our case, what I was a little bit disappointed in was them not acknowledging that there were several people who had picked their own style out and that the routine we had to learn was a really difficult routine — not only in style and in steps, but the lifts that I was asked to do. I was expecting to be critiqued but I wasn’t expecting to be sent home. I don’t think Mary’s comment about letting my partner down was a fair comment. In three days I had to learn 30 years of partnering. In the past if a hip-hop dancer does a ballroom [routine], a lot of times some of the critiques will be, ‘Oh that’s so cute that you tried that but well done you got through it.’ I was expecting to get some comments, but not to get knocked off the show.”
On The Jive and If Tapping Helped Him In The Routine:
“No, because jive is ballroom. It certainly helps me being a tap dancer for me to step into something like that. But it’s still jive, not tap. I’m actually stronger and have studied contemporary and hip hop and other styles than ballroom. And I would have loved to have something other than a ballroom style two times in a row. We were still very much, both of us, out of our element. I think the expectation about the jive may have been a little too high.”
On The Difficulty of A 30 Second Tap Solo:
“It’s not actually that hard, to convey what you’re trying to do in 30 seconds. My style in particular is very much a fusion between theatrical jazz and rhythm tap. So in terms of choreographing I take the best of my inspirations. A little bit of Gene, a little bit of Gregory, and splice those things together. I like to create an arc, and not just do tricks and stuff. But to create a mini piece.”
On Tappers Being At a Disadvantage on So You Think You Can Dance:
“It certainly puts the tappers at a disadvantage. I think the only way that I can put it into words is that I had to learn the samba in three days. The samba — no matter what anybody says — is not something you can fake, particularly the routine Channing and I had to learn. It was a very difficult routine. They can certainly have tap in the hat and have somebody pick it out and learn the basics of tap in three days and make them do it on stage because it’s the same amount of difficulty.”
On His Elimination:
“I knew that of all the performances — especially since both me and Channing were out of our elements — that we were one of the weaker performances. So I expected that I had the highest probability of going home.”
On What’s Next For Him:
“I’m a writer as well. And it’s something I’ve always wanted to do was publish a book. And I do have something prepared, so my next step is getting it out to literary agents and seeing my poetry reach people. Publishing is really what I want to do. I can always go out to New York and try out with the next Broadway show.”
His Final Thoughts on So You Think You Can Dance:
“It’s been an incredible opportunity to have my best and worst show. I feel like I’ve had a full journey on the show. Not only as a dancer, but a person as well. I feel like there was one horrible moment in Las Vegas where my attitude was twisted into me being arrogant, when in i reality no one knew what was going on with me behind closed doors, with my father dying of cancer.”
“I thank god for the way he has turned a lot of those things around. What I care about is relationships and I’ve left the show with 19 incredibly gifted friends. I’m looking up and looking forward to what’s next in my life. I’m just excited and I just want you to know I’m full of energy and full of hope.”
We wish Phillip the best of luck in the future and offer our sincerest condolences for the loss of his father.
–Abbey Simmons, BuddyTV Staff Writer
(Image Source: FOX)
Contributing Writer, BuddyTV
