Phillip Attmore said he expected to be critiqued harshly for his samba routine with partner Channing Cooke during last night's So You Think You Can Dance broadcast, however he didn't anticipate being "ripped apart" for it and subsequently eliminated.

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"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," he told Reality TV World during a Wednesday conference call.

"I was expecting to be critiqued but I wasn't expecting to be sent home."

But the 25-year-old tap dancer from Pasadena, CA who currently resides in Los Angeles, CA was sent home along with fellow tapper Bianca Revels -- as they became the third and fourth finalists eliminated from So You Think You Can Dance's sixth season.

Revels' ouster by the show's judging panel was revealed before Attmore's own elimination, and he said he felt "sad" for his fellow tapper.

"I did think, 'Are they going to send two out of three tap dancers home?' But it wasn't something that was at the forefront of my mind," he told Reality TV World.

"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. So it was definitely a shocker that Bianca was sent home before me."

Attmore cited the fact that "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,'" and added he was surprised he didn't receive similar feedback for his samba.

"I think that I was a little bit stunned that -- [judge Mary Murphy] in particular -- had mentioned that I let my partner down. I don't think that was a fair comment," he told Reality TV World.

"But we expected to be critiqued. For both of us we were out of our element -- I'm not a ballroom dancer -- and in three days I had to learn 30-years worth of partnering. So I definitely was going into it expecting to do my best and expecting some comments, but to move forward, not to get knocked off the show."

In addition, Attmore acknowledged that it was difficult to perform many of the routine's lifts with Cooke.

"It was certainly a challenge. I don't think that's something the judges actually took into consideration," he explained.

"Channing is a beautiful girl and not at all large in any way, but she's very muscular. I think we were a little bit out of proportions when you consider the types of lifts they were asking me to do. So it was definitely a challenge going into rehearsals, in rehearsals, and then going out on stage."

Last week Attmore and Cooke received a jive routine, and he said he felt it was unfortunate the random assignments had saddled them with ballroom dances two weeks in a row.

"I would have loved to have had contemporary or hip-hop or something else other than a ballroom style two times in a row," he told reporters.

Attmore said he's also disheartened by the fact that -- while he's forced to go outside his style on a weekly basis -- other finalists aren't asked to try his area of expertise.

"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," he explained.

"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."

As for what's next, Attmore said he plans on pursuing another passion: poetry.

"I'm a writer as well, and something I've always wanted to do is publish a book. I do have something prepared, and my next step is just getting it out to literary agents and publishing companies," he told reporters.

"I think publishing is my next step, and then I can always go to New York and audition for the next Broadway show."
About The Author: Christopher Rocchio

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