Exclusive: 'So You Think You Can Dance' eliminee Nick Garcia: I can't sit here and blame my loss on things

So You Think You Can Dance eliminated Nick Garcia, an 18-year-old Latin Ballroom dancer from Miami, FL, during last week's live show of the reality dancing competition's eleventh season on Fox.
 
In addition to Nick, Malene Ostergaard, a 25-year-old Ballroom dancer from Aarhus, Denmark, was also sent home.


So You Think You Can Dance judges Nigel Lythgoe and Mary Murphy as well as guest judge Misty Copeland ousted the two performers after they found themselves in the week's bottom-six dancers based on home viewer votes cast immediately following the previous week's show. With Nick and Malene now out of the running, 18 contestants remain.

In an exclusive interview with Reality TV World, Nick recently talked about his So You Think You Can Dance experience. Below is the concluding portion. Click here to read the first half.

Reality TV World: When viewers had voted for you guys at the end of the Top 20 show, the judges' comments were really rushed following your performance even though it was clear they thought you had done tremendously. Do you think that could've affected the votes at all? Since less time was spent on the discussion of your routine than all the other pairings, do you think that hurt you?

Nick Garcia: Sometimes I do! To be honest, I think if we would've gotten a little more air time in the last comments, I think people would've seen it in a different way. Instead, the judges really just, you know, it wasn't their fault. The commercials, something happened there. I don't know what happened there, but they had to rush it because the show was going over the time limit and they had to end it.


But I think that we -- I danced my heart out last week, and I showed America what I could do and it was all up to the voting. At the end of the day, you can't sit here and blame your loss on things, but I think we did a great job.

Reality TV World: The judges didn't ask any of the dancers to dance for their lives. Did that surprise and/or disappoint you? Because obviously you didn't get that last chance to do a solo in the hopes of sticking around.

Nick Garcia: It definitely disappointed me. I think that -- I think I'm one of the best soloists in the competition this year, or I was. I think everyone is great in their own style, but I definitely think that "dancing for your life" should've been there in the last elimination.

It could've swayed the judges in an entirely different way. But at the end of the day, I had to rely on the dance I was given. Like I said, I gave it all I had in that dance, but it wasn't good enough. So, you just got to live with it.

[Editor's note: Unlike previous seasons, So You Think You Can Dance's current format will not allow any of each week's bottom vote-getting dancers to dance for their lives, which is a short solo to help persuade the judges to keep them in the competition.]


Reality TV World: Louis van Amstel from Dancing with the Stars choreographed your and Malene's routines in Week 1 when America voted to eliminate both of you. Do you think that's just a coincidence?

Nick Garcia: All I can say is Louis is honestly one of the greatest human beings I've ever met. He's so honest, he's so loving, and he's one of the most caring choreographers I've ever danced with.

I don't find it a coincidence that both of his choreography -- two of the people in his [routines] -- were in the bottom, because he honestly gave us some of the best choreography of the night. I think he's a wonderful choreographer and he's someone I looked up to as a child, and to work with him now, it's honestly a dream come true.

Reality TV World: What's next for you? Could you envision yourself being an all-star on So You Think You Can Dance in the future?

Nick Garcia: Yeah, I'm definitely keeping all my doors open, and every opportunity that comes by, I will definitely look at. But at this point in the stage, it's really early, but I'm honestly taking every call and everything that I can get. Like I said, this is a show that opens more doors for you, and I'm really grateful.


I was the little baby of the season, so I have the least mileage on my legs. So, it's going to be great to see what opportunities come out [of this]. But like I said, I have no idea what's going to happen right. I just need to keep my mind open and doors open.

Reality TV World: Were you a fan of So You Think You Can Dance before you auditioned?

Nick Garcia: Definitely. I've watched it since Season 1. It's honestly a show that I've looked up to and it's an honor to be on it this year.

Reality TV World: So was this season the first time you tried out or no?

Nick Garcia: This is the first season I auditioned. I turned 18 a week before my Chicago audition, so I had just made the cut for Chicago.


Reality TV World: Was your experience on the show everything you had hoped it would be or expected it to be?

Nick Garcia: Everything I hoped it would be and even more! I've learned so many things as a dancer and so many things as a human being. I've grown up; I think I've grown up a lot these past three weeks of being here. And I've grown up even more as a dancer, because taking care of your body, I never realized how much you need to take care of your body as a dancer.

And I realized that over the past few weeks because of all the pains, the dancing, waking up at six in the morning every day, and then going to sleep at 12 and doing everything all over again -- over and over and over again. So, it was definitely a memorable experience.

In an exclusive interview with Reality TV World, Nick recently talked about his So You Think You Can Dance experience. Above is the concluding portion. Click here to read the first half.






About The Author: Elizabeth Kwiatkowski