Gev Manoukian: 'So You Think You Can Dance' cut very unexpected

While Gev Manoukian didn't see his So You Think You Can Dance ouster coming, it still wasn't too difficult to swallow.


"It was a shock for me.  It was very unexpected," he told reporters during a Friday conference call. 

"But I felt I was somewhat ready for it, and I felt like I wanted to show America what I was capable of throughout the competition, especially with that last solo I did.  I felt that went really good.  I wasn't devastated or anything.  For me, just getting to Top 10 was such a big accomplishment for myself.  I'm just very glad and blessed I did it." 

The 21-year-old hip hop/break dancer from Kazakhstan who currently resides in Centerville, UT was eliminated from So You Think You Can Dance's fourth season based on home viewer votes cast immediately following Wednesday night's performance episode, in which each finalist performed two couple routines and a solo. 

"I thought I could have done a lot better with the jive," Manoukian told Reality TV World about one of his Wednesday night routines.  "I had a little glitch in my solo.  So I wish it wouldn't have happened."


One of Manoukian's biggest Wednesday night criticism came from So You Think You Can Dance executive producer and judge Nigel Lythgoe, who thought Manoukian's contemporary routine with new partner Chelsie Hightower lacked passion on his part.

"When I was dancing, honestly, I didn't feel like I wasn't there emotionally, as Nigel said," Manoukian told Reality TV World.  "I felt like I really gave it all I got.

Manoukian also discredited Lythgoe's additional claim that the reason the chemistry was lacking was because he was pining for his former partner, Courtney Galiano.

"I definitely missed her," Manoukian told Reality TV World about Galiano.  "Me and Courtney had such a good bond when we were dancing.  We were together for a while, so we really got used to each other.  We kind of developed a relationship.  Now we switch partners, and you have to go through that all over again.  It was a hard switch to do, and her and Chelsie are very different."

Prior to his elimination, Manoukian and his fellow remaining male finalists performed a group routine choreographed by Lythgoe, which the former finalist described as "very interesting."


"He kind of took me by surprise," Manoukian told reporters.  "He was very active doing it too.  I didn't think he was going to do all the moves, and he did.  He showed us so many things.  He was very calm and confident.  Not only was he confident in himself, he was confident in us, which gave us a little boost.  He was awesome."

Despite being booted, Manoukian said he's pleased that So You Think You Can Dance's fourth season still features two male hip-hop dancers -- Twitch Boss and Joshua Allen.

"I definitely think it's a great possibility [that one of them could win]," Manoukian's told reporters.  "I think at this point, anyone can win, but certainly out of the guys there's two hip-hop dancers left, which makes me really happy."

Overall, Manoukian's said participating in So You Think You Can Dance proved to him that there could be more to his dancing future than just hip-hop.

"I learned that I'm actually not as bad as I thought at ballroom and Broadway.  I have this whole new passion now to try those things," he explained.  "I'm definitely going to keep on break dancing, but those two things I'm going to work on really hard."


As for what's next, Manoukian's assured his fans they haven't seen the last of him.

"It's not the end now that I'm off the show," he said.  "In terms of visibility, I just had my eyes opened to so much with this.  I've realized that there's so many other opportunities with dance -- especially these days.  I'm actually planning -- after everything's done, after the tour -- I'm planning on going to Broadway to see how well I could do there."






About The Author: Christopher Rocchio