'So You Think You Can Dance' champ DuShaunt "Fik-Shun" Stegall: I can fly if I want to, or at least soar for a little bit

So You Think You Can Dance crowned male dancer DuShaunt "Fik-Shun" Stegall and female dancer Amy Yakima its two tenth-season champions during Tuesday night's live finale broadcast of the Fox reality dance competition.


Fik-Shun, an 18-year-old hip-hop dancer from Las Vegas, NV, and Amy, a 19-year-old jazz dancer from Northville, MI, were declared the winners of So You Think You Can Dance and "America's favorite dancers" based on home viewer votes cast for the Top 4 finalists immediately following last week's performance show.

As the season's champions, Fik-Shun and Amy will each receive over a $100,000 cash prize and a cover appearance on Dance Spirit magazine. They beat out the runner-up male and female dancers Aaron Turner and Jasmine Harper respectively.

During a Wednesday conference call with reporters, Fik-Shun talked to Reality TV World about his victory and overall experience on the show. Below is what he had to say. Check back with Reality TV World soon for some additional highlights from his call, and click here to begin reading Amy's interview.

Reality TV World: During last week's final performance show, you had a little bit of a tough time with that tango routine and the judges criticized you for parts of it. So were you surprised to win?


Fik-Shun: About my tango, honestly, I really liked it! If anything, it was one of my favorite ballrooms, definitely, even though I may not have looked too good in it. But I don't know, I felt fine. Even when I look back at it, like, I wasn't disappointed at what I did, like I feel like I did my best and I left it all on the dance floor.

So I mean, I really wasn't -- I don't know. I didn't feel bad about it at all. I was actually really surprised that my name was called, only because Aaron and I, we were so cool and we both came from Vegas. We knew a lot of the same spots and some of the same people.

And for us to just make it that far, and for it to just be us two onstage for the boys, it really didn't matter who won because we were both reppin' Vegas. It was just really cool, because Aaron is a tapper and he's so versatile in other style.

And me being a street dancer, I don't think there's ever been a tapper and a street dancer in the finals. So we were just taking in all the things that we've done and our journey together. And so, I never really had an idea that I would be picked over him or he'd be picked over me. It was just that, I don't know, you kind of just live in the moment.

Reality TV World: Do you think it's a coincidence you were partnered with Amy at the beginning of the season and you both ended up being crowned winners? Do you think viewers took such a liking to you guys as a pair that they sort of followed you the whole way through the competition or do you think your individual dances towards the end of the season had more of an impact on the voting?


Fik-Shun: Yeah, I think that our partnership did play a part in it. That was probably huge just because America got to see us grow and connect at the same time. We invited them in, which is really cool, that like, you can connect with two people through a TV screen. So, I don't know. That was really awesome.

And I feel like America did dig that, and at the same time, we both got to dance with amazing dancers outside of working with each other. She got to dance with [Travis Wall] which is awesome, and I got to dance with Twitch, which is like a dream come true. So, it was just, I don't know, you have to take the whole thing into consideration. I feel like it as a whole got us through to the end.

Reality TV World: Yourself and Amy were definitely challenged with a couple ballroom routines this season and that was obvious. But when I talked to BluPrint, he actually said he believes it's more difficult to perform in your own dance style mainly because people have really high expectations of you since it's the genre in which you should be most knowledgeable and skilled. Do you agree or disagree with that and why?

Fik-Shun: I would definitely have to say I do agree with that only because that is how people view it when you hear someone in hip-hop is doing a hip-hop dance. It's like, "Okay, he's going to rock no matter what." So if you do anything less than great, then they think, "Well, okay, I wish it would've been better" type of deal -- and same thing with a contemporary dancer being judged for contemporary.

So I feel like there is a little bit more pressure, but I feel like when you do it and it is your style, you can't think about what people are thinking. You just gotta think like, "Okay, I just gotta rock it as much as I can." But you should be like that with every style, not just your style. So I mean, I do kind of agree that it puts a little bit of pressure on you as far as letting you get your style and you're expected to shine.


Reality TV World: The judges have made a few funny comments about certain pairs of dancers that would make really cute couples in real life and there was that brief instance when Cat Deeley kind of suggested Curtis Holland and Haley Erbert were dating at one point. I just want to ask whether there is anything romantic going on between you and Amy or whether something could eventually happen. Some viewers are saying you two would be cute together as well.

Fik-Shun: Well, what America doesn't know about Amy is she has a boyfriend. (Laughs) It's definitely not happening. But I mean, we are friends behind closed doors. So no, nothing romantic going on like that.

Reality TV World: What do you plan to do with the money you won? Do you plan to spend some of it on your training?

Fik-Shun: Yes, [but] I have not really thought about that. I mean, I'd like to save a little.

Reality TV World: You had amazing judges and guest judges either praise or critique you this season. Looking back on your whole experience, what was one compliment a member of the panel gave you that completely thrilled you? And then what was one critique or complaint that stuck with you and you'd always remember during rehearsals and onstage? Maybe there was one complaint that you really tried to fix or improve upon.


Fik-Shun: Oh yeah, definitely! As soon as you said that, I thought of the perfect two. I'll start with the good news. Nah, I'll start with the bad. (Laughs) Well, there was a point when [Nigel Lythgoe] would basically, especially with ballroom, talk about my shoulders and how I have to move forward with the technique -- like I can't just get through with performance.

And I think he was saying something about playing the same character or what not. So it really made me think that I can't just always be like the happy performer. I want to have technique too. I want to show that I can be more versatile than just be a performance.

So that was one of the things I really thought about after hearing that, and it really made me try to go hard as far as any technique in any genre that I got. I really had to point my feet or straighten my legs and keep my shoulders down.

And as far as the good comment, when Kenny Ortega said that if any choreographer asked me to fly I'd find a way to do it, that just made me so -- it made me tell myself, like, "Dude, you CAN find a way to fly, even if it doesn't last long, even if you just soar for a little bit." I feel like I would try it, you know? That definitely made me feel really, really good. That's definitely going to stick with me for a very long time. 

Check back with Reality TV World soon for some additional highlights from Fik-Shun's call with reporters, and click here to begin reading Amy's interview.






About The Author: Elizabeth Kwiatkowski