So You Think You Can Dance? (Season Two) finalists (Courtesy Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia)

List of the top twenty finalists from the second season of So You Think You Can Dance. 116 dancers were invited to Las Vegas for a week's training. That 116 was eventually whittled down to 41, and finally to 20.

Dmitry Chaplin

See Dmitry Chaplin for more information

• Birth date: July 14, 1982
• Birth place: Rostov-on-Don, Russia
• Occupation: Ballroom Dancer

Dmitry currently lives in Brooklyn, New York. He graduated from School #8 in Rostov-on-Don, Russia, Minnetonka High School in Minnetonka, Minnesota, and attended Brooklyn College in Brooklyn, New York for one semester.

Outside of the show, Dmitry is currently partnered with Heidi Groskreutz and was a national finalist in US National Amateur Dancesport Championships in Provo, Utah that occurred on March 11,2006.

Chaplin's dance style proved extremely popular with the audience, and other contestants sought his assistance in how to "dance masculine". According to one audience member's poster, "Dmitry's hips don't lie". The judges generally rated his dancing positively, but call-in votes still repeatedly placed him in the bottom three couples each week. Three of his first partners, Joy Spears, Aleksandra Wojda and Ashlee Nino, were eliminated, so he was labeled as being cursed. Dmitry was partnered with Donyelle Jones during the show on July 19 when all the contestants switched partners.

On the results show of July 20, it was revealed that Donyelle had beaten the curse of Dmitry, but he was unable to beat it himself.

Dmirtry was hired to choreograph a latin routine in season 3 for Danny and Lacey.

Musa Cooper

See Musa Cooper for more information Cooper is a dancer and fitness model who has had several television appearances, including appearing on both seasons of "So You Think You Can Dance." he was born February 26, 1978, and raised in Camden, New Jersey. He attended Lenape High School, where he was a track star in the 1990s. A dancer from a young age, Cooper specialized in hip-hop and b-boying styles, then studying more rhythmic dances when he reached his early teens. In 2005, he was one of the first people to audition for the first season of the show, and was prominently featured in the first few episodes. Though he impressed the judges, he didn't make the final cut. He tried again at the New York auditions in 2006 though, and made it through to the top 20 finalists. He proceeded to the top 12, but was eliminated on July 13, 2006. His assigned dance partner had been Natalie Fotopoulos, who went on to become one of the top 6 finalists before herself being eliminated.

Erin Ellis

Contemporary dancer. One of the first two contestants eliminated on June 15, 2006. Original Partner was ballroom dancer Stanislav Savich, who also got eliminated on June 15, 2006.

Jessica Fernandez

Born September 18, 1987, in Margate, Florida. A ballet dancer often complimented by Nigel, Jessica bore a great deal of resemblance to actress Sarah Jessica Parker. Despite her and her partner Jaymz Tuaileva's consistent performances, they were constantly chastised for not connecting to the audience and getting more votes to stay out of the bottom three couples. They were eliminated from the competition on July 6, 2006.

Natalie Fotopoulos

Natalie Fotopoulos (b. December 16, 1983) is an American dance teacher who made the top 6 of the second season of the FOX reality show, So You Think You Can Dance. She was eliminated on August 3, 2006 along with Ivan Koumaev.

Fotopoulos, a Greek American, was born in Tampa to a dancing family, as both her mother, Annette Wilson, and aunt were also dancers, and her grandmother, Rosemary Bramuchi, also ran a dance school. Her father, Andy Fotopoulos, owns a chain of pizza restaurants in Tampa Bay.

Fotopoulos's family moved to Memphis, Tennessee when she was 8, though she returned to Tampa in 2005. While in Memphis, she taught at her mother's dance studio Dance Dynamics, for 12 years, . She started to dance at age 2, then moving on to studying acrobatics and ballet. Her specialty is in lyrical and jazz, and dancers who have influenced her include Ann Reinking and Gregory Hines.

She works as a dance instructor at her aunt's studio, All American Dance Factory, in Tampa, Florida.

After she was on the show, Natalie was hired to choreograph for the So You Think You Can Dance in Greece.

Heidi Groskreutz

See Heidi Groskreutz for more information Groskreutz, born September 3, 1981, is from Cliffside Park, New Jersey, and raised in Newport Beach, California. As of 2006, she is a six-time U.S.A. Open Swing Dance champion. Her dancing specialties are Latin, ballroom, and swing dancing. In the second season of "So You Think You Can Dance", she proceeded to the final four with her cousin and eventual winner Benji Schwimmer. Her original partner, Ryan Rankine (contemporary dancer) made it to the top 8 as well. Her other cousin, Benji's younger sister Lacey, was on the third season of "So You Think You Can Dance," as a top 4 finalist as well. Heidi appeared during season 3 in the audience frequently to support Lacey. She also was a assistant to Benji and Dimitri of season 2 when they each choreographed dances for season 3.

Allison Holker

See Allison Holker for more information Allison Holker is a contemporary jazz dancer from Orem, Utah. She was a top eight finalist, but eliminated on July 27, 2006. She was born February 6, 1988 in Minnesota, and grew up in Orem, Utah. She has been dancing since she was three years old and also danced in Disney's High School Musical. She danced with Ivan Koumaev. She danced with Ryan when it was time to split up. They soon were back together on Top 8 performance before leaving the competition.

Donyelle Jones

Donyelle Jones (b. July 3, 1979 in Los Angeles, California) is a jazz and hiphop dancer, choreographer and teacher, who currently resides in Studio City, California. Prior to being a contestant, she was a dancer in Black Eyed Peas and Missy Elliot videos. She also won her dance off on the TV show Dance 360. In the movie Be Cool Donyelle was a featured dancer, and she has been on tour with rappers Snoop Dogg and The Game. She was also a featured choreographer in the Choreographer Ball "Carnival" in Los Angeles. At one point before the show, she quit dance for six months because she was tired of repeated criticism about her weight. According to a September 29, 2006 interview on The Tyra Banks Show, Jones was often told during auditions that she was clearly the best dancer in the room, but couldn't be hired because she had the "wrong body type".

She successfully auditioned though for So You Think You Can Dance, with her original assigned partner being Benji Schwimmer. Their starting hiphop number of "Too Much Booty (in da Pants)" received high marks from the judges, and other performances included "Put the Needle On It", Pop jazz; "Have You Ever Really Loved a Woman", Viennese waltz; and "You Can't Stop the Beat", Broadway. Donyelle was then paired with Dmitry Chaplin, with whom she danced the numbers "Sing Sing Sing", Lindy Hop, and "Hey Mama", Samba. The numbers "London Bridge", Hip hop, and "Dancin' Fool", Quickstep, were performed with Travis Wall.

Despite suffering with a broken toe during competition, Jones became a "top 4" finalist, and is currently one of the performers in the 2006 tour. She also has an *Official Myspace Page

Ivan Koumaev

See Ivan Koumaev for more information Ivan Koumaev was born in the Far East of Russia. He has one younger sister. He moved to the United States when he was 7, and grew up in Seattle, Washington. During a September 2006 interview on the U.S. program "Ellen", Koumaev stated that he had become interested in dancing at the age of 11, when he watched the movie Breakin', after which he went to a studio and sought training in hip-hop style.

He attended Aliso Niguel High School though he left in his senior year to pursue a career in dancing. While at the school, he was a member of the school's selective dance-related club, "Dance Appreciation". He has also been a member of "Cruz Control," is the captain of the "Team Boogiezone Breed Company," and has appeared in a Hannah Montana music video, along with local Seattle programs such as "Battle of Seattle" and "Sign of the Times."

After proceeding through the various auditions of So You Think You Can Dance to the finals, Koumaev was initially paired with partner Allison Holker, a favorite to win the overall competition. Their initial salsa dance caused the judges to praise Holker, but criticize Koumaev for being too stiff. The nationwide voting placed them in the bottom three couples, but they both escaped elimination to proceed through the next few rounds, with Koumaev steadily improving. One notable performance was a contemporary routine choreographed to the music "Why" by Annie Lennox, and was so well-received that it was regarded as one of the best routines ever in the history of the series. One of the judges, Mary Murphy, was crying too hard to be able to speak. She gave Koumaev the nickname of "Seabiscuit" after a racing horse who was considered unfit to win, but went on to impress everyone.

On July 27, 2006, Koumaev's initial partner Allison Holker was herself eliminated, leaving Koumaev as one of the top six finalists, though he too was eliminated in the following week.

Koumaev presently lives in Aliso Viejo, California, where he works as a dance instructor.

Ashlee Nino

Nino was born on January 11, 1985 in Fort Worth, Texas, and currently resides in Sherman Oaks, CA. She started to dance as a toddler, and became a specialist in popping. She trained at Missi's Dance Station (5 years) for clogging; Kendyl's Dance Academy (3 years) for Irish step and jazz; Dancin' Feet (11 1/2 years) for ballet, tap, and jazz; and Power House (2 years) for hip hop. She was eliminated from the competition on July 13, 2006. She also dances on the new videos Lock you down by Mya and in Beautiful Girls by Sean Kingston.

Martha Nichols

Martha (b. July 14, 1987 in Brooklyn, NY) is a part time dance teacher. Nichols was eliminated on July 20, 2006 with Dmitry Chaplin. She currently resides in Raleigh, NC. She started to dance at 2 1/2. She had jazz for 16 years, tap for 15 years, ballet for 9 years, and lyrical, modern, and hip hop for 7 years. She is a contemporary and hip hop specialist. Her nickname is Marf. Her hobbies are singing and playing the bassoon, the clarinet, and the drums. She performed in a mall for National Dance Week, the Raleigh Christmas Parade for 6 years, and a principle dancer in her school musicals such as Fame. Her favorite professional dancers are Jason Parsons, Brian Friedman, Mandy Moore, Dee Caspary, and Tabitha & Napoleon D'umo to name just a few. She attended Millbrook High School in Raleigh, North Carolina from 2001-2005.

Ryan Rankine

His hometown is Deer Park, NY, and he started to dance at age 8, later training with Dance Theatre of Harlem, San Francisco Ballet, and Miami City Ballet, as well as attending LaGuardia High School. He also danced a small part in the opening montage film Step Up. He was eliminated from the competition on July 27, 2006, and currently resides in New York City.

Stanislav Savich

Stanislav (b. July 19, 1984 in Moscow, Russia) is a ballroom dance teacher. He was eliminated with Erin Ellis on June 15, 2006. He currently resides in Brooklyn, NY. He started to dance at age 9. He trained with top dancers and teachers. His nickname is Stas. He is a ballroom dance teacher at the Phillips Dance Studio for the past 5 years. He has a talent for ping pong. His favorite professional dancer is Slavik Kryklyviy. He attended Millbrook High School from 2001-2005. Stanislav's sister, Faina, was on the third season of "So You Think You Can Dance".

Benji Schwimmer

See Benji Schwimmer for more information Already a multi-national award winner, along with his cousin and fellow contestant Heidi Groskreutz, Schwimmer was voted the #1 spot as "America's Favorite Dancer."

Joy Spears

Joy Spears lives in Killen, Alabama and was born on 8/19/87. Joy tours and assists Co.Dance, including choreographers Brian Friedman and Tyce Diorio. She is pursuing her dance career in LA.

Ben Susak

Benjamin Susak (born November 2, 1987 in Phoenix, Arizona, United States) is an American contemporary dancer. He was voted off the show by the judges on June 29, 2006.

Jaymz Tuaileva

Tuaileva, an American jazz dancer, was born February 25, 1986 in Orem, Utah. He also danced as an extra in the 2003 Reese Witherspoon film Legally Blonde 2: Red, White and Blonde. He was eliminated from the competition on July 6, 2006. He can also be seen currently in High School Musical 2.

Jason Williams

Eliminated on June 22, 2006

Aleksandra Wojda

Aleksandra Wojda (b. October 8, 1983 in Pretoria, South Africa) was eliminated with Ben Susak on June 29 2006. She currently resides in Evanston, IL. She is a contemporary, lyrical, and jazz specialist who started to dance at age 5. She recently graduated from Northwestern University with a double major in Communication Sciences and Disorders and International Studies and has taught the past two years at the Inspire School of Dance in Plainfield, IL.

Travis Wall

See Travis Wall for more information

Travis Wall is an American dance teacher who proceeded through the competition to the final four contestants in the second season of So You Think You Can Dance. Wall was praised by the judges as the most technically talented dancer in the competition.

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