Without hitting one false note on stage, contemporary dancer Kent Boyd then stepped to the microphone during Vegas week and gave the speech of his life. And that, too, had nary a false moment either.
'I'm from a freaking farm, and I just danced next to Alex freaking Wong, and Anthony [Burrell], who could frickin' smash the crap out of me. I'll never have kicks like them! Obviously, I have the heart, you know?" Boyd told the judges with equal parts passion and humility. Right then and there, someone needed to drill a plaque into the stage the same way the University of Florida did at its football stadium for Tim Tebow's 2008 speech after his Gators' home loss to Ole Miss.
He has the heart, but he does have pretty good kicks too. Boyd recalls Vegas, and talks about how much the All-Stars have helped him on So You Think You Can Dance, in this portion of an interview done before the competition really gets underway tonight.
Vegas Auditions: "I'm Still So Emotional"
AH: Was there ever a more grueling, tougher week in your life than the week you had in Vegas?
KB: No. Vegas was so crazy, and especially just like what they put you through physically and emotionally. I'm still so emotional, and I've never cried so much. I swear, when anyone would talk about dancing or the way that they love dance, I'd just start crying. I'm like, what am I doing? What is this doing to me?
It's just very gruesome on your body and it plays with your mind.
AH: Your speech in Vegas after dancing alongside Alex and Anthony was one of the most spontaneously genuine and heartfelt things I've ever seen. What prompted that pour-out-your-soul moment?
KB: Just the fact that they were in the last round and I was toward the end of the group, and they were cutting everyone. People that I would say they were so good -- I felt like that after every round. Oh, my God, they were so good -- I was just like, well I don't know what I'm gonna have to do to stay in the competition, because I feel like I'm not the best dancer at all.
I felt like I had to let them know that I wanted to be here and that I belong here. I felt like if I didn't do something, then I was going to get cut for sure. That was the toughest round, because that was when they made the last cut. The only thing I could do was just tell them that I don't have the technique, but there's something in me that other people don't have, and that's what I wanted them to realize.
AH: You know you've done something when Lil' C is crying his eyes out. You know that, right?
KB: Oh, I know. That was crazy. That moment for me was just beautiful.
Working with the All-Stars
AH: It must've been a blast to finally get on the stage with that exhibition show.
KB: Yes. Oh, yes. It was amazing. To actually look out at the people ... you know, I've been to a couple of tapings too. I've been out to L.A. once, and it was just so weird, because I can remember standing in the audience, and now, switching and being up on the stage.
I just remember when the show was over, one of the girls said, I like you! And then I pointed to me, because I didn't know if she was talking to me or Alex Wong. She was like, you! And I said, "What?" Comments like that just blow my mind.
AH: You seem to be someone who would absorb and appreciate every bit of knowledge thrown your way. Are you learning more from choreographers, fellow dancers, or is it an even split?
KB: Yes -- that was my whole goal in Vegas week, was just to soak in everything. And that's my goal here, to soak in everything from anybody who wants to offer me something. I feel like some of the best moments in dancing are when you're watching other people, and they don't know how much better of a dancer they're making you when they're dancing themselves.
I love doing that, feeding off people's energy and feeding off that kind of stuff with my fellow competitors, and also with the All-Stars and the choreographers, just trying to take in everything, trying to be not disappointing to them. That's just my main thing. I don't want to disappoint them and I don't want to disappoint myself, obviously. I'm just trying to grow from everyone that I can, because that would just be so stupid of me if I didn't.
AH: How will it specifically help you being paired each week with an All-Star?
KB: I think I was put on this season for a reason. A lot of nerves hit me, and they do a really good job of calming me down and realizing that it's not [best] to compare and stuff like that. They're just there because they've been there before, and that's very reassuring because they know the emotions and everything that I go through. I'm glad that I have them so much, because their words and the talks that they always give you really do lift me up and help me stay positive.
AH: You just graduated high school, so will you be starting college in the fall? Or do you know that?
KB: I don't really know. I got accepted to a school in New York [Marymount Manhattan], but I don't know what's going to happen from this, or if anything will happen. That is always an option. College is always there, and I will eventually go there, so I don't know really what's going to happen.
Alex Hoffman - Alex Hoffman is a graduate of the University of Kansas' journalism school whose credits include Midwest Commercial Journal, Lawrence ...
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