'So You Think You Can Dance' season 16: Smac gets eliminated during Academy Round and fans are devastated
'So You Think You Can Dance' season 16 returned on Monday (June 15) night and it was nothing short of entertaining.
After five weeks of auditions, Monday night marked the first part of Academy Round where the judges whittle the contestants down to Top 10 men and Top 10 women. While there were a slew of contestants to keep track of, some handled the pressure of the Academy Round well, while some gave into it.
The Academy round is where the narrowing down of contestants takes place in the competition.
The greatest showman has some competition... 🤩 #SYTYCD pic.twitter.com/FXg3fKEk2C
— SYTYCD (@DANCEonFOX) July 16, 2019
While each dancer who was sent to the next round performs the best when the style of dance is in their comfort zone, can they be a jack of all trades and master other styles? Can a B-boy learn contemporary? Can krumpers learn to tango? Can you break ballroom and broadway? Are they able to dance in a group, as a couple, like they dance solo?
The Academy Round is all about learning and this opportunity if used right can help the dancers shine bright throughout the rest of the competition. While Monday night's episode determines who will move on to the live shows, the judges have the tough job of whittling them down. While many fan favorites survived the cuts this week and moved on to the final Academy round next week, one fan-favorite didn't make the cut.
Sarah McCreanor's audition was aired during the first episode when the season premiered. The 26-year-old contestant from Brisbane, Australia goes by the nickname 'Smac'.
Smac is a comic jazz dancer who grooved to 'Boogie Wonderland' for her audition round. Apart from her regular routine, the main thing that stood out about Smac, is that she brought in small bits of humor while she moved around and she also winked at the audience. After her audition, Mary told her "Your professional timing couldn’t have been any better. You’re like the Lucille Ball of dancing.” And no doubt, she did advance to the Academy Round.
Performing on Monday night for a chance to make it to the live shows, Smac undoubtedly passed through the first round which was hip-hop. The second round which was ballroom, was where she met her downfall this season. During her ballroom performance, Smac faced a few problems, but since the judges love her personality and the way she moved, they asked her to redo her solo routine.
After performing her solo routine for the judges, though they loved her humor and rest of her performance, they were still not sure if her dancing was up to the level of other dancers who were in the Academy. In the end, Nigel sent her home.
After fans saw that she was eliminated, they took to social media to share that they were devastated because she is now gone and that she was also their favorite. "Should've put her through. It might not be "So You Think You Can Entertain", but it's still a TV show, and I think she would've been a plucky boon," wrote a fan on Twitter.
While another fan added saying, "I’m straight up devastated. Smac was my favorite!" Adding to that a fan said, "Big mistake judges! I could watch her dance all day!!! Master entertainer!"
'So You Think You Can Dance' season 16 airs every Monday night on Fox. Check your local listings for more information.