Last Monday’s So You Think You Can Dance season finale saw stage dancer Gaby Diaz crowned as America’s Favorite Dancer over street dancer Jaja Vankova.
The reality series underwent a dramatic overhaul in its 12th season as the traditional format was changed to pit classically trained dancers against performers with street dancing experience. The show also introduced pop article Jason Derulo as a formal member of the judging panel and brought in former SYTYCD competitors Travis Wall and tWitch as coaches for the stage and street teams.
At the finale, I had the opportunity to catch up with Team Stage finalist Hailee Payne. We chatted about a variety of subjects as I asked Hailee to describe whether she felt satisfied at making it to the finale or if it was bittersweet to get so far and not come out with the win. I asked Hailee if the secret to doing well on So You Think You Can Dance is simply to train in Utah as so many of the show’s most talented alumni come from the state. Hailee described her favourite routine of the season and opened up about the format changes to the program and how that affected this season’s competitors.
Check out the interview above!
