SALT LAKE CITY — Last week on “So You Think You Can Dance,” Utah ballroom dancer Ezra Sosa was in danger of going home and watched his sister, Stephanie Sosa, get eliminated.
“I was heartbroken, because this wasn’t just my dream, it was hers, too,” he said. “It was a dream to be here with my sister. I just didn’t expect her to leave so early.”
This week, Sosa successfully channeled those emotions into his dances — which included two duets, one solo and a group number — and landed a spot in the Top 6.
Sosa’s first duet with partner Madison Jordan — a hip-hop routine to Dizzee Rascal’s “Space” that saw the dancers dressed as astronauts — was out of his element for a couple of reasons: Hip-hop is a long way from ballroom, and Sosa has a fear of heights, making the pair’s entrance from the ceiling especially daunting.
This wasn’t the judges’ favorite performance from Sosa Monday night, but judge Nigel Lythgoe did tell Sosa and Jordan, “One small step for man, 467 steps you were given tonight to perform, and in general, you performed them brilliantly. Congratulations.”
Sosa got a chance to really shine during his solo to Gloria Estefan and Miami Sound Machine’s “Conga.” His bright, energetic performance delighted the judges and had them all on their feet.
After that number, Sosa’s next chance to impress the judges was his second duet with Jordan, an Argentine tango. Although Sosa is a ballroom dancer who has trained at the Centre Stage Performing Arts Studio in Orem — the same studio where Utah native and “World of Dance” judge Derek Hough studied — Sosa admitted Argentine tango wasn’t his forte.
“Argentine tango is a form of ballroom that I’m not used to, it feels a little foreign to me,” he said. “This is definitely the hardest routine that we’ve gotten so far.”
Challenges aside, the dance got a standing ovation from two judges, and all hailed Sosa as “the perfect partner.”
“You guys did it beautifully out there,” ballroom dance champion and judge Mary Murphy told the pair. “And Ezra, who wouldn’t want to dance with you? Come on! You’re the perfect partner!”
“That was intense. I felt like I was in a movie. It was so cinematic,” judge Laurieann Gibson added. “You smashed that, you should be very proud. Ezra you are so talented, so gifted, so strong as a partner.”
But despite all of the praise for Sosa, after performing his final number of the night — a group routine to Lord Kraven’s “Rebirth” — Sosa learned that the audience votes from last week landed him in the bottom two male dancers and once more put him in danger of going home.
But like last week, the judges came to the rescue and unanimously decided Sosa should stay and continue on to the Top 6 of “So You Think You Can Dance.” Sosa’s sister, Stephanie Sosa, was in the crowd and visibly emotional as she stood up and cheered for her brother.
It was a moment of relief for Sosa, but also a reminder that he still has a long way to go.
“Somehow they haven’t related to America,” Lythgoe said of the dancers the audience placed in the bottom four. “For some reason or other, America hasn’t voted for them. So whoever is staying this evening, remember that and try and figure out what you need to do to appeal to America.”
“So You Think You Can Dance” airs on Fox at 7 p.m. on Mondays.