Utah dancer 'thrilled'

BEVERLY HILLS, Calif. — A month-and-a-half ago, Utah native Sabra Johnson sounded a little surprised that she was one of the 20 finalists on Fox's "So You Think You Can Dance." In an interview with the Deseret Morning News, she talked about how she was the "least experienced" of the dancers and cast herself in the role of the underdog.

So far, so good. As the competition heads into its final phase, Johnson is one of the 10 finalists. And, as such, she's already made the group that will perform in a national tour once the show ends.

"Oh, my goodness. The top 10 — it's the best thing," Johnson said. "I'm so grateful for it. I mean, I wasn't really expecting anything, so to be top 10 is thrilling."

The 10 finalists perform tonight in a 90-minute edition of the show (7 p.m., Ch. 13); the "results" episode — when two hopefuls will be eliminated — airs Thursday at 8 p.m. on Ch. 13.

Johnson is the latest Utahn to make a splash on a TV dance show, following in the footsteps of a bunch of locals who have appeared on both "So You Think You Can Dance" and "Dancing With the Stars." And she's not quite sure why Utah dancers have figured so prominently.

"There's nothing to do there so we all just decide to dance," she said. "That's what everybody says, but I really don't know."

Johnson, who turns 20 this week, is finding that the whole "So You Think You Can Dance" process is beginning to take a toll. It's the "longest audition I've ever been through" — starting way back in February when she first auditioned to be on the show. And it makes for a lot of hard work and long hours.

"It is hard. Personally, that's become my new challenge," she said. "Not, like, how far can I get? But how far can my body actually go? Just because it's this dance, it's that dance. Wake up at 6:30 in the morning and go to 12 at night. It's just long days, long hours and it's dancing all the time."

And, while she's reluctant to say it — she doesn't want to sound overly boastful — Johnson is beginning to believe she just might have a chance to win the whole thing.

"I still believe that I have the least experience. But I have people who believe in me, so it definitely helps me a lot more," she said. "So you never know."

And she insists that the field of contestants really are the best of friends. As much as she'd like to win, she's a bit uncomfortable with the thought that for her to do so, her friends have to lose.

"I have faith in myself ... but I also have faith in everybody else," Johnson said. "When you watch it every week, you can't pick out a bad person. And then, on top of that, because I know everybody personally, I can't say that I don't want anybody (else) to win.

"We're always all saying, 'Why can't we just split the money. Why can't you just take us all?' Because we've all already worked so hard to be here. And we're all, like, so in love with each other that (who's going to win) is the wrong question to ask."

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E-mail: pierce@desnews.com