Apparently, Utahns really can dance

There are 20 finalists competing on the Fox hit "So You Think You Can Dance," and Utah has a one-in-five chance of having yet another winner.

Four finalists have strong ties to the state. One's a native; one was raised here; and two made Utah their adopted home.

Chelsie Hightower, Thayne Jasperson, Gev Manoukian and Matt Dorame will perform on "Dance" tonight (7 p.m., Ch. 13); two of the 20 finalists will be eliminated on Thursday (8 p.m., Ch. 13).

Jasperson, 27, was born in Provo, moved to Wyoming and then returned to Utah County, where he graduated from Springville High and got an associate degree at Utah Valley State College. And he's a bit of a late-bloomer in the world of dance.

"I clogged when I was in Wyoming for maybe about a year or so, and I got made fun of by all the boys all the time, so I quit," he said.

He returned to dance at the age of 21 because he joined a singing group, of all things.

"They made me take dance class because they said I was really not good at it," he said with a laugh.

And when he saw the Odyssey Dance Theatre perform, "I was, like — whoa! I want to do that."

So, he started taking ballet, modern, jazz, lyrical, tap and hip-hop — all at the same time.

"Obviously, I didn't become amazing in a year, but I did grow a lot," he said. "And I got onto Odyssey after a year and a half of training."

Timpanogos High grad Hightower, 18, was born in Nevada but grew up in Orem and Pleasant Grove. A ballroom dancer since she was 9, she's been harboring dreams of making it on "So You Think You Can Dance."

"Ever since the first season, I wanted to do it," said Hightower, who was a U.S. Worlds finalist at the 2005 Ballroom Dance Championships. "It's been great so far. It's been amazing; getting to work with these trainers is really priceless."

Arizonan Dorame, 22, who has danced with Odyssey for the past two years, wasn't even sure he wanted to be on "So You Think You Can Dance."

"My mom has been trying to talk me into doing the show ever since season one," he said. "I've always been in school or a company or had some kind of commitment, so I've never been able to do it. It never was something I really wanted to do, just because I've always done company work and I was, like, 'I really don't want to go back into competing."'

Even though there were auditions in Salt Lake City in February (attended by all four finalists with Utah ties), he wasn't planning to audition.

"Our director had heard about it and gave us all the day off just to go down and do the auditions," Dorame said. "I liked the show and it was fun to watch, but it wasn't really for me. And then it kind of all just fell into our laps ... And I thought, 'Oh, maybe this is for me.' And before I knew it, we were here in California shooting. And it probably is one of the best things I've experienced so far."

Recent comments