'Dance' is done, but Utahn is still smiling

You might think that Randi Evans would be a little down in the dumps after she was eliminated from "So You Think You Can Dance."

You'd be wrong.

Not only did she keep a big smile on her face when she learned her fate on last week's elimination show, but she sounded equally upbeat on the telephone afterward.

"Someone had to go, and I felt like I had a really good run," said the 23-year-old Orem dancer, who made the show's top 10 before being voted out last week with her partner, Kupono Aweau. "So it wasn't really sad, it was more content that I gave it all that I had."

And instead of being disappointed that she's out of the competition, Evans is excited that she'll be part of the upcoming "So You Think You Can Dance" tour.

"I know that I've made tour, so that's something to look forward to," she said. "I look at the other contestants on the show and they're all amazing, so for me to get as far as I did, I'm very content. It's not sad. I don't feel sad. I feel lucky to have gotten as far as I did."

The 40-city tour starts Sept. 20, and makes a stop at the E Center in West Valley City on Nov. 7.

For five weeks, Evans sailed through the competition with her first partner, Evan Kasprzak. But the dancers had to switch partners for last week's show, and Evans and Aweau's performance was criticized by the judges. And they received the fewest votes from viewers.

"I don't really know what it was with Evan. We just hit it off right at the beginning," Evans said. "When we had to switch partners, I just feel like we didn't have enough time. But it is what it is. We did our best. Kupono's a great guy, and we had a lot of fun together. ... Unfortunately, it just wasn't the best number of the night."

She had nothing but good things to say about her experience. Evans had difficulty picking out her favorite moment — except, perhaps, for the moment when she found out that she made it through the auditions and onto the show.

"I'd been trying to make the show for three years, so when they finally told me I did, it was unforgettable," she said.

And that clearly outweighs any disappointment she feels.

Evans said her family called after she was eliminated and sounded "all somber," but she "was, like, hey, what's up?"

"I get to go see them and rest my body. I'm just trying to be positive about what happened."