It's rare for a tapper to go all the way when it comes to the live shows of So You Think You Can Dance, but just as Gaby changed that on Season 12 of the dance competition show, tap dancer Emma could win So You Think You Can Dance. The top 10 dancers between the ages of 8 and 13 were chosen by the All-Stars during the June 27 Next Generation episode and though Gaby had two very different dancers to make her final choice from, she ended up going with the firecracker that is Emma. The 10-year-old tapper first impressed judges Nigel Lythgoe, Paula Abdul, and Jason Derulo when she auditioned for them in Chicago to Abdul's song "Cold Hearted." While Emma could be accused of pandering to the judges (I don't blame her at all — Abdul's music is awesome), she can also be accused of being massively talented, so it was no surprise that the stellar performer breezed through to the Academy and that Gaby chose her to be on her team.
Maybe it's because I'm jealous of her abs (something I have never had at 10 years old or any other age) or because she's so adorable, but I have been rooting for Emma to succeed from the beginning. Although tap is her chosen dance style, she clearly has talent in the other styles as she has shown by her excellent pirouettes in her solos and how she handled Travis Wall's contemporary choreography at the Academy. It's essential that the dancer who wins So You Think You Can Dance can master almost any dance style and Emma, with her great sense of rhythm and musicality, is sure to show the judges that she can take on anything.
Like the two super successful female tap dancers before her on So You Think You Can Dance — her All-Star and Season 12 winner Gaby and Season 11's runner-up Valerie — Emma could mark the third time in a row that a tapper highlights her skills to get very close to winning, if not winning, the show. While I'm excited for what every kid has to show when So You Think You Can Dance: The Next Generation starts its live shows on July 11, Emma has already made a great first impression and here's hoping she only continues to wow the audience and judges from here on out.
Image: FOX
