So You Think You Can Dance contender, Alex Wong is still left reeling from his sudden departure from the dance competition due to a rupture to his Achilles tendon. It happened while happened while he was in final rehearsals for his bollywood routine with fellow contestant, Adechike.
Alex hopes to see the silver lining soon, but right now, his heart is hurting. Read the transcript from today’s conference call with reporters to find out how Alex feels about his fellow contestants, his upcoming surgery on Tuesday, and whether or not he’ll try out for SYTYCD again next year.
Also, check out a video of Alex speaking with reporters right after his elimination last night from Give Me My Remote.
Plus, Nigel Lythgoe told reporters last night, that Alex is invited to return next year, if the injury does not end his career. (yikes!) Watch the video from GiveMeMyRemote.
Nigel names Kent Boyd and Lauren Froderman as the new frontrunners…
Transcript and videos after the JUMP…
Did Alex know he was going to be leaving and how heartbreaking was it to leave the show a second time? “I knew I was going to be leaving, because the night before, I was pretty sure that I had split my Achilles in half. It’s been kind of a long couple of days to find out that it wasn’t going to happen. I had such an amazing journey. I’m so grateful for everything that’ s happened to me. Everything happens for a reason, and I just have to try to keep my chin up.”
How much pain is he in? “I’m not in too much physical pain, but my heart really hurts. Emotionally, I’m in a lot of pain.”
When it happened, did Alex know he was injured right away? What was going through his mind at that point? “I was doing a series of jumps at the end of my bolllywood rountine on the Tuesday night rehearsal. It was actually the last rehearsal. I didn’t even land funny. I thought I stepped on something. I heard a crack. I thought the floor buckled—when I looked down the floor was flat. I was kind of shocked. I stopped. …he looked at my Achilles and he said, ‘look, it’s not there…it’s split in half.’ I was so frustrated. I sat there, and I just thought to myself, ‘better not be hurt, this better not take you out.’ I’ve worked so hard and I’ve given up so much to be here. It was just really, really hard. I was very, very, very frustrated. I still am. Looking back at my journey, I’m very grateful to even be here in the first place.”
Is Alex coming back next season? (laughs) “I have to wait and see what’s going on with my injury, hopefully I can continue.”
Does he want to come back after having gone through the process? “It’s definitely something I look forward to. I feel like I haven’t finished my journey. There’s so much more to learn, I was learning so much every single day. It definitely is appealing for me to come back.”
Is he certain he’ll return next year? “So You Think You Can Dance takes so much out of your life. I have to start from Vegas, and then you don’t know if you’re going to get picked. You kind of have to give up everything before you even know. It’s going to be a tough decision. I really do want to return, because I feel I haven’t finished my journey, but I really have to give it some thought.”
If he gets something amazing, would he not go back to the show? “I think it all depends on what happens from here. I’m in surgery on Tuesday, and it’s a long recovery process from there. Whatever happens happens. I’m going to go with the flow and see what happens when the time comes.”
Does he feel like the time spent on SYTYCD was a great launching pad? “I think it’s really exposed me to the public eye. It’s amazing that So You Think You Can Dance has done so much for dancers. It amazes me every single day that people are actually watching, and people actually like it. When we go outside, people recognize us all over the street. I’m very happy because dance is such an important part of my life. So You Think You Can Dance has really brought dance back to the public eye.”
On Alex’s upcoming surgery and recovery, “It’s slow, because you’re not supposed to push it too hard, because the tendons could tear again.”
Last week, Alex danced a Hip-hop routine with Twitch. Does he feel he went out on a high note? “I do. I feel like I’ve accomplished a lot of what I set out to do. I feel like I wasn’t finished. I feel like there was so much more I could learn. It’s very bittersweet, because even though I have had a few great weeks, it’s just not enough.”
What other dance styles would Alex have liked to try? “This week, I had the Foxtrot and the bollywood. That was all ready to go. I would have loved to get a Latin ballroom. Anything. I’m up for all the styles, just because there’s nowhere else you can do that and this is why I came to the show, to learn. I would have loved to have danced with every single all-star. They are all so amazing and such inspirations, and they help us so much.”
Was he surprised by how close he got to all the contestants on the show? “It was not something I really expected. I assumed that we would all get close. But this season was really special. I think with just so few of us to begin with…it’s luck of the draw when suddenly everything is amazing. The contestants are the most amazing people. We all get along so well. That’s going to be the hardest part for me—to leave them.
What style did Alex enjoy doing the most?, “Probably hip-hop and bollywood. It’s really crazy…but that’s what I came to do, I came to learn all these different styles. I enjoy learning that so much. To get such good feedback from the judges—it’s just like the cherry on top. I really enjoyed those so much.”
Was he expecting to enjoy such diverse dance styles? “It’s not that I necessarily enjoyed those styles more [than his own style, contemporary and ballet], it’s just that it’s very very new to me. It was surprising that I even got through it.”
Will he attend the finale? “I don’t know. I think it depends on my recovery process. I don’t think that I will be dancing. Hopefully I get to go to at least watch. If something amazing happens, and I recover really quickly, who knows.”
Will he go back to Vancouver (where he’s from)? “I’m going to get my surgery in LA, and I’ll stay here for a bit, and then I’ll probably go back to Vancouver for a little bit.”
Does Alex see a silver lining yet? “Not yet. I’m sure it will come up sooner than later, hopefully. I’m very grateful.”
Alex Wong Interview
Interview with Nigel
