Ricky Jaime Fails To Advance to Finals of 'So You Think You Can Dance'

Newsome High School graduate and Riverview resident Ricky Jaime has been wowing audiences across the country with his slick dance moves.

But did he gain enough votes after Wednesday night's So You Think You Can Dance? show to continue to next week's finale?

The answer came Thursday, Aug. 4, just minutes ago, on Fox Television's popular dance show.

About 9 p.m., the vote came in, and Jaime will not be advancing to the final round.

With tears in his eyes, but a smile on his face, Jaime accepted his fate.

It's a good bet he'll come home to a heart-warming reception from local fans.

In a packed Carrollwood restaurant Wednesday, Aug. 3, giggly girls crammed into booths and stared at big-screen TVs. All eyes were fixated on one person onscreen – their teacher, their colleague, their friend.

Fifty-odd young dancers and dance moms – and a few dads – gathered at Burrito Boarder in Carrollwood to watch Jaime, one of the six finalists in the hit show.

Nineteen-year-old Jaime is a dance instructor at Centerstage Dance Academy, next door to Burrito Boarder, and his students have been with him since the beginning.

“I’m so happy for him,” said Shannen Moen, 18. “I’m so proud of him.”

A high school senior, Moen’s been dancing for more than 15 years, three of them at CDA. She met Jaime at a dance competition a few years ago and says he’s as much a friend as a teacher.

“He pushes us to a level where he knows we can do it,” she said. “He’s made me into a beautiful dancer that I never thought I could be.”

Most of the fans were wearing black T-shirts that read, in all caps, “Top 10…Dreams Do Come True. Vote for Ricky Jaime.”

He’s not like a regular dance teacher, they say. He pushes them harder, builds them up higher.

Moen pulled out her Blackberry phone to show off a favorite video of Jaime dancing to the Pussycat Dolls in a blonde wig before a dance competition.

They miss having his personality around, but they said they were overjoyed for his accomplishment.

“His life has completely changed, and we’re thrilled,” said Yvette Breheney, the owner of Centerstage for 24 years. It’s bittersweet to see Jaime onstage because the academy misses him, she said, but she knows the opportunity waiting for him is worth some time away from home.

“You want to see them succeed and live their dream,” she said. “That’s what you want … for them to take off and fly.”