Hip-Hop and Dancehall specialist Tamara-Lee Thompson became the fourth dancer in the Top 20 to leave So You Think You Can Dance South Africa on Tuesday night (23 September) after failing to save herself when asked to dance for her life.
Her eviction followed the disqualification of Blaze Blasbalg from the show after a severe illness laid him low and prevented him from dancing.
Their departures means that for the first time in the competition a new partnership will emerge as Bathembu and Marise team up this week (Bathembu previously partnered Tamara and Marise partnered Blaze).
Tamara’s eviction was not the unanimous choice of the judges, as Head Judge Harold van Buuren acknowledged. He informed Tamara that her inability to shine in genres outside her own had impacted on her performance during the contest.
“This competition is about performance and when you had to dance for your life on tonight’s show we saw your energy decrease,” Van Buuren told Tamara.
It had been hoped that Johannesburg-hip hop specialist Blaze – whose parents had steered him towards a career in mechanical engineering over dance – would be able to attend Saturday night’s live show and dance the Samba with partner Marize, but Blaze’s unexpected illness saw him automatically being disqualified from the competition instead.
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