For more on what the season favorite thinks about officially becoming America’s Favorite Dancer, the finale-night issues, and plans for the future, click on the jump.
Like anyone else even had a chance. Charm, talent, poise — Russell Ferguson had it all. That’s likely why the krumper bagged the $250,000 prize and title of America’s favorite dancer last night. Though we saw his victory coming a mile away, did Russell expect to win? Not long after his win, Russell talked to EW about his victory, his last-minute injury, and where we can expect to see him next. (The Oscars!)
Congratulations, Russell! How does it feel? It feels amazing. I feel great, energized.
You had to know you were a frontrunner this whole season, right? Not necessarily. I thought everybody there was extremely talented. That show could have gone any way. It was very 50/50 in my eyes.
Why did you decide to call Kevin up to the stage with you when you won? I was very excited. I just had to share that moment with him, because he’s been with me through the competition. The times where I just needed someone to talk to, he was always there. He was like a brother to me, even after he was eliminated. We talked on the phone. But it got really intense without him because it was hard to express certain things. I felt like he deserved to be up there with me and share that.
So what exactly happened last night? How did you injure yourself? The part in my piece where I jump off the stage and got krump, and the part when they pulled me back up, I landed on my ankle wrong. My ankle or something. And it was just a sprain. I could finish the piece at the moment, but after I got off-stage, I couldn’t really put more weight on it.
Is it any better now? It’s better. It’s swollen, but I can walk. I have to keep pressure off of it and make sure I take care of it and ice it, but it should be fine.
People on the web are a bit suspicious about the way you were able to jump around so much following your win, even though you were injured. So let’s set the record straight: Adrenaline? Jumping through the pain? What happened there? Definitely adrenaline. I was hopping on one leg. It was definitely adrenaline. It wasn’t that I didn’t want to dance. It was that I couldn’t.
Was Wade’s group number always going to be re-aired? Or did your injury force them to use the tape? That was supposed to be showed taped.
You got probably the most airtime out of any of the contestants going into top 20. Were you surprised by that? Oh yeah. I was just like, wow. That’s me! It was just unbelievable. It still is to this day. If I see it now, it still hits me. But it’s literally a dream come true. There’s no other way to put it.
There was never a krumper in the top 20. Did you think that would help or hurt your chances? Going back, when I did the audition, I didn’t really know what to expect, because I didn’t know how TV worked. I didn’t know how the show worked. I had seen the show a few times, but that was it. But once I did it, everyone was skeptical. They’re like, “Hey, what are you going to do in your audition?” And I’m like, “I’m gonna krump.” And they’re like, “For real?” Everybody there thought if you weren’t technical, you were a hip-hop dancer. But I was like, “Yea, I’m going to krump.” Everybody was shocked, like, “Well, good luck.” I was just like, hey, I know how to use this movement to the best of my ability. And I feel like, if you’re a performer, you can perform any dance.
Once you got to Vegas, you showed that you had skills in so many different areas. Had you taken classes in ballroom and contemporary prior to making the show? Oh yea. Definitely. I feel like, even being a street dancer, no matter where you’re from, or how rough it is, you should always study other genres of dance so you can be versatile, because you never know what’s going to be thrown at you. But that all comes with your love for dance in general. So yea, I took classes. I know enough to basically execute a good contemporary piece, I guess. Would I be the best in my ballet class? No.
But you can point your feet! I can point my feet.
Were you happy to get paired with Noelle? How did you help each other? Very excited. We just took each other though the competition with positive feedback for each other, and gave each other hugs. We talked a lot and built a good chemistry with each other.
The first week, Noelle got injured while rehearsing with you. Then Ashleigh got injured while you were rehearsing together during top 8 week. What gives? Are you a bad luck charm? I don’t know what it is, but all I know is, things happen. What can I say?
Did you have a favorite dance of the season? I definitely enjoyed doing the frog dance by Sean Cheesman, and I really enjoyed doing the foxtrot also.
Was there a moment in which you thought you could actually win the whole thing? I try to keep in a humble state of mind. There are times where I would think about winning, but I would stop thinking about that, because I felt like I would get too comfortable. And I wanted to stay on my toes the whole time until that actual moment.
Was there a point when you felt too comfortable? I felt like in competitions like these, you have to struggle. When you get too much praise, you don’t know how that feels, to be in the bottom.
Did you think it was weird that Nigel put you in the bottom the first week when everyone said you did pretty well? Oh yeah. I was very upset about that. I didn’t understand it at first, but then I realized, I came here to krump. But this might be the only time I’m in the bottom. So you might as well do it. And I did it, and I made sure I wasn’t going anywhere.
What are you going to do with your $250,000? I’m going to invest the money, and keep building on top of that. Hopefully buy a nice little car.
What’s next for you? You can expect to see me on the Oscars [with Kathryn].
What will you be doing? I’m not sure. It’s all being planned.
How about after the Oscars and the tour? Hopefully, I can get into some movies and some acting, because that’s where I want to put my focus.
More SYTYCD:
Ryan Di Lello Q&A: On dancing with his sweetheart and all that ab attention
Ellenore Scott Q & A: That alien voice, moving her family to NYC, and her aches and pains
I LOVE RUSSELL!! He is an inspiration. He went out an earned this every week. So great to hear him say he loved the foxtrot – that number was lovely, he an Noelle just looked so blissful.
congratulations to Russell…he and Legacy were the only ones I voted for. What a great end to S6!!
I find it silly that the recapper insists that Russell was a shoe-in for the win for weeks now. This season, more than any other, had at least 3 dancers that could have taken it all. To insist otherwise makes light of Kathryn and Jakob’s brilliant dancing, not to mention diminishing Russell’s win. The competition was tight, even if the actual results of the final voting wasn’t.
Thank you SO MUCH for saying that!! It really bothers me when fans of the show make it seem like Russell’s win was “in the bag” from day one. Truth is, the viewers are the ones who decide. If Jakob had won, I could make an equally compelling case that the “fix was in” for him to win from day one as well. Russell worked hard, danced extremely well and deserved the win. Had Jakob won, *he* would have deserved the win, too. Had Kathryn won, etc etc.
It is in the bag from day one of the top 20 when Russell was put in the bottom 4 for no reason. Plus only him, Legacy and Kathryn were given the growth praise and in Russell’s case no prior training. The media can say what they want, after all they got money from Fox (adverts).
You’re kinda dumb. Lots of people were given the ‘growth praise’. Mollie was given that compliment constantly after she left Nathan. They said that to Ashleigh all the time as well when talking about how far she came from Vegas week.
Nothing was in the bad during the top 20 and if it were up to the Judges that win would have gone to Katheryn or Jakob. God knows they fawned all over them from day 1 more than any other, especially Adam.
Perhaps you should watch the show again.
Also, Russell said in the article that he’d had previous lessons????
You’ll notice the person that said you’re ‘kinda dumb’ doesn’t know proper English, or spelling (with all the incorrect capitalizations of words and misuse of language). That person’s opinion and yours are equally valid, and I commend you for giving your opinion… My praise to you for speaking your mind, and shame on that person for being so judgemental!
I get what you’re saying. To me, it felt like Russell was a shoo-in because he was MY favorite … so didn’t everyone else see how awesome he was?? (LOL) So that’s what I mean about him being a “shoo-in.” Of course, Jakob was also incredible and deserves tons of accolades.
Congratulations Russell.
Was rooting for Jakob/Kathryn/Elleanore myself, but Rusell seemed like a nice, sweet person with amazing talent (whom the producers pimped from Day 1 it seemed).
Those were my favorites as well, but I’m still happy with Russell’s victory. He did grow so much over the course of the season. For more of my thoughts on the show, check out my blog: http://toointerestingfortwitter.blogspot.com/2009/12/so-you-think-you-can-dance-and-winner.html
Hopefully, he’s serious about investing that money. It seems that winners of this show fade from view very quickly, and this season will likely be no exception.
I love Jakob, Kathryn, Russell three of them equally. I hope the best for all of them.
Congratulations, Russell! The commenters on the recap article were being absolutely ridiculous and hateful. EW, you let that go on too long; I was really starting to wonder when you were going to post this. And can I say “Yay!” to bringing dancing back to the Oscars.
I agree; some of the talk in the recap comments were downright racist, talking about how “ghetto” Russell acted when he won and saying that he was acting like he came from the ‘hood. He acted like a guy who was happy to have won, grateful to his family and God and gracious enough to share his win with a fellow contestant.
i wish russell & the rest of them the best of luck in the future! i predicted a russell win also, although the 2 runner-ups could have potentially taken the crown. my recap of the performance episode:
http://www.downstairsthreads.com/downstairs-threads-dirty-laundry.html
I would have rather seen Jakob or Ellenore win.
I would have been happy with Russell, Jakob, or Kathryn – all very wonderful dancers. I was a little disappointed though, that Jakob didn’t get a mini-interview with Cat at the end. I’m not sure how they could have worked it in to the flow, especially considering it was a huge moment for Russell, but I wished he’d gotten to say a little something the way the other eliminated contestants did. I hope they all go on to great things!
I was bummed too, but it is always like that. Can’t be helped, it would be taking the moment away from the winner.
A winner that doesn’t even say Jakob’s name in any of the post-win interviews I’ve read.
What happen to his hurt knee? One minute he was crying becasue it hurt so bad….the next his was jumping around on it.
Ever hear of adrenaline? If I’d just won $250,000 and a title for something I loved to do, I think I could jump up an down on a broken leg!
Wow. How can you type when you can’t read? It was explained in the interview. Please scroll up and see it.
Russell, congrats you deserve it you have come a long way from day one you and Nicole are my favorite. Enjoy your win and I hope everyone sees in you that when you want to acheive or have a goal in life it could come true.
You have just witnessed the strength of street knowledge.
I’m really glad Russell. I don’t understand Jakob’s appeal. I was indifferent about him. He was so quiet and reserved. Can someone explain what about him they loved? Seriously, I want to understand why people loved him.
His dancing?
I loved his dancing…his dancing spoke for itself and if you are watching the show for the dancing then you might be able to understand the appeal that someone like Jakob has. His personality is in the dancing. If you are simply watching the show for entertainment then it makes sense that you wouldn’t understand the appeal of brilliant dancing.
Agreed that his dancing was breathtaking. Jakob was amazing to watch. Plus I guess I prefer humble quiet people. I don’t think you have to be bold and loud to be thought of as interesting. Jakob spoke volumes with his dancing, it was enough for me.
His dancing is like the sun. While Russell is the moon. Russell may be more closer/relatable but Jakob’s dancing that shined. I would pay to see Jakob dance (he doesn’t overpower his partners like a sun during the day) but couldn’t say the same about Russell.
I really was suprised by the results, I would have rather Kathryn or Jakob win it all as they were more techinically trained and great at everything they did. Jakob just literally improved every dancer he danced with and I was sad to see him not win it.
I have watched this show from the beginning and this was by far the most talented group finalists ever. No one was weak in any way – they were all so amazing that I was unsure who would win. I was thrilled for Russell, though and glad to see his good heart and hard work paid off. Any of this year’s dancers could have walked away with.