So You Think You Can Dance: Q&A with Eliminated Contestants Ashley Rich and Chris Koehl

It’s another week down, another pair eliminated on Fox’s So You Think You Can Dance. And continuing the three week curse, this week’s casualty pair were partners contemporary dancer Ashley Rich and hip-hop dancer Chris Koehl. Following their exit from the show, the duo spoke to Poptimal.com in a conference call where they spoke about their time on Dance, plans for the future, as well as who they are rooting for from now on.

One week away from deciding the top ten dancers, champion hopefuls Rich and Koehl saw their time on the show come to a dramatic and devastating end. When asked about how they approached preparing for their final dance, the Salsa, the two described themselves as cautiously optimistic, even though they knew the odds were pretty much against them. With a background in hip hop, Koehl says he took a week long crash course, training in ballroom dancing, in order to catch up. “We did like an hour of ballroom for six or seven days straight, and they just tried to teach a little of the basics in everything,” Koehl says. This plan did not work as he later explains, “unfortunately Salsa isn’t technically one of the main ballroom [dances] so we never even touched Salsa. I walked in without any preparation for that.” Even still, Koehl says that he was determined to just have fun with the routine. And although his partner Rich did not have the same technical difficulties, this is a sentiment that she shared, saying that she just looked forward to tackle a new dance and style the best way that she could.

And as for that whole “couple’s curse” talk running rampant, and now further fueled with the judge’s elimination of the fourth coupled pair, Rich and Koehl say that there’s nothing quite so sinister about the results and that this week it’s just their time and the rest is a coincidence. When asked how she felt about the judges’ comments to suggest that she was holding back, Rich says that the judges request was simple, they just wanted her to be better. “You need to be at you’re a game at all times. I think they just wanted more, which I appreciate. I didn’t take it as a negative thing.” Rich admits that had she pushed more and gave more on the floor there’s a pretty good chance that she would still be in the competition.

For his part, Koehl says that being against classically trained Rickey Jaime in the bottom two males this week put him at a disadvantage. “The difference between me and Rickey would have to be the technical training. He just took a different journey through life and he has so much under his belt. I think… the judges feel that he’s going to be able to pick up some choreography in future runs better than me.” Koehl acknowledges that he didn’t see his elimination coming, and even though he and Rich gave their best performances week after week, in the end “somebody had to go, and it happened to be me.”

Looking back over the competition, Koehl says that each week he believes that he grew as a dancer. And looking into the future, that’ something he would like to continue as he shares plans to continue his education in dance through online classes as he looks to make his career in dance. “I couldn’t see myself focusing on anything else.”

When asked who they’re rooting for now that the competition is over for them, both Rich and Koehl say that with the awesome dancers left in the competition, they’d be happy with anyone who wins. And while they’re not naming favorites, you certainly can. Haven’t made up your mind yet? Well, be sure to catch this week’s episode of So You Think You Can Dance to measure out the competition. And good luck to Ashley and Chris in the future.

For a recap of Chris and Ashley’s final episode, check out “Yes Sir, I Can Boogie” by Inisia Lewis or “Cant Everyone Else Just Stay” by Trisha Leigh.

So You Think You Can Dance airs Wednesdays and Thursdays at 8/7c on FOX.

Images courtesy of FOX and Adam Rose.