Labeled immature early in the competition, 18-year-old Mollee Gray, a lyrical jazz dancer from Upland, California, made her dream come true just by making the top 10 on So You Think You Can Dance. But after giving what the judges called her best performance of the season, she was unexpectedly cut just before the show’s first fall finale, along with Legacy Perez.Meanwhile, Ashleigh Di Lello, who was unable to perform this week due to a shoulder injury, moved on. Mollee spoke with reporters about losing a spot in the finale to someone who didn’t dance, how the immaturity comments affected her and what’s next for this triple threat.
Was it difficult to be eliminated before someone who didn’t even dance?
Of course I was bummed. Anybody would be because this is a huge, most amazing experience I’ve ever been through. But people voted on Ashleigh based on what she’s done throughout the season — and honestly, I am so proud of her … and I’m very proud of Ellenore, and all three of those girls deserve to be in there. It was a tough one. Any of the top 8 could have been in the top 6, so I’m very proud to even be where I am right now.
Do you think producers handled Ashleigh and Noelle’s injuries the right way?
They handled it perfectly. With Noelle being able to advance to the next round, it wouldn’t be fair if Ashleigh had to be cut immediately … Even though she didn’t get to dance, America got to vote on what she’s done the previous episodes … Regardless of the finale, she got voted for all the way up the final episode, so she obviously deserves to be there and America loves her.
There was a lot of talk about your maturity. When do you feel you made a jump forward?
I felt like I’ve always had a sense of maturity in my dance. I felt that my packages may have shown a little more immaturity of me because I was always bubbly and the little girl type. But when we got in the top 10 and split our partnerships and when I was able to do more mature movement with the lyrical jazz, doing the jive and having more mature partners such as Russell, I felt like I leaped forward a ton in the competition.
How hard was it having your maturity questioned every week?
I’ve learned to accept who I am because I am a very happy person and I love to be outgoing and to be remembered, so it was kind of difficult to hear that they thought I was immature … I was just more outgoing. I felt they thought I was immature because of my age. But it showed my growth even more when I got in the top 10, so that was a bonus for me.
Are you sorry you didn’t get Jakob or Russell earlier on in the competition?
Actually, I am very grateful that I got Nathan at the beginning because I felt like it brought a lot of the younger people to like the show because Nathan and I did have that younger feel to us.
What was the most valuable thing you learned?
I realized it in Vegas, actually, that it’s not only a dance competition. Technique will get you far but it won’t get you to that top spot. It also depends on your personality and what America thinks of you. Because I was perceived as the immature one, I had to figure out a new way to get people to like me and not think that I was a little girl.
What’s next for you?
Honestly, I don’t you know what’s in my future but I hope that it involves acting, singing and dancing because I have been acting for seven years. I’ve been singing for about five. I feel like I have the title of a triple threat because I’ve been training in dance, singing and acting, so I hope that my future involves anything in the entertainment industry. I would love to do Broadway. I would love to do anything that involves me performing.
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