Ezra Sosa went to the “So You Think You Can Dance” auditions to help his sister, Stephanie, achieve her dream of making the top 10 finalists on the Fox competition show. And she did.
And so did Ezra. In Monday’s episode of the series, the judges decided that the 18-year-old from Provo is one of the top five male contestants this season, so the Sosa siblings will both compete to be America’s favorite dancer — and to earn $250,000 — when the show moves into its final rounds next week.
According to Fox, it’s the first time a pair of siblings has made the top 10 in the 16 seasons the show has been on the air.
Stephanie Sosa, 19, was eliminated at this point in the competition a year ago. So she asked her 18-year-old brother to be her partner at the 2019 auditions.
“I knew I wanted to go back. And I know that we’re stronger together, so I was, like, ‘Will you audition with me?’” Stephanie Sosa said. “And he said, ‘I want to get you in that top 10.’”
The children of immigrants from Mexico and Venezuela, the Sosas grew up in Provo and Orem. They've danced since they were children, and they love partnering with each other.
“He brings out the strength in me and I bring out the strength in him,” Stephanie Sosa said. “So I love partnering and dancing with him.”
(Photo courtesy of Adam Rose/Fox) Siblings Stephanie and Ezra Sosa audition on “So You Think You Can Dance.”
Ezra Sosa, a ballroom dancer, performed a hip-hop number in Monday’s episode, taped several weeks ago, and drew praise from the judges. “You may be the younger brother, but you are bringing it today,” judge Mary Murphy said.
But still, he was clearly prepared to go home, if it came to that. The judges told each of the remaining 10 male contestants if they were eliminated in the show’s final moments.
“You know how hard your sister worked and transformed herself this year. And we all think you did a tremendous job,” Murphy said to Sosa. “There's some things we could really highlight, and today was one of them. But your time at the academy, I'm sorry, is over.”
“Thank you guys so much,” Ezra Sosa interjected.
“Do not cut me off, young man!” Murphy yelled. “Your journey is continuing! … Darn it, listen to me when I talk!”
To say that Sosa looked shocked would be an understatement.
The 10 finalists — including Ezra and Stephanie Sosa — will perform in the “live” shows beginning Monday, Aug. 12, at 8 p.m. on Fox/Channel 13. (The episodes will be seen on tape-delay in the Mountain Time Zone.) They’ll be competing for the votes of viewers, who will determine who stays and who goes — and who ends up as the winner.
