Destination ‘So You Think You Can Dance’: Susie Garcia and Marquis Cunningham say goodbye

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I definitely was surprised being eliminated,” admitted recently cut “So You Think You Can Dance” contestant Susie Garcia during a conference call with the media this morning. “I was looking forward to doing the tour as well. Unfortunately that didn’t happen for me.”

So, now that her time on the show is over, Susie will be heading back to Miami to resume her life as a high school teacher. And thanks to her time on the show, her students will be especially jazzed to see her. Susie’s students have supported her tirelessly, sending her scrapbooks and organizing “SYTYCD” viewing parties. “They just always would say that they look up to what I’ve done,” explained Susie.

As for her well-documented hotness, Susie has mixed feelings. “I can’t help what other people see me as,” she explained, but “I’m not just the hotness. I take my dance very seriously and I love the art and I teach my students to love the art.” And although she was viewed as a hot mama on the show, Susie says her students don’t necessarily see her that way. “I don’t dress in sparkles and feathers like I do on the show, obviously,” she noted.

As for Nigel Lythgoe’s assertion that Susie had lost her spark, Susie was perplexed. “I don’t know where the fire went in Nigel’s eyes,” she confessed. “I think I still had it in me more than ever.”

When Marquis Cunningham took the phone, he was equally perplexed by Nigel’s judging. “I don’t personally agree with Nigel’s comment,” said Marquis, in reference to Nigel’s assertion that Marquis’ final dance was all tricks and no heart. “I don’t feel I was all tricks and technique,” he said pointedly.

And because he liked his routine so much, Marquis was not expecting what came next. “To tell you the truth, I was surprised,” he said simply. “I wasn’t expecting to go home last night and I wasn’t expecting to go home this early.”

Despite his shock, however, Marquis had nothing but nice things to say about his successors. “Every single one of them has something in them that can bring an amazing light,” gushed Marquis.

And if you thought that his early ouster would have soured Marquis on dance competitions, you’re wrong. The Mr. Dance of Florida champ has his eye on the Mr. Dance of America crown, and he’ll be competing for it in the coming months. Marquis also hopes to focus on choreographing and teaching dance in the near future.

So, with so much dancing on the horizon, Marquis is hardly giving up. Still, he’s bummed that he’ll miss out on opportunities to dance under certain famed choreographers on “So You Think You Can Dance.” Among others, Marquis was looking forward to dancing with Mandy Moore. “She’s just such a powerhouse in what she does,” said Marquis.