ROY, Utah -- We are down to the Top 8 on the hit FOX show “So You Think You Can Dance”, and Utah's own Hailee Payne is still in the running.
FOX 13 News’ Danica Lawrence takes us inside the Payne home as they root for their member of “Team Stage.”
Since Alexia Meyer's elimination, 20-year-old Hailee Payne is the final Utahn left in the competition of this season's "So You Think You Can Dance.”
Her hundreds-strong fan club at home in Roy, helmed by her dad Steve, say they were sad to see Alexia go home, but they hope it'll be for the best heading into Monday’s show.
“So we hope that now everyone is voting for Hailee here in Utah,” Steve Payne said.
Hailee is not the first Utahn to make it this far, as last year Tanisha Belnap also made it to the Top 8 before being eliminated.
But the dance teacher who has worked with Hailee since the contestant was 3 years old has faith Hailee can go far.
“She’s going to go all the way, I hope,” she said. “That's what we all want. We have that belief: She can do it."
But it's not without plenty of hard work and determination that the dancer has made it this far. Her father says she's worked her whole life for this.
“It’s really surreal,” Steve Payne said. “We are so excited, because this is what we’ve been waiting for our whole life. Hailee has worked her tail end off to get here, and this is what she’s done to get there. She is perfect for the job.”
You can watch and vote for Hailee Payne as she competes in the Top 8 right here on FOX 13, Monday nights at 7.
