Dancers Gather to Watch Local Finalist in "So You Think You Can Dance?"

In a packed Carrollwood restaurant on a Wednesday night, giggly girls cram into booths and stare at big-screen TVs as they munch on chips and churros. When a familiar theme starts to play, the place fills with screams and claps. All eyes are fixated on one person onscreen – their teacher, their colleague, their friend.

Fifty-odd young dancers and dance moms – and a few dads – gather at Burrito Boarder every Wednesday to watch Ricky Jaime, one of the six finalists in FOX’s hit show, So You Think You Can Dance?

Nineteen-year-old Jaime is a dance instructor at next door to Burrito Boarder, and his students have been with him since the beginning.

“I’m so happy for him,” said Shannen Moen, 18. “I’m so proud of him.”

A rising high school senior, Moen’s been dancing for more than 15 years, three of them at CDA. She met Jaime at a dance competition a few years ago and says he’s as much a friend as a teacher.

“He pushes us to a level where he knows we can do it,” she said. “He’s made me into a beautiful dancer that I never thought I could be.”

Most of tonight’s fans are wearing fresh black t-shirts that read, in all caps, “Top 10…Dreams Do Come True. Vote for Ricky Jaime.”

He’s not like a regular dance teacher, they say. He pushes them harder, builds them up higher.

Moen pulls out her Blackberry phone to show off a favorite video of Jaime: he's dancing to the Pussycat Dolls in a blonde wig before a dance competition.

During a commercial break, some of the dancers run outside to take a picture in the “shablam” pose their teacher invented – sitting with one leg pointed in the air is Jaime’s signature move, they explain.

They miss having his personality around, but they’re overjoyed for his accomplishment.

“His life has completely changed, and we’re thrilled,” said Yvette Breheney, the owner of Centerstage for 24 years running. It’s bittersweet to see Jaime onstage because the academy misses him, she says, but she knows the opportunity waiting for him is worth some time away from home.

“You want to see them succeed and live their dream,” she said. “That’s what you want… for them to take off and fly.”

Jaime is featured in three dances during Wednesday’s two-hour show. Each time, the crowd huddled at Burrito Boarder, screams when he takes the stage, then hushes quickly. They’re silent throughout his dance, save for occasional applause when he tackles a particularly tough move. When the judges compliment him, the crew cheers. When the judges criticize, they boo.

After Jaime’s second dance, guest judge Christina Applegate tells him his performance lacked clear intentions. Disapproving yells explode from the booths.

From the back of the restaurant, a Burrito Boarder employee bellows, “What do you know?” It’s met with cheers and laughs. No matter what the judges have to say, these nights bring the dance academy together.

“It’s united us,” Breheney said. “We prefer Wednesday nights [to Thursday elimination episodes] because it gets us all fired up.”

About 30 faithful dancers and parents are still around for Jaime’s last dance of the night, almost two hours after the show started. He’s paired with co-contestant Sasha Mallory for a routine called waacking, an unusual style of street dance, and Judge Nigel Lythgoe tells Jaime he thinks too much.

Jaime spent a few weeks ranked among the bottom contestants but bounced back last week. Now, his friends and students are on the edge of their seats.

“We want him to stay there as long as he can, but we want to see his face again too,” said Gabby Piloto, 17, a dancer at CDA since she was two years old.

As soon as the screen flashes the phone number that records votes for Jaime, dancers plug the number into rhinestone-studded iPhones and text their friends to vote.

One dance mom proclaims proudly that she voted for Jaime 125 times last week before she even got home from the restaurant.

Tonight, the results of the nationwide vote will decide whether Jaime advances to the show’s finale. His studio will be cheering him on either way.

“It’s exciting for Tampa,” Breheney said. “He’s one of ours.”