If you know a student at Robertsdale’s Slippers and Taps School of Dance, and they look a little tired, don’t worry.

They have been staying up to watch the FOX TV show “So You Think You Can Dance.”

Calvin Turner, an instructor at the school, located in the Greer’s shopping plaza along Alabama Highway 59 is one of the 77 performers still in contention for the show’s Top 20, as of Monday afternoon.  Students at the school, and the Driven Dance Company, the school’s competition company, have been rooting for him at a local establishment, wearing T-shirts emblazoned with  “So We Know He Can Dance.”

Turner and the rest of the contestants winnowed from the thousands who auditioned throughout the country will learn their fates during the show’s broadcast Oct. 21. The finalists, 10 males and 10 females, will be revealed then. Contractual obligations kept Turner from being interviewed for this story. But, to the staff and students at Slippers and Taps, Turner is already a winner.

“We’re very honored,” said Slippers and Taps owner Mandy Moore.  “It’s

good to see him recognized nationally.”

Moore says she spotted Turner, 19, and a Mobile resident, a few years ago at a dance competition.

“It was the way he performed, and he had an emotional connection with the audience,” said Moore. “I joked that I was going to get him at my studio.”

The joke became a reality, Turner was looking for an instructor’s position, and Moore hired him in November of 2008. He currently teaches classes in ballet, lyrical dance, jazz, tap, hip-hop and contemporary dance.

He also leads the school’s competition company.

“He really lives it, lives to dance,” said Moore.

In addition to the dance classes, Catherine Elgie, a Silverhill resident and student at the school takes a workout class with Turner, one helps young dancers hone their technique and control.

“Mr. Calvin has helped us come a very long way,” said Elgie. “He has taught us a bunch.” She added that, “He makes us audition like we were going for a real job.”

“He’s made dancing not something we do, but something we love. He pulls good things out of us,” said Regan Eakin, 13, a student from Robertsdale.

Elizabeth Smith, 9, of Robertsdale, said, “It’s always a difficult class. He always wants us to do our best.”

“That can be a motivation to try,” said Elgie.

“I’m happy for him,” said Maddy Feller, 10, of Robertsdale.

“He’s awesome,” said Michalya Eakin, 10, “He teaches us great technique and treats us like his children,”

“I like everything about him,” said Maggie Moore, 8. “He makes weird noises when he’s teaching.”

The last got a laugh from all the students and Mandy Moore. Apparently Turner’s penchant for making sounds while he thinks out a dance problem is well-known at Slippers and Taps.

“He will always be family,” said Cathy Elgie, Catherine’s mother. “He’s brought a new dimension to the school. He’s taught the students to succeed and then some.”

“No matter how far he goes,” said Moore, “There is a bond between him and the students.”