Kailua's Kupono Aweau thinks he can dance.

He's not the only one. Aweau beat out thousands of other hopefuls across the country to become one of the top 20 contestants on the Fox reality show "So You Think You Can Dance."

When the show airs on Fox tomorrow, his fans hope the Kane'ohe-based 24-VII Danceforce member will live up to his name: In Hawaiian, Kupono means excellent, suitable and natural, exactly the kind of performance Aweau needs to advance to the next round.

Two of the top 20 will be eliminated on Thursday.

Aweau, 23, decided to pursue dance when he was still in elementary school.

"In fifth grade at Kamehameha we did a play. There was this one girl who everyone knew was a good dancer. She got to do a solo and while we were watching her, for whatever reason, I got hooked. It took me a while to get started because I didn't have the resources, but I eventually got there and here I am," he said in a phone interview from California yesterday.

He started dancing at 16 and chose lyrical/contemporary as his specialty.

"This genre is so broad that it allows you to have a lot of freedom," he said. "My style isn't traditional at all and it isn't anywhere near what everyone else does. I picked lyrical contemporary to fit my style, not the other way around."

He describes his first audition in Seattle as "the worst. I wasn't too disappointed in myself, but I wasn't thrilled either."

After the Seattle audition, judge Mary Murphy told Aweau: "There were a lot of things you did very strong but then there were things that were off-putting to me as very feminine."

While Murphy was initially on the fence, she agreed with the other two judges to advance him to the next round. All three also agreed Aweau reminded them of a Hawai'i contestant from Season 4 — Mark Kanemura, who also danced with 24-VII Danceforce.

Aweau attributes the judges' critiques as being "dead on."

So how did he deal with their remarks?

"I'm a great note taker. I took their notes and made sure that when I went to Vegas, I was prepared and I was going to be ready," he said. "If I could show the judges that I have prepared myself to be here, it would also show that I deserve to be there, that I want to be there."

His hard work and preparation paid off. During the Vegas auditions he got the big news: "That was the most exciting moment, being told that I was part of the Top 20."

The competition aspect of the show is particularly appealing, Aweau said: "I love the challenge. The choreographers are great and working with them is a bonus, but it's the challenge that I look forward to most. I'm all about self-improvement. This show is going to push me as far as I can go. It's going to test my physical and emotional strength, and it's going to test me as a dancer."

While he's having a great time on the Mainland, Aweau misses his family, friends and the Islands in general.

"That's what Hawai'i is all about. It's truly paradise to me. I've been to other places and every place has their own special thing, but Hawai'i is truly my home. Even when I step off of the plane, there's just this relief that I'm back and I just love it. Everything Hawai'i... I miss it all," he said. "One more thing! Shout out to my absolutely amazing nephew and number one fan, Akili! Ho brah!"