He left home as a teenager to follow his dream of being a professional dancer, but last year Sermsah Bin Saad was tested by the death of his mother.

She'd been with him every step of the way, and during final auditions for So You Think You Can Dance he felt her absence so strongly he almost gave up.

'My mum supported me all the way until the day she died,' he says. 'The reason I want to do this is to tell my mum I'm still strong.'

But after a draining few days at the Top 100 auditions, this strength was waning.

He broke down, telling the judges he didn't think he deserved to be in the competition.

Sermsah, who's also lost his father and his brother, admitted he was overcome with grief at the death of his mother.

'Losing my brother, my father, my mother - those have been the most difficult times in my life,' says the dancer from Port Hedland, WA.

But Sermsah, 30, has the support of his large extended family, who persuaded him to try out for the popular show.

He's not in a relationship, but cheekily admits he has 29 children.

'Nieces and nephews, that is,' he jokes. 'I've been an uncle
since I was one year old, so it feels like I've been a parent most of my life, in the Aboriginal way.'

And every single one of them will be cheering Sermsah on -every step of the way.

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