Della Striker isn’t surprised that her daughter became a dancer - “She was dancing in the womb!” she remembers.

And now, the rest of the world is seeing what she’s always known - Eliana Girard doesn’t just think she can dance. She knows she can.

“It’s amazing what a positive, uplifiting and inspiring effect she, and this show, have had on people’s lives,” says Greenacres’ Striker of her 21-year-old daughter, who appears live Wednesday at 8 p.m. as one of the top six dancers on FOX’s hit So You Think You Can Dance.

The show will crown two winners, one male and one female, meaning that Girard, who can’t talk about the show while still in competition, is within shouting distance of the title. She’s already cemented a spot on the show’s fall tour, which comes to Hard Rock Live in Hollywood later this year.

“Last week the judges were so over-the-top complimentary to her, and (judge Nigel) Lyhtgoe said she was his clear favorite to win,” says brother Justin, a wealth management advisor for Merrill Lynch in West Palm Beach. “All three judges have said that she’s the best girl on the show, so there was no way they were going to let her go home. (This) week, of course, we have no idea.”

He says that his sister has wanted to be on the show for years, and by the time of her audition she’d already accomplished things that other hopefuls might still dream of. A dance student at Dreyfoos School of the Arts, Eliana left after her sophomore year to study at the prestigious Joffrey Ballet in New York. A year later, she was studying with the celebrated Alvin Ailey Dance Theater, where she danced for a year before joining Cirque Du Soliel at their Montreal headquarters. She was eventually cast as a dancer and aerialist in the company’s Elvis show in Las Vegas.

As great a gig as that was, Justin says she didn’t renew her contract in Las Vegas so that she could audition for So You Think You Can Dance. Striker and her husband George have been out in Los Angeles with her daughter since the show began, and says that she was surprised at fans’ passion for SYTYCD in general, and for Eliana in general.

“Someone told me they were using two phones at a time to vote for her,” she says. “They’re all ages - older women, little ballerina girls, really a huge fan base that’s connecting with her. A woman said that watching Eliana gave her hope to dance again.”

Much of the praise for Eliana has come from those who admire her shape, or as her mother says, “a beautiful ballerina who isn’t stick thin. They feel she promotes more of a healthy body image. She really didn’t have a classical ballerina body type. Even at the Joffrey they told her that. When you hear that it gets into a kid’s brain.”

But the strength of character she’s shown has come naturally for her, Striker says.

“I had to fight for her to be born. I had two miscarriages before I had her. But I knew I would have a little girl, and from the beginning I knew she was going to dance,. And we had to fight to be able to do this - it’s been a sacrifice for us, but it doesn’t matter how much money we spent. We knew she was supposed to dance, not just to dance, but to encourage people to live their dreams.”

Eliana also wants to appear in films - she was actually cast in the film Step Up 3 but was unable to do it while working with Cirque Du Soleil, her brother says.

“This is the ride of her life. She’s so happy,” Striker says. “The whole Top 20 on the show is very close. She didn’t get to go to college, so this feels like she’s in college or summer camp. They really care about each other.”