Although she's having an early morning phone conversation with a group of reporters, So You Think You Can Dance host Cat Deeley is chipper, which won't surprise fans of the FOX reality hit.
"You know what? It's the funniest thing," Deeley says, faced with a well-intentioned accusation of preternatural enthusiasm. "I've got a friend of mine staying here and her husband called me because he was calling from England. It must have been about 7:15 in the morning and he's like, 'For God's sake, stop being so chirpy. You must have literally just got up.' I don't know what it is with me. If I wake up and the sun is shining it's not bad. Here in California there's nothing much to be grouchy about, I don't think. You've got the sunshine and palm trees and ocean and hills. Yes, I'm pretty happy most of the time I have to say; annoyingly so one might say."
It's hard to imagine anybody begrudging Deeley her happiness. In fact, her boundless supply of energy is part of why So You Think You Can Dance is now entering its fourth season as a summer success. Chipper attitude aside, the 31-year-old host isn't there to be a cheerleader and her job doesn't involve judging, but she's still every bit as integral to Dance as Ryan Seacrest is to American Idol.
"There's a definite, definite feeling where I try to make them the best that they can possibly be, but it's just different people's personalities," Deeley says of her role. "Some people if they're put in a certain position some people get very quiet and shy; other people get very loud and outgoing. I think the deal is that there is charm to both if they're both honest."
Fox decided to kick off season four of its hit summer show by setting a world record. Yesterday, in the courtyard of the Nokia Theatre, So You Think You Can Dance set the world record for the largest simultaneous dance mat routine. They even got a certificate from the Guinness Book of World Records for it! The event will be entered into the new Guinness World Records: Gamer's Edition book.
Here's how it went down: About a hundred Dance Dance Revolution mats were set-up outside of the theatre, which is across from the famous Staples Center. In the front of the mats, a large screen was set-up and hooked up to an X-Box. SYTYCD also had a leader of dance to make sure everyone knew the moves. After 111 dancers played DDR for five minutes, Fox gave away a video game console, a copy of Dance Dance Revolution, and a 23" LCD flat-screen TV. (I know, I thought they only had 100 mats.
Keep Reading... more about the dance off as well as chats with a few of season 3's favorites!
Shimmy: So what have you been doing these past few months?
Neil Haskell: Well, the (So You Think You Can Dance) tour ended at the beginning of December so I kind of had that month off. Then I went to film a movie for MTV in January and February. It's called The American Mall and filming it was really fun. I've always wanted to crossover into film and television and this project was an excellent chance for me. It's a musical so I was able to combine dance with singing as well. It's a great opportunity and I felt that a musical movie would be the best way for me to break into the film world. It's more natural for me and now I know a lot about that business. It has also opened up a lot of doors and that's really cool. I just got back to New York about two weeks ago and I've been just getting back into the swing of things here. Taking class and auditioning again.
Shimmy: What exactly is your background in dance?
Neil Haskell: Well I grew up in Buffalo, New York and I trained at David Demarie Dance Studio. I also trained at a ballet studio as well. When I was fifteen I started going to summer intensives for ballet and that definitely gave me five or seven weeks of solid training, six days a week. I eventually moved to New York and I did a Broadway show called, "The Times They Are A Changin" and then I did So You Think You Can Dance.
Shimmy: Now that you have had several months to do other things, looking back, how was the whole So You Think You Can Dance experience for you?
Neil Haskell: I realize that the highs from it, all the great things that went on were just so awesome. Everything is so much better than what I thought it was as it was happening. I tried not to get too excited while I was on the show, but now when I look back it was such a great experience to go through and it will be great to look back on years from now. I also realized that the lows really weren't that low. Even though they felt really low as they happened- like being in the bottom three- it hurt that week, but looking back now it was just such an overall positive experience for me. When I was on tour I loved watching everybody perform every single night and seeing them grow. It was an amazing thing to watch us grow not just as dancers, but as people.
Shimmy: Are you still in touch with anyone from the show?
Neil Haskell: I'm not as in touch as I should be right now but I think everybody has been really busy. I'm going to be in Buffalo this weekend and I know that Sara is going to be there with the Avril Lavigne tour so I'm hoping to see her.
I've seen Danny Tidwell a couple of times in the city and I've seen Sabra and Kameron as well. So I've seen a few people that have been in and out of New York. Oh and Dominic decided to call me at 4am once too (laughing).
Shimmy:What inspires your dancing?
Neil Haskell: I guess right now it's really about making my body feel good. When I'm in class doing a jump or turn, somebody else's movement- it just feels so good to be able to do that. I think that's what keeps me dancing.
Shimmy: What choreographers do you love working with?
Neil Haskell: I think Wade Robson's choreography is the most challenging. It's strange and quirky. You have to find a way to learn where your weight, your hip, foot and just everything is supposed to be or else it won't look right. The way he does it is so unique that if you aren't doing it exactly as he's telling you to then it's going to look awkward unique rather than cool unique. I love being able to do his stuff. I also love being able to dance Mia Micheal's stuff because it is more my style. Her jazz and contemporary feel is very unique as well and it suit my body and way of moving.
Shimmy: If you weren't dancing what might you be doing instead?
Neil Haskell: I don't know. I'd probably be singing or acting or doing something where I'm still performing.
Shimmy: What advice do you have for dancers that have yet to make their mark?
Neil Haskell: Keep working as hard as you can. Be in class as often as you can, take extra classes. Watch the other people in class because I think you can learn the most from watching other people, whether they are better than you or not. There is always something that can be learned when somebody else is dancing.
Shimmy: You haven't done a lot of press in the last few months so what would you like to say to your fans at this point?
Neil Haskell: I'm still working and I cannot wait for the MTV movie to come out in August so that people can see what else I can do. Life has been really exciting and who knows what will be coming out next!
PITTSBURGH—The University of Pittsburgh fraternities and sororities will sponsor their annual “Greek Sing,” at 7 p.m. March 28 at Fitzgerald Field House, Allequippa and Darragh streets, Oakland. Tickets are $10 and available at the door. All proceeds benefit the University of Pittsburgh Cancer Institute.
Each year, the University’s Greek Community sponsors a series of events to support local charities. The University of Pittsburgh Cancer Institute is the beneficiary of a five-year commitment from Pitts’s fraternities and sororities, who have set a goal to raise $500,000 to help fund a thoracic and lung cancer research laboratory.
“Greek Sing” highlights the singing and dancing talents of many of Pitt’s fraternity and sorority members. This year’s event will feature Neil Haskell, a former finalist on Fox Television’s “So You Think You Can Dance”. Haskell will be joined by area dance, choreography, and singing professionals to serve as judges for the show.
For more information, contact Peter Hammerle at 215-834-7865 or peterhammerle@gmail.com.
Shimmy: How has life changed for you after doing SYTYCD?
Sabra Johnson: My life has changed drastically! I'm so lucky because I get to dance all the time and not have to worry about not being able to afford it. I get to travel and teach and meet dancers from all over, and just share what we do together.
Shimmy: The best thing about being on SYTYCD was_________________.
Sabra Johnson: The best thing was the challenge.
Shimmy: What have you been doing these past few months?
Sabra Johnson: I do a convention on the weekends and travel all the time. I teach at different studios occasionally and pretty soon I'm going to start auditioning. I think I spend most of my time on airplanes.
Shimmy: Tell us about NYCDA.
Sabra Johnson: NYCDA is an amazing convention. I have a lot of respect for it and it's morals. The teachers and people are wonderful. I am an assistant so I get to take all the classes and basically learn just like everybody else. I couldn't ask for a better weekend 'job'.
Shimmy: What is your dream role?
Sabra Johnson: My dream role? I'm going to have to say any part in Chicago.
Shimmy: Is there any different dance genre that you'd love to try?
Sabra Johnson: I would love to be able to do Argentine Tango.
Shimmy: What inspires you to dance?
Sabra Johnson: Anybody I see that loves what they do and really is able to project that through all types of movement.
Shimmy: What dancers give you chills?
Sabra Johnson: Jaimie Goodwin, Roderick George, Danny Tidwell, Jillian Meyers, Tony Testa and plenty of other insane people that I don't even know.
Shimmy: Do you have any rituals before performing?
Sabra Johnson: No, I'm to nervous to actually do anything
Shimmy: If you had to trade places with one person for 24 hours who would it be?
Sabra Johnson: Dane Cook or Ellen Degeneres. I want to know what it's like to be that funny
Shimmy: 3 things you cannot live without.
Sabra Johnson: Chapstick, dessert, music
Shimmy: What is on your ipod?
Sabra Johnson: Snow Patrol, Natasha Beddingfield, Ben Harper, Lauryn Hill, and Hanson.
Shimmy: If in 10 years you are not dancing, what might you be doing instead?
Sabra Johnson: I will probably be do something else artistic or be a beach bum.
Mandy Moore: I grew up in Colorado and danced at the local studio, Summit School of Dance, from 8 years old to when I graduated. I took ballet, tap, modern, jazz and acro...it was a small town, but we had some great teachers at the studio. I moved to Los Angeles when I was 18 and auditioned for Edge Scholarship. I actually didn't make the program, but I ended up working at the studio for class. I eventually ended up selling merchandise for LA Danceforce, a dance convention that the owners of Edge also owned. After a year of that, I knew that my talents would be better used in the classroom, so I started teaching for them and that led to teaching at Edge, meeting more people and the rest...is history.
Shimmy: What inspires you?
Mandy Moore: Everyday life inspires me...people fascinate me. I really like to people watch and I find that most of my idea's for choreography come from my observations. I love music, so I have to say that also inspires me. I love experiencing something great, be it a great performance, a great dinner, a great conversation, a great moment...the feeling I get after experiencing that, inspires me.
Shimmy: What are "dream roles" for you?
Mandy Moore: Dream roles for me are anything that challenges me to be better at my craft. I dance, teach and choreograph, so there are many "roles" to play. I really enjoy being in a situation that I don't know much about and trying to take in and learn from everyone involved with it.
Shimmy: SYTYCD has brought you and your work to the masses, will you return for season four?
Mandy Moore: I will be returning to SYTYCD for Season 4, in fact I was just speaking with the producers the other day and we were talking about what episodes I will be working on.
Shimmy: What contestants from the show did you enjoy working with the most and why?
Mandy Moore: Well, I was lucky, I got to work with Sabra twice!! She is great and works so hard, I love dancers that put in the work. I also loved Dominic, he had never really done contemporary when I worked with him and he came in with an open mind and heart and ended up being very successful.
Shimmy: The JUMP Convention- tell us about it.
Mandy Moore: JUMP is a dance convention that travels around the country and puts on workshop/competition for local dance studios. JUMP is so much fun to work on, we have a live band that plays in the classes, live camera feeds to huge screens for the dancers to see better, an all-star faculty, and tons of special classes and events all geared toward an amazing experience for any dancer that attends. I travel to twenty-some cities with them and it is one of the most fulfilling things I do.
Shimmy: You've dabbled in so many areas, what do you enjoy most of all?
Mandy Moore: I have to say that I have been very lucky to have been so successful in many areas... after all that I have done so far, I love dancing in class the most!!! I know that sounds crazy, but training and dancing in class is the best way I have found to keep in touch with the reason I started dancing, because I love it.
Shimmy: What projects do you have in the works or planned for the future?
Mandy Moore: I always have lots to do. Right now I am choreographing all the group songs for American Idol and will start SYTYCD in a couple months. I have JUMP Nationals at the Kodak Theater in July and will also be traveling to Italy to teach that same month. In August, I will be co-hosting an event with Nick Lazzarini, called "The Nick and Mandy Show." The event is a week of classes, workshops, and rehearsals ending with a show at a theater in Los Angeles. Next December, I am choreographing the Orange Bowl half-time show in Miami.
Shimmy: If I swiped your ipod for an hour, what would I be listening to?
Mandy Moore: I love Ani Difranco, so you are bound to listen to a song or two of hers...I just found William Fitzsimmons and Jon Foreman, acoustic and beautiful...a little Dane Cook, he is ridiculous...and you are sure to run across any good 80's song, most likely a big hair rock love ballad, I love em....
Shimmy: Three things you cannot live without.
Mandy Moore: Lip gloss, DKNY bedding and my Dad's apple pie
Shimmy: If you could switch places with anyone (not in the dance world) for 24 hours who would it be?
Mandy Moore: I would like to switch places with my grandmother, Betty. I can't imagine all that she has experienced in her life, it would be amazing to see the world and all it is presently through her eyes.
Shimmy: What advice would you give to aspiring dancers?
Mandy Moore: My advice to aspiring dancers is to make sure you love it, cause there are so many "No's" along the way and if you truly love to dance, the "No's" won't seem so rough.
Shimmy Video Pick- Neil Haskell and Sabra Johnson table dance choreographed by Mandy Moore.
Shimmy: Please tell readers how you got started dancing.
Shane Sparks: Dancing chose me. I played sports and did gymnastics, but none of them kept my attention like dancing. I was born to dance, and nothing else. I couldn’t stop if I tried!
Shimmy: Where do you get your inspiration?
Shane Sparks: I get inspired by anything and everything; music, animals, TV, people, and anything that has something to say. I love songs that tell a story, and then I bring it to life. I love that.
Shimmy: You’ve choreographed for television, film, videos, etc. At this point, what is your favorite genre to work in?
Shane Sparks: Actually, I love teaching more than anything because I am free to do whatever I want. But if I had to choose, I would say movies, because there are no boundaries.
Shimmy: You’re not returning to SYTYCD this season, overall how was that experience?
Shane Sparks: I am not returning this season, but you never know what the future holds! I am going to miss it, and miss showing the world the thing I love doing most, choreography.
Shimmy: How has it been working on “America’s Best Dance Crew?”
Shane Sparks: It is the biggest blessing I could have ever received. This show is incredible, from the crews, to the creators. Randy Jackson is the man, and I think him for believing in me.
Shimmy: Are you still teaching, doing workshops, etc?
Shane Sparks: Yes, I am still teaching and doing workshops. I still travel with The Pulse, and I am still teaching at Millennium. I will do it until my legs fall off!
Shimmy: What projects do you have in the works, and planned for the future?
Shane Sparks: I am working on a film called “Backdown” with Marques Houston, and Omarion, and the creators of “You Got Served.” There is a new movie I also am doing called “The Jump Off.”
Shimmy: If I swiped your iPod for an hour, what would I be listening to?
Shane Sparks: It would be straight R&B, Neyo, Chris Brown, and a little bit of Boys II Men’s first album. Flo Rida’s “Low Low Low” is on there too! I listen to pretty much everything, and I also can’t get enough of Alicia Keys’ new CD. I love it!
Shimmy: Three things you cannot live without.
Shane Sparks: God, my mom, dance, music, and Francia, my girlfriend.
Shimmy: If you could switch places with anyone [not in the dance world] for 24 hours, who would it be?
Shane Sparks: Adam from Adam and Eve, because if I could be him for a day, back in the day, I could have changed the world!
Shimmy: What advice would you give to aspiring dancers?
Shane Sparks: To dream! I have been a dreamer all my life, and I dreamed about my life right now. If you want it, you can have it. Work hard and stay focused, stay away from the drama, don’t let any male or female stop you from going for your dream. I love you all, and one day we will all be dreaming together
Shimmy: What have you been doing since we last saw you?
Ricky Palomino: I a have just signed with McDonald Selznick & Associates where Tony Selznick and Lisa Copolla are my Managing Agents with Jen Proctor and Jay Ward as my senior booking agents. We are in negotiation with Swanee, a Producer for a feature film called, Kid Bang. We have also just finished a project and conceptual workshop for Cirque Du Soleil for Criss Angel, The MindFreak of A&E channel. They have given him his own show with Wade Robson as the Choreographer. They brought in Travis Wall, Amanda Balen, Gillian Meyer, Aminah Abdul, and a couple others to layout the show and its concepts. It was pretty intense so be on the look out for Wades amazing show, as well as new dancers influenced by this first, prodigal cast. I am also a member of Liz Imperios, Instincts Live Media Company and scheduled to perform at Jazz Dance World Congress. I am still teaching for John Crutchman and Alan Sherfield's, West Coast Dance Explosion. I love them. They are such an amazing company to work for and I cant see myself anywhere else.
Shimmy: Where have you trained?
Ricky Palomino: I had three simultaneous mentors. First at 16 I was lucky enough to have Michelle Ceballos of the Royal Ballet to teach me classicism. I needed that. Next was Jeremy Miller, a complex mathematician who demonstrated an anatomical approach to movement. Then at 20 when I was in New York, I made it in to Cedar Lake Ensemble. That was created by Jen (Lucy) Ballard under the funding of Nancy Walton Laurie, one of the heiresses of the Wal-Mart fortune. Cedar Lake Ensemble is one of the most artistic ballet companies in America, as well as one of the most taken care of financially.
Shimmy: What inspired you to dance?
Ricky Palomino: Being inspired me to dance. Everybody is mover. Everyone has a hearts rhythm. Dancing is moving to music, being is moving. We are all a constant and are never truly still. In life, one will never be in the same place twice. It is constant motion and that's what inspires me..
Shimmy: -What is you most memorable dance experience? Ricky Palomino: My most memorable dance experience is learning of the the dance company, Nederlands Dans Theatre. Their work by choreographer Jiri Kilian is cosmical. They are human movement but also masters of emotional projection. One of my goals is to work with them someday. They don't really consider dancers under about 32 years old, it's a very mature company and I'm only 26..
Shimmy: If you could dance any legendary role what would it be?
Ricky Palomino: I'm gonna create a legendary role, just keep checkin me out!
Shimmy: What was your favorite dance of the season from another couple on SYTYCD?
Ricky Palomino: My favorite piece from another couple is "Cabaret Hoover" by Wade Robson, hands down no questions asked. It was dope. What a rockin time getting to see that piece come together. Wade is truly a genius and a wonderful spirit to be around. Thank god I was at least given the honor of performing Wades opening top 20 number "Put Your Hands Where My I Eyes Can See". The choreographic process was quite an experience, placing the piece together in pieces like a puzzle. True brilliance..
Shimmy: What choreographer would you have liked to work with on the show?
Ricky Palomino: I would have been honored to work with Mia, obviously. Words cant explain how disappointed I was in the show that they didn't allow that caliber of work to happen. It would have been from the stars.
Shimmy: What is something random we would be surprised to learn about you?
Ricky Palomino: Something random is that my family and I have 8 horses and a chicken coop. I am silently a farm boy. We raise and breed horses. It's so old school Arizona Western meets new age Commercialism. All in all, I'm a wacky homebody..
Shimmy: What are you interests outside of dancing?
Ricky Palomino: Hanging out with my family, movies, camping, anything adventurous really. I travel a lot so I really love to just sight see and walk around until I get lost and then I call a cab to take me back to my hotel.
Shimmy" What is on your ipod now?
Ricky Palomino: Oh wow, a lot. I have some favorites at the moment. Emilie Simon's, "March of The Empress" as well as her album, "The Flower Book". Thom Yorke's album, "The Eraser". Kate Havnevik's album, "Melankton". BT's album, "This Binary Universe". Amazing sounds. Brilliant artists and they get better and better- just the way it should be..
Shimmy: Who would you call a personal hero and why?
Ricky Palomino: Leonardo DaVinci because if didn't surrender his mind to the stars, we wouldn't have propelled as quickly as we did. He wasn't fearful of delving into and rationalizing deep tremendous amounts of thought. No one should be yet many people are. I love Ana Wintour, editor in chief of Vogue magazine..i think she is so fabulous. I wanna be just like her in her fur coat in sunglasses holding a martini at a fashion show (laughing).
Shimmy: What would you like people to know about you?
Ricky Palomino: I guess I would like people to know how deeply and strongly I feel about dance.. because to me it is how humans move through space as wild animals with hybrid intelligence. There is much more to humans than just a center of gravity and intelligence. Ultimately I am a professor of movement in my own rite.. and America didn't get to know me. I would want the audience to know that movement creators are just as prestigious as genetic engineers and neurosurgeons.
Dancers across America, lace up your dancing shoes! As Reality TV Magazine previously reported, FOX’s So You Think You Can Dance is auditioning for the 2008 season. Recently we had the opportunity to chat with So You Think You Can Dance judge, Dan Karaty, about the upcoming season, his faves, and what it takes to land a spot on the show.
Karaty, who, along with fellow judge, Mary Murphy, and the rest of the So You Think You Can Dance crew, will be visiting, Washington, D.C., Los Angeles, Milwaukee, and Salt Lake City, says that he’s most looking forward to one audition in particular.
“I’m really looking forward to Washington, D.C., just because we’ve always had so much talent in New York City. We’re hoping that the talent of New York City filters on down to D.C.”
Yet, Karaty is quick to point out, he’s also looking forward to seeing what D.C.-natives have to offer, and certainly can’t count out any dancers in any city, openly encouraging all dancers to come out and “take your shot,” even if you’re a hip-hop artist who doesn’t know a thing about ballroom dancing.
“What our show does is incredible,” he says. “The versatility that we require from the contestants is just insane. How many dancers can do [all genres of dance]? To be able to do everything is almost unheard of.”
The key word, of course, being “almost.” Karaty admits that his favorite past competitors are the hip hop artists nobody expected to be able to handle ballroom dancing, such as season one’s Jamile and Ivan, from season two. But both dancers, Karaty explains, “got better every week,” and that’s what he loves most about So You Think You Can Dance.
“Every year it seems like the dancers get better,” he says. “We truly find the most talented dancers out there.”
This, Karaty explains, is what makes So You Think You Can Dance unique from the other dancing shows that have cropped up in the reality TV world. Yet, Karaty couldn’t be more thrilled for the competition.
“I can’t tell you how happy I am [to see more dance competition shows on TV]. For years dance was a background art form – in the back of commercials, in the back of movies, behind the lead singer of a band. I say the more the merrier. I watch all the shows. [America’s Best] Dance Crew is incredible.”
I'm just finally back in the states teaching and it feels so good to be back to that. I haven't been in awhile and it's always the best thing because you feel like you're in shape and doing something to better the dance community. I was in Minneapolis last week where it was like 40 below- not my kind of weather- but I was working with the PULSE Tour. PULSE is incredible. It has just grown into something amazing. It started out about five years ago, when Wade Robson and myself did the first PULSE in New York as a one-off workshop. We drew in so many people and built it into something incredible. We would do it every year and different choreographers would be brought in and then I got together with Broadway Dance Center and we decided to make it a little more than it already was. That's when we brought Mia Michaels on and it was just incredible. We saw that there was definitely a future in it so Mia and I became creative directors and brought on the rest of the faculty.
In the era we're in right now, with reality tv the kids look up to the people that they see on tv and we felt that they'd be more receptive to learning because they trust us. We're in a position that they want to be in one day and we see great results from the kids when we do these workshops. They're crossing barriers that they've never crossed before. A lot of teachers say that they just can't get their students to perform, to break down that wall that they've put up and to really step outside it. We've seen more of that in the last two years of doing this then I think I've seen in a decade before.
Breaking down the walls is about no judgement. You have to fall before you can walk. You've got to make mistakes and you have to put yourself out there and be vulnerable. It's okay to feel that way. People that refuse to try will never make progress. I tell students it's an open place when you come into my room. I want to see you make a fool of yourself because then I'll know that you're really putting yourself on the line.
I was creative director on X Factor and we just finished the full season. I just got back from London last week and that project has finally set sail. We will be doing next season again and I'm in the process of inking other deals for other shows. Hopefully I'll be back on American television soon. It was hard for me having to leave So You Think You Can Dance but in the end I had to make the choice that was best for me. I miss the show and I miss getting to say my opinion because I feel like I have a lot to say! I think it's important for the kids that watch these shows to know that the choreographers, we're normal. We're exactly like them. we came from the same places as them. There's nothing different between us and the fans, we all wake up the same and we all have the same issues. Use us for inspiration and role models, but know that we're normal people. Don't ever place anyone higher than you.
Inspiration-
I'm inspired by the kids because they are so eager to learn. It makes me want to give to them. I'm also inspired by the faculty that I teach with. They're all the biggest names in the business right now and they all have so much to share. I find myself evolving just by being around them. I use my relationship with my friends and family as inspiration. Music, art, travel- I get inspired by everything. It's important to have a life outside of what you do because you end up bringing that experience back to what you do.
You'd Never Guess-
I'd loved to choreograph for Michael Jackson. I'd love to do something for Madonna, she is great and that opportunity just hasn't happened for me. I think it's great to keep goals and I never feel like I've achieved everything because there's always somewhere else to go. I'm incredibly insecure and I'm my own worst enemy. People perceive me as confident but I think the reason that I keep moving forward is because I'm never completely happy with anything I do. I always think I can do better, could have worked harder and I think that's what drives me. I don't think people would expect that I'm completely insecure. I don't mind that I haven't worked with everyone that I want to, it just makes me work harder.
The Future-
I initially grew up immersed in theater. Musicals are something that I love and the first thing that I ever did was join a theater group even before I was in dance classes. I'm cheesy at heart. I went into the commercial world instead though. I would never want to be onstage doing theater but I would love to choreograph stage shows.
I see my future in more of an executive position. I want to start doing my own thing. Creating my own shows, creating my own product line. I already have my shoe and clothing line but I want to see it on a larger scale. It's incredible for me to go out and do PULSE and look at the kids out there. They're wearing my product! That just blows my mind. I never in my wildest dreams would have thought that I'd have shoes, it's just crazy for me to think. I remember being a young dancer going to conventions and I had on my Tremaine jazz shoes and it was a huge thing to think that these people actually had shoes you could wear. Not only am I taking from this person, but I'm wearing there shoes. To know that I've reached a level where people either want to dance like me or feel the way I do, it's a pretty surreal feeling! I chased this idea down. No one brought a deal to me and said, "Here, do you want to make a shoe?" I had to chase it down and make it happen. It's good for kids to see because you can chase down your dreams and you can make anything happen. You don't have to wait for things to come to you.
So You Think You Can Dance Season 4 Premieres May 22
SO YOU THINK YOU CAN DANCE, the high-stepping sensation from the producers of AMERICAN IDOL, again promises to keep viewers moving to a different beat, as dancers skilled in styles ranging from street to ballroom compete to be named America's favorite. Hosted by Cat Deeley, Season Four of SO YOU THINK YOU CAN DANCE kicks off with a two-night, four-hour premiere Thursday, May 22 (8:00-10:00 PM ET/PT) and Wednesday, May 28 (8:00-10:00 PM ET/PT) on FOX.
Once the DANCE auditions conclude, weekly performance shows will air on Wednesdays (8:00-10:00 PM ET/PT), and weekly results shows will air on Thursdays (9:00-10:00 PM ET/PT).
A week or so ago we talked exclusively to Musa Cooper and he was preparing to go on the road with Alicia Keys. Musa informed us earlier today that due to a knee injury he will not be dancing on tour, at least not the U.K. leg.
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