Post by iluvcat on Jun 15, 2008 20:03:59 GMT 1
Cat Deeley: It Wouldn't Surprise Me If We Toured With Idol
Thursday June 5, 2008
courtesy FOX
Buzz up!Now in its fourth season on Fox, So You Think You Can Dance has become a summer reality show staple. Here, the show's host, Cat Deeley, gets candid with Us about what to expect now that the top 20 dancers have been announced.
Usmagazine.com: What can we expect now that the show has found the top 20 best dancers?
Cat Deeley: It’s kind of the same. I mean it’s the same show - it’s kind of [an] if it ain’t broke don’t fix it [scenario] - but it is everything that you know and love, but back bigger and better. The bar has been raised. We’re used to seeing people spin on their heads; now we want triple back summersaults with extras and a run up the wall because we just get blasé about it. [In terms of choreography] there will definitely be another amazing Mia Michaels routine that’s going to give you chills. Wade Robson is also going to do something very special for us. But it’s kind of the same. We are looking into other styles of dance because, obviously, what we want to do is keep it fresh, too. We aim to surprise and delight, but we’ve also got Mary and Nigel and there will be ballroom and breaking, all contemporary, all of the normal styles will be there too.
Us: Are the contestants coming in more schooled on the show now that it’s in its fourth season?
CD: The dancers are becoming more aware that this isn’t just a dance competition: It’s to find America’s Favorite Dancer, so it’s not necessarily about who’s the best technical dancer or who has the most training. It’s actually about the person that America connects with the most and it doesn’t matter how brilliant your dancing is.
Us: You really seem to connect with the contestants in a way that many other reality show hosts do not. Do those relationships last throughout the season?
CD: I absolutely thought that [emotionally connecting with the dancers] was a very important element of the show before I even started doing the show, actually. I thought it was very important that I became part of their journey so that there was a connection, because what we’re doing is essentially taking ordinary people and putting them in this most extraordinary situation where people know their names and we put them in this live TV studio and there are cameras and lights. It’s a lot to ask of the dancers and to get the most out of them I think they’ve got to feel as though they’ve got somebody on their side and someone supporting them.
Us: After the success of the performance that the former SYTYCD dancers gave with this season’s American Idols last month, do you think the two shows' contestants will ever do a joint tour?
CD: I actually don’t know. [The collaboration] was a huge success on Idol Gives Back and it was really special. Because of the success of it, it wouldn’t surprise me if something else did happen. I don’t know exactly in what form it will be or how it will happen, but there is obviously a synergy between both shows because of the production teams that work on them both.
Us: Lastly, why do you think viewers keep coming back to So You Think You Can Dance every summer?
CD: I think that our show is such a success because of the human element that’s part of the show. People can like dance or be into dance, but it’s that thing of watching other people’s successes and failures and trials and tribulations. We’ve all, at some point in our lives, had to pick ourselves up and dust ourselves off and get on with [things]. Whether you’re a mechanic, a baker, an accountant - whoever you are - we can all identify with that.
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