Dancing for your life

As Paula Abdul knows too well, it’s not enough that the dancers in So You Think You Can Dance Australia have amazing dance talent.

To make it on the show, as in real life, there are so many other competing interests.

“I tell kids from Idol through to these kinds of shows that it’s a television show first and a television show second. And sometimes even third. Then it gets to your talent,” she told TV Tonight.

“I can tell you honestly with the production show here in Australia, yes it’s a television show but the people I have been working with really work about the talent and their well-being. Which is so refreshing. These shows get caught up on format and tells them to go and adapt. But it takes a lot from your body to be able to adapt to what the parameters are and working with new genres and styles outside of their comfort zone.

“So we will see kids who can cut through the immense pressure of shooting a television show, and we will see others who have the ability but maybe don’t know how to express that.”

Last weekend 6 dancers were cut from the show after they missed out on being chosen by their peers in a ‘schoolyard-style’ team pick. But Abdul offered them a second shot at rejoining the series. She says offering them another chance was the only fair thing to do.

“Sometimes with the way things are formatted it’s not spelled out, so it’s very shocking if you didn’t know that when you weren’t picked that was an elimination. It’s one of those situations where we had to give them another chance,” she says.

“They needed to at least go through the paces and earn their spot.

“I know it seemed contrived but I’m telling you, they were so distraught that it took a while for them to even understand and comprehend what I was trying to say.

“If I was in their shoes I would want to be eliminated from my ability, as opposed to being cut from the way the format went.”

So whose idea was it to offer another chance?

“The producers saw it and realised that was the right way to go. It wasn’t a pre-planned thing.

“That’s what I like about it. Yes it’s a format, but it’s subject to change if it doesn’t make sense.”

With a background as singer, dancer, choreographer and TV judge, Abdul is understandably full of praise for the contestants.

“The kids are wonderful. Very inspiring,” she enthuses.

“The spirit and psyche of a dancer is pretty extraordinary and unique. The amount of stress that they put the body through is similar to professional athletes.

“The talent in America is extraordinary because everyone aspires to make it, especially in Los Angeles and New York.  I’ll be honest, I didn’t know what to expect coming to the auditions. It’s a tall bill to fill.

“But I will tell you there’s an abundance of extraordinary talent with Australian dancers.

“And when I have gone to Asia there is an abundance of talent too, different from America where the drive is huge.

“There’s never a shortage of talent. It’s finding the ones that break through. Not just technically talented, but have a real passion and an amazing way of storytelling.”

The show now has its Top 20 dancers, but speaking more broadly, Abdul says the Australian dancers have excelled at contemporary.

“I’ve seen amazing contemporary dancers here. Really extraordinary. And I’ve seen an amazing type of urban hip hop that, to me, is even more exciting than what I’ve seen in America,” she says.

“Their freedom of expression is really cool.”

“But it’s not just your talent. There are a lot of factors that go into doing well and cutting through the pressure and the extreme schedule you have to go through when you’re taping a show like this.

“You have to have the ability to weather changes at the last minute.”

TEN records its first Performance show of the season tomorrow. The episode will include guest Robbie Williams. But the ratings for the show have struggled, with TEN already rescheduling it from 6:30pm to 7:30pm on Sunday.

“Sometimes it’s the luck of the draw. We’re up against some very stiff competition where the Australian audience has found a home with these other shows. But I do believe with all my heart, there’s a place for this television show to exist,” she says,

“Now we’re into the Performance shows, I believe that once someone has tuned in I can’t imagine them not connecting with it.

“I’m hoping that’s the case because I definitely believe there is a place for it too.”

So You Think You Can Dance Australia airs 7:30pm Sunday on TEN.