Backstage w/ SYTYCD!

Well friends, the dancers from Season 8 of So You Think You Can Dance have taken over The Arena and are ready to blow you away in their show here tonight!

I got to sit down with them earlier this afternoon for an interview and let me tell you, they are extremely nice and a ton of fun!!  They promised fans one, well really two, things tonight - a good time and lots of sweat (there are over 50 numbers in the show!). 

 The Season 8 dancers of So You Think You Can Dance in a pre-show interview at

The Arena at Gwinnett Center.

For Mitchell and winner, Melanie, tonight is a particularly special stop because they both will be performing in front of their hometown crowd.  In fact, the group paid a visit to Melanie's house in Marietta when they got into town last night!  Wondering what that's like?  Well I asked both Mitchell and Melanie their thoughts on being back home in Georgia:

Melanie: I will be more nervous tonight because I will know the crowd.  My dance teachers will be there and they're proud, but they will point out mistakes!

Mitchell: Yea, these are people who know your dancing skills and are excited for you, but are also used to pushing you to be your best.  We want to make Georgia proud and we want everyone here to be proud of what we are doing.

Since this is only the 3rd stop on the tour, the group is just getting adjusted to life on the road, but they LOVE (and I mean, LOVE) the busses - especially the "magical buttons."  One thing that isn't so great?  Missing family.  That was a unanimous, and very understandable, answer.   

Our contest winner, Johnny Phelps, wanted to ask the group how their lives would be different if they didn't have dance and if they would still be the same person they are today.  They all agreed that dance is their life and they couldn't imagine their lives without it.  Mitchell went on to further answer the question by saying that he would probably be on a reality TV show (this would definitely be a successful option for you, Mitchell!).

I was curious to know what else this group might be interested in doing in the future...it comes as no surprise that most of it centers around dance and/or the entertainment industry:

Clarice - modeling/film

Ricky - tour w/ Cirque du Soleil

Nick - move to L.A. (he would play football if he couldn't pick dance)

Sasha & Mitchell - choreographer

Caitlynn - get into film/Disney channel

And Melanie is of course...DANCE!

So what else did our Georgia girl have to say?

How did she cope with often being dubbed as "the favorite" throughout the season?

Melanie: I tried to put that out of my head and take each week as it's own.  I didn't need pressure from anyone else. 

She also narrowed down her favorite performances from the season:

1. First performance

2. Duet w/ Sasha the "powerhouse" (using Melanie's term)

3. Total Eclipse w/ Neal

I know I am really looking forward to seeing this personable and talented bunch take the stage tonight!  Who knows, maybe I will even pick up a few new moves.  If you don't have tickets, we still have limited seats available, so get yours already (time is ticking!).  You can get them here at the Arena box office. 

So You Think You Can Win??

The Fox hit So You Think You Can Dance will be bringing the 2011 tour HERE next Tuesday, September 20th and guess what...we have a chance for you to WIN two tickets to the show! 

The show will feature the Top 10 finalists from Season 10 including two fellow Georgians - winner Melanie Moore as well as Mitchell Kelly.  Sounds like Georgia is a pretty talented place! 

How do you enter?  Simple.  Click on the link below which will direct you to our website.  I will have the opportunity to interview some of the contestants before the show on Tuesday and I want to hear what questions YOU want answered.  To enter the contest, you will submit an interview question in the entry form on our website (link below) to have an opportunity to win the two tickets.  A Gwinnett Center employee will determine the best/most unique question as the ticket giveaway winner on Friday, September 16th.  Be sure to get your entries in by 5:00pm EST on 9/16/11 to qualify! 

Good luck my friends!!

ENTER HERE!!

Dragons, Lions and Amazing Acrobats

If you've checked out our Facebook or Twitter pages, you've probably noticed the rave reviews Cirque du Soleil's Dralion received from fans who came out to see the show last weekend. I must say that I can't help but agree with everyone - this show was awesome!

Preparing for the show's arrival, I had read (and even written!) a lot about Dralion and what to expect from the show. Even though I'd never seen a Cirque production before, I thought I was ready for what I was about to see. However, I was blown away by the amazing stunts these performers can execute.

Like many, I was left wondering how in the world someone could balance solely on one hand while managing to move the body in ways I did not even know were possible. I'm not even sure I could balance on one hand at all, let alone for an entire act - and trying those moves would definitely be out of the question! And those trampoline jumpers? I would have for sure went flying off the trampoline and broken a bone...or several. One of the Cirque staff told me that many of the jumpers in the trampoline act were actually once part of an Olympic trampoline jumping team. No wonder they could fly through the air and land on those tiny little blocks like magic. I loved the energy and awe-inspiring moments that brought to the show.

Out of all the amazing acts, if there was one Dralion stunt I could choose to learn, it would be the aerial hoop act that was performed so seamelessly by the Air character. Twirling in midair through all of those hoops and ribbons, the aerial acrobats were incredible. I guess years and years of practice has taken away any fear they have about sailing through air, because I know I would be terrified trying to learn that trick - no matter how fun it appears.

Aside from the incredible performers that were a part of Dralion, I can't leave out the equally amazing costumes. As I mentioned before, these costumes take a lot of effort to design and maintain and the show travels with an entire wardrobe department just to keep these performers looking sharp. I can now see why they need those wardrobe experts. The costumes were vibrant, elaborate and just flat out amazing!

Between the acrobats and costumes, it's hard to imagine there was another part of the show that could top the list as my favorite - but four hilarious clowns managed to do the trick. They would pop out during various parts of the show providing the audience with quite the comedy routine. Props to the clowns as I know I was not the only audience member laughing at their witty performance!

I think the show definitely achieved its goal of celebrating culture and combining the elements of the east and the west (which I know you smarties already knew since you read the last blog post!). Thanks to the crew and performers for a job well done and a big thanks to all of YOU who came out to spend your Labor Day weekend with us!