Travis talks about the Tour
Great new Travis article. You can almost hear his excitement haha...
Tour is big step for teen hoofer
Friday, September 29, 2006
BY ROBERT JOHNSON
Star-Ledger Staff
Travis Wall doesn't just think he can dance -- the 18-year-old star of "So You Think You Can Dance," last summer's hit TV show and now a live attraction coming to the New Jersey Performing Arts Center and Madison Square Garden, knows for sure he can dance. He's been doing it all his life.
The interesting part was convincing the judges, a picky assortment of Hollywood choreographers who convened in Las Vegas, where the competition semi-finals were filmed for the Fox network, not to mention the viewers (more than 9 million) who had the option of vot ing for their favorites from home.
But that's all behind him now. After placing second and passing 20 other contestants, Wall is a bona fide TV personality with fans across America. And now that "So You Think You Can Dance" has become a touring road show, he can appreciate just how much the fans love him and his dancing pals: Alli son, Donyelle, Heidi, Martha, Natalie, Benji, Dmitry, Ivan and Ryan. Tickets for sold-out shows are selling on eBay for hundreds of dollars.
"I didn't know how big this show was until we got on tour, and we went to every different state and people are screaming," says the modest teenager from Virginia Beach, Va., who is still getting used to fame. "I mean it is the loudest thing I've ever heard in my life when we first walk on stage.
"I never thought I would like being away from family for so long, but this tour is amazing," he says.
Directed by Jeff Thacker, the live version of "So You Think You Can Dance" offers a reprise of several hit numbers from the television series. Wall performs the "Paso Doble" with Heidi Groskreutz; the "Tranji" hip-hop number with Benji Schwimmer; "Georgia," a contemporary duet, with Donyelle Jones; "Steam Heat" with Martha Nichols, and more.
Wall is especially excited be cause he was given the chance to choreograph a new piece for the tour. He performs this lyrical duet with Natalie Fotopoulo to Westlife's "Flying Without Wings."
"It's really cool," says Wall. "There's a part where she's in my arms, and she hinges all the way back in mid-air. She's completely parallel, and everyone always claps for that," he adds with pride.
Always a strong contemporary dancer, Wall, who studied jazz and tap with his mother at her studio, Denise Wall's Dance Energy, came up through the dance convention circuit and Joe Lanteri's New York City Dance Alliance.
"When your mom's a teacher, you never really leave the studio. The studio is like a second home," he says.
The conventions taught him to pick up steps quickly, if he was going to compete. Comparing the Dance Alliance with the demands of "So You Think You Can Dance," he says, "It was basically just a really hard, summer intensive convention." Still, that didn't make the contest easy, especially when he was called upon to fake ballroom dancing.
"I had never taken a ballroom class in my life, and half the time on the show I ended up (with) ballroom, which didn't help at all.
"Once I was on the show, I was learning new things left and right -- things I'd never done before," he says, acknowledging the sweat of going for broke on national TV.
He's not complaining, though. With television fame, job opportunities are lining up. The best thing about taking "So You Think You Can Dance" on the road, however, is being taken seriously as a dancer.
On the stage, "I'm not seen as a competitor, but as a professional," he says.
But that's all behind him now. After placing second and passing 20 other contestants, Wall is a bona fide TV personality with fans across America. And now that "So You Think You Can Dance" has become a touring road show, he can appreciate just how much the fans love him and his dancing pals: Alli son, Donyelle, Heidi, Martha, Natalie, Benji, Dmitry, Ivan and Ryan. Tickets for sold-out shows are selling on eBay for hundreds of dollars.
"I didn't know how big this show was until we got on tour, and we went to every different state and people are screaming," says the modest teenager from Virginia Beach, Va., who is still getting used to fame. "I mean it is the loudest thing I've ever heard in my life when we first walk on stage.
"I never thought I would like being away from family for so long, but this tour is amazing," he says.
Directed by Jeff Thacker, the live version of "So You Think You Can Dance" offers a reprise of several hit numbers from the television series. Wall performs the "Paso Doble" with Heidi Groskreutz; the "Tranji" hip-hop number with Benji Schwimmer; "Georgia," a contemporary duet, with Donyelle Jones; "Steam Heat" with Martha Nichols, and more.
Wall is especially excited be cause he was given the chance to choreograph a new piece for the tour. He performs this lyrical duet with Natalie Fotopoulo to Westlife's "Flying Without Wings."
"It's really cool," says Wall. "There's a part where she's in my arms, and she hinges all the way back in mid-air. She's completely parallel, and everyone always claps for that," he adds with pride.
Always a strong contemporary dancer, Wall, who studied jazz and tap with his mother at her studio, Denise Wall's Dance Energy, came up through the dance convention circuit and Joe Lanteri's New York City Dance Alliance.
"When your mom's a teacher, you never really leave the studio. The studio is like a second home," he says.
The conventions taught him to pick up steps quickly, if he was going to compete. Comparing the Dance Alliance with the demands of "So You Think You Can Dance," he says, "It was basically just a really hard, summer intensive convention." Still, that didn't make the contest easy, especially when he was called upon to fake ballroom dancing.
"I had never taken a ballroom class in my life, and half the time on the show I ended up (with) ballroom, which didn't help at all.
"Once I was on the show, I was learning new things left and right -- things I'd never done before," he says, acknowledging the sweat of going for broke on national TV.
He's not complaining, though. With television fame, job opportunities are lining up. The best thing about taking "So You Think You Can Dance" on the road, however, is being taken seriously as a dancer.
On the stage, "I'm not seen as a competitor, but as a professional," he says.
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