What’s the best thing about being on tour and what will you miss most when the tour is over?

Caitlin Kinney: I’m gonna miss the people. We’ve kind of become each others’ families just because none of us have our families with us. We all have moments where we’re driving each other crazy, but then I feel like there’s that first week home and we’re just going to go into withdrawal or something.
Kupono Aweau: The best part, for me, it’s just been traveling. The traveling is ridiculous. You think you have to go Europe to experience it, but like we have some phenomenal cities here in the U.S. and I am just so honored we got to go to some places like Boston. It’s a beautiful town that I never in a million years would have thought of.
CK: Kupono is our city-to-city guide. He finds the best places–
KA: –the must see restaurants, anything and everything. I’ve definitely had some great adventures.

What do you do on the tour bus to pass the time?
Caitlin Kinney: We were coming to LA and the show before we were in Utah and we walk into the dressing room and we all have these beautifully made invitations in our quick change bus. It was an invitation to a party at the G Lounge, which was on our bus, which Kupono single-handedly put together. We walk onto our bus and there’s this big sign that says, “Welcome to the G Lounge. Learn to Love. Love to Live. Live to Give.” We had lights and–
Kupono Aweau: –and I put LED lights in the doorways, white fabric draped throughout the bus–
CK: –a smoke machine, a disco ball! And he put this whole thing together.
KA: I asked the runners if they could get it for me and they did. They got everything. It was amazing!
CK: It was amazing!
KA: It was the best 12 hour bus ride that we’ve ever had.
CK: But on normal days we eat, watch movies, hangout. I love the bus; it’s fun! We’ve all bonded on the bus. I spill a lot. They had to get me a sippy cup for my drinks because I’ve spilled so many things.

How is it meeting the fans?
Caitlin Kinney: That’s been one of the best parts of the tour for me, is just meeting the people that you touch on the show which you don’t realize when you’re on the show. That’s the best part about dancing is touching people through our art. That’s kind of what we strive to do. We’ve definitely met some…um…
KA: …some very excited fans.
CK: Kupono definitely has a lot of fans. So many girls. One time Kupono was signing after me, and I was signing and they see Pono and they just rip the poster right out of my hands and screamed, “KUPONO!!” and then asked me, “Do you think I have a chance with him?”

Have you been really sore from all of the dancing and have you managed to stay injury free?
Kupono Aweau: There’s never been any big injuries thank goodness, but we definitely started out pretty rough. The schedule got to us. Thank goodness no one had any massive injuries. Jeanine’s Achilles was pulled and she had tears during one of our run throughs, but we definitely recover well.
Caitlin Kinney: I think our bodies have adjusted to the schedule. They bring us physical therapists–
KA: –and chiropractors, so it’s working out.

Do you have a message for your fans?
Caitlin Kinney: Thank you! What else do you say to people who have been so supportive on such a crazy journey?
Kupono Aweau: Thank you times 503! This is ridiculous and it’s honestly because of them. We are just completely and utterly grateful to them for it because without them we would not be here.

Check back here soon for an interview with Kayla Radomski and Evan Kasprzak.

Throughout the fall of 2009, the Season 5 finalists toured the U.S. and Canada and performed for arenas of fans. We caught up with Season 5’s runner-up, Brandon Bryant, to find out about life on tour and his future.

Brandon said “the best part about being on tour would have to be waking up in a different city every day. It’s great traveling the states in the way that we are because we are having so much fun and we’re doing what we love to do, so to be able to see the world in this way is kind of amazing.”

The dancers travel on buses from city to city. Brandon revealed one of the ways the dancers keep busy. “On the bus we have our laptops. We usually watch a lot of Family Guy. A LOT of Family Guy. We watch So You Think You Can Dance Season 6 when we can, and we just relax and chill because the show takes so much out of you we get on the bus and we’re just numb to everything.”

Brandon loves meeting the fans before and after the shows. “That’s the best part about the tour is meeting the fans,” he said. “To see the people that support you and really believe in the art of dance is so amazing. And to know that they supported me to get all the way to the finale was even more amazing in itself. So I love them so much. One fan actually made us an entire book of all of our dances – every single one of us – and gave us DVDs too.”

The second place finalist performs the most dance numbers throughout the show. “I’m probably the only one on the tour who hasn’t had an injury. Out of all the dances I do, I’m surprised. Doing the dances on the show has really enhanced my stamina. I do everything so full out that I like die at the end. Being on the show has prepared me for where I am right now.”

What’s next for Brandon now that the tour is over? “I am moving out here to LA! I’m so excited! I’m moving into an apartment with Ade and Jonathan from Season 6 so we’re all getting a place together and we’re just going to dance and dance and dance.”

“To all the fans who supported me, I’m so grateful for everything they’ve done and without them I wouldn’t be here,” Brandon said humbly. “It’s amazing to say that because as a dance you wouldn’t think that you’d have a fan club, but to know that there is one supporting all of us, I think we’re grateful for it.”

In a dramatic live results show, Boston krumper Russell Ferguson was crowned “America’s Favorite Dancer.” The Top 6 finalist was supposed to dance three partner dances, but during his hip hop routine with Legacy Perez and Kevin Hunte at the beginning of the show, he injured his leg. “The way I injured it is after I jumped off the stage into krump, when Kevin and Legacy pulled me back up I had come down on my leg wrong, and something shifted over my ankle and it caused it to swell up and it was real tight. So I wasn’t cleared to be able to dance for the rest of the night, but I could walk.” After receiving the injury, Russell felt a bit defeated because his family was in town to watch him dance and he wasn’t going to be able to partake in the other performances planned for the night. Russell’s dad came backstage to encourage him to keep his spirits up. Also, Russell admits that when he was crowned the winner of the season, his body was pumping with adrenaline which made him forget about the pain long enough to celebrate on stage.

By being on So You Think You Can Dance, Russell said he had a lot to prove to America. “I just was hoping that America would change their views on krump and what it is about, so they could be more familiar with it. And I just knew I was going to be able to get that message across, but winning was a big bonus.” If he inspired you, and you want to know the key to krumping, Russell shares, “It’s not just about looking good and being the best. It’s all about expression in doing what you feel at that moment; but of course, in the form of krump.” The style of krump can vary from dancer to dancer, and Russell explained that “it all goes off of how I feel at that moment. You know, whatever the mood of the song is, that’s how I’m going to dance to it in the form of krump, of course. I just feel like a lot of underground krumpers, they kind of confine to one form, and it’s very similar in a lot of areas; so I just try to bring the versatility into it.”

After Russell won the season he pulled contestant Kevin Hunte up to the stage. Russell told us he brought Kevin up because “Kevin just has been with me through this whole journey…He’s like a brother to me. I felt like I should share that moment with him because we’ve shared a lot of other moments together that were very special.”

Although Russell had to dance outside his style practically every performance, many styles resonated with him. In fact, Russell’s favorite style was surprisingly the Foxtrot. “It was my toughest challenge and I feel like I got closer to it because of that, and I learned more because it was tough.” His favorite dance that he performed was the Afro Jazz frog dance. “It was just real exciting, and it kind of brought me back to my roots a little bit, and it felt natural doing it.” If Russell had the power to pick any dance from the season to be performed at the finale, he would have chosen the Alice in Wonderland themed group hip hop routine choreographed by “Nappy Tabs.” He said that number was the most fun.

What’s next for America’s Favorite Dancer? Russell plans to invest his cash prize and he would like to get into movies, in particular dance movies, as he was inspired to pick up krump from the movies. He also said, “I would love to come back and choreograph a krump routine or hip-hop routine, or anything [for SYTYCD]. It would be an honor.” In addition, judge Adam Shankman promised the final two dancers spots to dance on the Academy Awards show that he’s producing. Russell hasn’t heard any more details about this honor, but he said he’s very excited for the opportunity.

Before hanging up the phone, Russell’s last words were “I just love America.”

To learn more about 20 year old Russell Ferguson, visit his contestant page.

IMPORTANT PLEASE PRINT AND BRING ALL FOUR FORMS BELOW!

Here are links to Download Printable Forms:

MUSIC SHEET (PDF) (ADDED 1-17-10)

PERSONAL RELEASE SEASON 7 (PDF) (Updated 1-19-10)

ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENTS – SEASON SEVEN (PDF)

SEASON 7 AUDITION AGREEMENT AND RELEASE (PDF)

For more auditions information, please visit the auditions announcement page.

Russell Ferguson, 20, a Hip Hop/Krump dancer from Boston, MA, was named America’s Favorite Dancer and winner of Season 6 of So You Think You Can Dance. He wins a cash prize of $250,000 and a cover feature in the March issue of Dance Spirit Magazine. Read more about Russell.

Finalists Ashleigh Di Lello, Ryan Di Lello, Jakob Karr, Kathryn McCormick and Ellenore Scott were eliminated in the Season Finale. The two hour show also featured performances from the Top 20 dancers. There were guest performances from Mary J. Blige, Adam Lambert, Leona Lewis, Jennifer Lopez and The Groovaloos.

Do you have what it takes to become America’s Favorite Dancer? Auditions for the Season 7 of SO YOU THINK YOU CAN DANCE begin in January.

Check out this pic of AMERICAN IDOL’s Kris Allen from his performance on So You Think You Can Dance this week. He performed “Live Like We’re Dying” from his self-titled debut album!

Find out all about Kris at his Official Site: http://www.krisallenofficial.com

The week before Season 6’s finale shows, Mollee Gray and Legacy Perez received the fewest votes and had to leave the competition. On a press call the morning after their elimination, Mollee and Legacy opened up about their experience on SYTYCD.

Mollee Gray, an 18 year old jazz dancer from Orem, Utah, grew up participating in both dance and gymnastics. When she turned 15, the schedules began to conflict and she chose dance because she thought it would provide more of a career path for her. However, Mollee got her first big break when she was 13 years old as an ensemble member of High School Musical. “I was just a little teenager and I went into this audition and it just was supposed to be a little tiny film that no one was really going to know, but I was like, ‘Well, might as well start my career off early.’ And then I ended up booking a job and it ended up being a huge world phenomenon. So I was very, very lucky and very grateful to have got a jumpstart so early in my life for this career.” Mollee has appeared in all three HSM movies.

Throughout the few months that Mollee has been dancing on SYTYCD, she has grown and matured before our eyes. Mollee described the transformation saying, “I think when we got in the Top 10 and split our partnership, when I was able to do more mature movement with like the lyrical jazz and doing the jive, and having more mature partners such as Russell, I felt like I leaped forward a ton in the competition.”

Of all of the dances Mollee did on the show, her Viennese waltz (that she performed the night before her elimination) struck a chord with her. “My favorite dance that I think I’ve ever done in my entire life was the Viennese Waltz with Jacob because he was the most amazing partner I think I have ever worked with and his personality – he was so uplifting. And then the storyline was amazing. Jason’s choreography just worked out so well. It was just honestly a dream come true and it was the most magical experience I have ever been through.”

So You Think You Can Dance has been a great experience for Mollee, who learned during Vegas auditions that the show is more than just a dance competition. “Technique will get you far, but it won’t get you to that top spot. It also depends on your personality and what America thinks of you…I definitely learned a lot about myself and I’ve grown as a person and I learned a lot through this whole experience.”

What’s next for the young jazz dancer? Mollee hopes to act, sing, and dance. She’s been acting for 7 years, singing for 5 years, and dancing for 13 years. “I feel like I have the title of a triple threat because I’ve been training in dance, singing, and acting, so I hope that my future involves anything in the entertainment industry whether it be Broadway or movies – just anything I can be performing in.”

The Top 20 are a tight-knit group of dancers, and Mollee ended her phone conversation saying, “Everybody in the Top 20 are really my best friends, and everybody deserves to be in the finale. So I’m proud of everyone and make sure America votes because it really does count to all the dancers.”

Legacy Perez, the 28 year old b-boy originally from Miami, Florida, proved that b-boys can be emotional too. While on the show, Legacy found a new style of dance that moved him. “I love contemporary because it comes from the heart and it makes it so that the movement doesn’t have to be perfect, the ‘why you do it’ has to be perfect.” Of the many routines Legacy performed on SYTYCD, his favorite dances he did were both of his contemporary pieces. Legacy explained that the dances were less about technique and more about connecting with the story and the emotion behind the dancing. “It was more of the feeling – and what it made me feel when I danced – that made it more enjoyable than anything else.” He plans on taking his new found love and knowledge of contemporary dance with him. “I want to be able to incorporate contemporary in my breaking and choreograph something amazing that has not been seen by the world yet.”

On the other hand, the most difficult dance Legacy took on was the Viennese waltz. “It was so slow and melodic and beautiful, and it’s everything against what I normally would do. And I think the actual opportunity to take that obstacle and make it get amazing and make the dance feel like it’s supposed to be helped me out in my last solo.”

As a b-boy, has Legacy lost any “street cred” by putting himself out on the line and getting emotional in his dancing? Quite the contrary. Legacy told us that he’s gained respect in the b-boy world. He said that his fans “text me and they write to me on the internet saying to me, ‘Thank you so much, you’ve inspired me to take classes and become a better dancer.’ And to me that’s like the ultimate [praise] because b-boys usually [find it] very difficult to adapt, and the fact that people are actually wanting to do it because they see somebody opening that doorway is very exciting for me.”

Legacy said he was surprised he made it all the way to the Top 8. “Going into the competition I didn’t even think I would make Top 20,” Legacy admitted. “Everybody is technical and they’re able to pick up choreography with ease…What I had to bring to the table [was] dancing with my heart and my passion. And I was surprised that I made it this far and I’m glad that I made it this far because I was able to show people that it can be done and inspire people in their lives to do whatever it is that they want to put their mind to.”

What’s next for Legacy? “I want to pursue acting for sure…I want to choreograph and later on after that get into directing. I think my b-boy creativity has opened up my mind to making pieces that are going to be different and impacting.”

Lastly, Legacy “would love to say thank you everybody – whoever voted and whoever didn’t. But as long as they got a piece of something from all of our dances and as long as they were inspired in some way, I want to just thank them for watching and making it possible for all of us to still be here and have another successful season with the show.”

Congrats to Mollee and Legacy on making it to the week before the big finale! If you’d like to learn more about these two dancers or anyone else in the Top 20, visit the contestant profiles.

We want YOU to audition for Season 7 of SYTYCD!

It’s another opportunity to become America’s Favorite Dancer!

Dress to impress!

AUDITION SCHEDULE*

Doors open at 8:00AM

Be prepared to stay for an extra TWO DAYS for potential callbacks.

* Schedule subject to change.  Keep checking FOX.com/dance for the latest information regarding audition details, music options and for all audition updates.

IMPORTANT PLEASE PRINT AND BRING ALL FOUR FORMS BELOW!

Here are links to Download Printable Forms:

MUSIC SHEET (PDF) (ADDED 1-17-10)

PERSONAL RELEASE SEASON 7 (PDF) (Updated 1-19-10)

ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENTS – SEASON SEVEN (PDF)

SEASON 7 AUDITION AGREEMENT AND RELEASE (PDF)

LOCATIONS & DATES:

Miami, FL
Monday, January 18, 2010
COMPLETED

New York, NY
Monday, January 25, 2010
COMPLETED

Dallas, TX
Wednesday, March 10, 2010
McFarlin Memorial Auditorium
6405 Boaz Lane
Dallas, Texas 75205

Nashville, TN
Sunday, March 14, 2010
Acuff Theatre
2804 Opryland Drive
Nashville, TN 37214

Chicago, IL
Thursday, March 18, 2010
The Cadillac Palace Theatre
151 West Randolph Street
Chicago, IL 60601

Los Angeles, CA
Friday, March 26, 2010
Orpheum Theatre
842 S. Broadway
Los Angeles, CA 90014

Dancers must be either a US citizen or legal permanent resident of the US, possess a current legal Employment Authorization Card enabling him/her to seek employment freely in the US (i.e., without restrictions as to employer) by the date specified in the eligibility rules. Dancers must be no younger than 18 or older than 30 years of age on the first day they register for auditions. Any dancer who is a minor in his/her state of residence must also have a parent or legal guardian sign all required documents. Dancers must provide legal, valid proof of age when they register for auditions. Check Fox.com/dance for full eligibility rules.

Download a Printable Auditions Flyer (PDF)

Host Cat Deeley with Nathan and Noelle

Soon after Noelle Marsh and Nathan Trasoras were eliminated from the So You Think You Can Dance Top 10, we caught up with them on a press call. They opened up about their experience on the show and what their future plans are.

Nathan Trasoras auditioned for So You Think You Can Dance’s fifth season when he was only 17. Even though he was not old enough to be on the show, the judges gave him a ticket to Vegas for Season 6, when he would be 18. He was inspired to begin dancing by his older brothers. “It’s just really nice to have a family member able to do the same thing that you do, especially when I look up to my brother, and he is telling me, ‘Hey, dancing is a real thing you can pursue as a career.’ Of course, I’m going to be like, ‘this is going to be really cool.’” Nathan began enrolling in dance classes and became increasingly immersed in the dance world. He even became friends with Season 4’s runner-up, Twitch Boss. “I eventually went from one class to two classes a week until I was dancing every day, and then I got to meet Twitch on the way in. Twitch is my close friend, too and he is doing well and it’s just really nice to have a humble guy become successful.”

For the first five weeks of the competition, Nathan was partners with Mollee Gray. “She’s just very positive and it’s just really nice to have the energy around when you’re trying to pick up a dance style, because you can’t always be serious. You have to always enjoy life, because sometimes people do get caught up with the idea of dancing and take it too seriously and you always need that one person to remind you that this is something you love doing, so it’s just really nice to have her around.”

In his final week on the show, Nathan performed a Broadway routine that was well received. When asked if he would consider pursuing a career dancing on Broadway, Nathan said, “I love having my doors open, and if there’s a job where I get to do Broadway, I would love to do that because Broadway is just very pleasant to do. It’s always nice not to be so serious, and just to have a good time and it’s always nice to entertain people and that’s part of being a performer, so I would love to. If I got offered a Broadway job, I would take it.”

Nathan’s favorite dance he performed was the Bollywood piece he did early on in the season with Mollee. Nathan said he, “got to learn about the Indian culture, and not just dancing. I got to learn about the history of it. And I believe that was another thing for me to appreciate, because a lot of people get stuck in one genre and it’s just always nice to have that around.”

As one of the youngest dancers in the competition, does Nathan wish he waited until he was older to compete on the show? “I don’t wish that I went later because this show actually sped up my process of learning,” Nathan remarked. He also said he’ll take all of the comments and criticism and use them to better his dancing and apply them to his future auditions. “You’ll always make mistakes and you have to always be open to changes.”

Nathan is appreciates SYTYCD as a learning experience and said that the show opened up a new world of dance to him. “I learned that I have love for ballroom now, when it comes down to it. There’s such a big world out there for ballroom and I didn’t know that.  I was always more into the competition for contemporary and jazz, and I didn’t know there was another world like ballroom. So, now that I was opened up to it and I got a chance to do rumba and salsa, now I want to start pursuing that.”

Noelle Marsh, a contemporary dancer from North Carolina, always kept her spirits up, even when she was injured during the first week of the competition. “That was definitely the lowest point in my journey with So You Think You Can Dance, because for that slight moment when I was almost taken out of the competition, it was like everything I had ever worked for was about to be taken away from me,” Noelle recalls. “But I think it definitely brought out a different side of me. It pushed me that much harder to come back in and just lay it all out there and show why I am in Top 20 and it definitely gave me a lot more to work for than I think the other contestants because I was a week behind everyone else.”

For the first five weeks of the competition, Noelle was paired up with krumper Russell Ferguson. “I was actually really excited that I got someone that was complete opposite of me, because I didn’t want anyone who did contemporary. Because I think it helped out as far as like getting hip-hop or stuff like the African Jazz, or even Russell’s done ballroom before. So to have someone that that was experienced in all of those areas was really nice, because it was a good balance. It was a good mixture. We were complete opposite, so together we were almost like the perfect match, because we could help each other out in so many ways.”

Although Noelle was let go during the Top 10 week, she reached a big dream of hers. “I just wanted to be able to make Top 10, because it’s so hard to leave behind all of the friends that you make. To have the comfort that I’m going to be able to spend three  months with them, and I’m still going to be able to share my love for dance with America on tour, that’s what’s most important for me. It wasn’t about winning or making the finale, I just wanted to never stop dancing.”

African Jazz was a style of dance introduced this season, and Noelle got to be a part of it. “I was so confused when I pulled it out, because I was like, ‘I don’t think they’d ever had this on the show before,’ and Russell and I had no clue what to expect. So going into that was having to set the standard for African Jazz for the rest of the show, because they never had it. We debuted it. We were kind of stressed out. We didn’t know what to expect, but I think it was probably my favorite piece of the season and I’m so glad that we got to expose that genre to the show and it was so much fun working with Russell. We really clicked in that routine. I think it was a breakthrough moment for us and our partnership.”

Even though the Top 20 dancers are in competition with one another, Noelle said everyone helps each other out. “I learned a lot from everyone. I can’t really pinpoint one person, because even the people that I didn’t work with, we all share such a bond and such a relationship, where I feel like everyone has helped each other to grow. Because we’re constantly working with each other behind the scenes, and helping each other out and each person has helped me to grow, in so many ways, and they have brought out a piece of me that I never knew I had.”

Noelle leaves the competition with her head held high and as bubbly as ever. “I just think the experience was definitely the most rewarding experience I have ever had in my life. Just to think that I could have inspired or impacted maybe just one person’s life is all I could have ever asked for. All I want to do is just share my love for this art and just give back all that I can, so it was just completely amazing. I couldn’t ask for more.”

To learn more about Nathan, Noelle, and the rest of the contestants, click here.

After his run on So You Think You Can Dance, Thayne got to tour around the country with the Season 4 Top 10. Thayne is no stranger to theater, as he has eight regional theater credits, four film credits, and five years of experience as a principal dancer with Odyssey Dance Theatre.

The remaining OZ the Musical tour dates are as follows:

12/10: The Kentucky Center in Louisville, KY
12/11: Braden Auditorium in Bloomington, IL
12/12: The Olympic Theatre in Chicago, IL
12/13: Miller Auditorium in Kalamazoo, MI

Break a leg, Thayne!