It's reality TV but with more talent and much less bitching. Scott Kara explains
KEY POINTS:
Groovy as it was, there was one thing missing from reality show So You Think You Can Dance - some bitching and backstabbing.
That's what makes America's Next Top Model and The Amazing Race more interesting. But the bitches failed to surface on the Australian show, the final of which screened in Australia last weekend and in New Zealand last night on TV3.
Lucky the dancing was so riveting.
Jack Chambers, the deserved winner, says dancers aren't like that. For much of the competition, his partner was Demi (he calls her "the wonderful Demolition") Sorono, then Vanessa Sew Hoy and, finally, the lovely Kate Wormald. He says not once did he have any problems with his partners.
Surely there must've been some friction behind the scenes that didn't make the final edit? Apparently not. In fact, fans of the show will know contestants were prone to leaping around excitedly when they found out who their dance partner would be.
"This show wasn't an individual competition because we danced as a partnership and a group," says Chambers. "Even in the audition process we all helped each other. That's who dancers are."
Rhys Bobridge, the runner-up and flamboyant showpony of the bunch, said it was unlike reality television, but thought dancers were like a clan.
"We're all about our art rather than wanting to further ourselves as people ... And plus, this competition wouldn't work without camaraderie because if we were all bitching at each other we wouldn't be able to pull off the amazing routines we did every week."
Along with Bobridge, Chambers was the most consistent dancer during the series and, now that the competition is over, he's looking forward to the opportunities coming his way.
His dream dance job is to perform on Broadway - he acts and sings too, of course - and he had booked his ticket to the US to follow his dreams before the show started. As the winner, he not only gets his ticket to Los Angeles paid for, he also gets lessons from renowned dance teacher Mia Michaels, who has worked with Madonna, Prince and Latin firecracker Ricky Martin.
Not bad for an Australian lad who's been dancing since he was a nipper.
"It's always been part of my life. I know I'm meant to do it because when I'm on stage I totally zone out and I don't know what I'm thinking ... It's a part of me that doesn't get to come out in everyday life. That's rare."
