So where will they be in 5 years I asked?
Joshua expressed a love for music. “I really want to be a recording artist” Joshua explained. “I want to push my music, but I still want to dance. I definitely want to open up my own recording label down the road, get into acting, open a dance school, even audition for Fame. I am the type of person who wants to do it all. I want to have my hand in everything that I can. The sky is the limit, so why not? Why just do one thing, do multiple things".

On the topic of acting, Joshua won a role in the new movie Step Up 3D as part of his grand prize. Talking about his upcoming movie role Joshua explained that they were still busy writing the script (at the time of interview – Nov) and that his work would start to take place in February or March.

Recently graduating from college, Chelsea explained that her original plan, if she did not get on the show, was to get a job in her field, marketing, and then eventually move to LA when she could afford it. Now she can move straight there after the tour! “It’s overwhelming to think how much has changed in 9 months.  It’s so intense. It’s so scary” she expressed.

About to move on from the show and into the big wide world, the dancers showed confidence and the will to succeed. “Now I can walk into an audition and can have my head held high, chest up. Let’s do this. I am excited to book work” says Chelsea.  Both Joshua and Jessica agreed that the show had really boosted their confidence.  “It lets you know where you stand. I know for me, I came from a small town. There are only so many of you that are good. You don’t know how good you really are in comparison to the industry. For me it proved to me where I stand and how much I can and will improve and need to improve, versus what I know now.  It’s given me a sense of confidence and has also put a fire under my butt,” said Jessica.

The dancers all agreed that the show had changed them in many ways.   “I learnt a lot less about dancing and more about myself, the production side behind the camera and the business aspects of the dance world. It’s not all about the feet and the style” said Chelsea.  Katee expressed, “the show and the tour are the most mentally and physically challenging things that any of us have had to do. Week after week you are so tired, but you still have to put on a show, you still have to go out there and perform. It has taught us that we can do so much more with our bodies and our minds than we initially thought we could. I think everyone is leaving stronger. “

Learning so many routines in so many different styles, the dancers really did have to work tremendously hard.  I asked them how they coped with performing one genre to the next. Joshua  explained “You definitely didn’t have enough time to perfect it. We only had 5 ½ hours and that’s not even enough time for a professional person to perfect something. We have to make it look good and make it look like we have been doing it for our whole lives, which especially wasn’t true for me with ballroom. I was nervous every time we went out”. Chelsea exclaimed, “I’m pretty sure you could smell the terror coming out of our pores. It really tested our grit as far as what we can take.”

When asked if they wished to pursue new genres of dance now that they had been exposed to them Joshua laughed, exclaiming “not ballroom!”  Katee, however is keen to try new dance styles and Chelsea expressed a love of salsa, and said her cha-cha dance was her favourite number, because of the process. “I did the cha-cha the first week.  From beginning to end the whole thing was tragic. It was so hard. I didn’t know which way was upstage, which way was downstage, the turning. It was stupid.  Thayne and I literally practiced it like 75 times before we could even do it the next day. I can’t believe the transformation from the day I learnt it to the day I performed it. That was really cool to see that type of transformation”. Mark stated “I have found that I have a greater appreciation for ballroom. Definitely for the Latin stuff, but I found that the Waltz and the Foxtrot were really beautiful . When you work with people like Jean Marc, he’s just so passionate about what he does that it makes you so excited to be doing ballroom. He is probably one of the most enthusiastic, excited people that I know. It was such an honour to work with him.”  Jessica enjoyed learning all the different numbers saying “we are very blessed and fortunate to have had so many different things to do. You got so much out of each thing.” Katee said that the most challenging number for her was the West Coast Swing. “I was a wreck” she said, with Joshua agreeing about the difficulty of the dance. He also found Mia Michael’s work a challenge, as well as the Samba.

Joshua is known for his background of athletics and football, and was not the stereotypical male dancer, having to choose between a love of track, the football field and the dance floor. I asked him about his athletic past and what made him go in the direction of dance. “I always loved to dance” Joshua explained.  “Even when I played football, even on game days, when we were back there doing a play and it was time for us to run the play, I would be goofing around dancing right before they said “hut”. Then when running track, I used to always be singing to myself. That was how I would hype myself up to get ready to run and to play. Someone told me “if you wake up thinking about it, go to sleep thinking about it and you do it all day, that’s what you really want to do”. So I started to get really serious about it, probably in 10th grade in high school. My coaches hated me because I was their star running back and top of the line as far as track. It was really hard. At first I would try to run track, do school and right afterwards run to dance class.  I would literally start falling asleep in class. Then I realised I couldn’t do it to myself anymore, so I finally just quit".

Joshua explained that he always had a passion for dance. “When I was a little boy I would dance all the time. My mum would always tell me to “sit down, sit down”.  I remember first performing. I would try to hide it from everybody at school because I knew the stereotype that came with it. Then one day one of my classes was going on a field trip, actually to come see me, and I didn’t know.  That’s when everyone knew that I was a dancer. From then on it kind of went up and down because some people thought it was 'tight' but others picked on me. I was always getting into fights at school and had to change schools. It was really hard.”

Joshua wanted to dance from a small child, but did they all always want to dance, or did they have something else in mind? Jessica who has one more semester left in college explained her love of art. “I am an Art Major. A lot of times I like to mix my dance and my art together, but I didn’t know if my dance career would every take off. For me, I could always fall back on my art. I was always a little torn because I am really passionate about that too, but I want to move and feel rather than just paint”. 

After meeting Australia’s SYTYCD Winner Jack Chambers, and with Season 2 now airing on Channel 10, I asked the dancers if they had any advice to give to Australia’s Top 20. As winner of Season 4, Joshua said “Never doubt yourself. Never say “I’m not good enough.” You never know, you might be exactly what they are looking for. Always, always go for your dream no matter what anybody tells you.  My coaches were like “are you serious, you think you are going to make it in dancing over football, that’s where your career is? Are you stupid? Why are you leaving this to go do that?” Now look where I am!  Always go for your dream.”

Jessica added, “you have to believe in yourself and what you’re capable of and see it through to the very end. You can’t limit yourself in your mind. You have to visualize the entire process happening to you.” Chelsea stressed the importance of dance class, “No matter how “fierce” the dancer thinks they are there is no-one above class. Class is what keeps us healthy, working and able to adapt to new types of dance. Class is essential to any dancer’s success. I would stamp that on my forehead!”Katee said “ you need to stay true to who you are.  I think sometimes we psyche ourselves out when we go into auditions or performances and try be what we think the stereotype is. I think our cast is a great example that everybody is their own individual. We’re not necessarily the most technical dancers out there but everybody has heart and their own individuality. I think it brings something different to the table.” Mark agreed with Katee and said “just be yourself”. 

So there you have it. Words of encouragement and advice from five of America’s favourite dancers for our new season of Australia’s favourite dancers. Joshua, Katee, Mark, Chelsea and Jessica were all such a pleasure to speak with, buzzing with energy not just on the stage, but in the press room, showing such excitement for their achievements and the future ahead. I wish them all the best!