Well my good friend Christina and I decided to take our place in the realm of reality television. We are embarrassingly HUGE fans of the show So You Think You Can Dance and well, we did think we could dance. Evidently, we were mistaken!
Our adventure began last Wednesday night at 9pm when we drove down to Washington DC to stay with Nouno. So we've got SK in the drivers' seat, drinking a small half caff (note: since when did "small" become so tiny?! ), Christina was riding shotgun and in charge of the music, and Sampson was sleeping in the back. We listened to A Chorus Line to inspire us to live the life of a dancer! We arrived to our destination around 11:30, thanks to Nouno's guidance, and we went to sleep as soon as we would be at our very best for the judges the next day.
On the Big Day, we woke at 5am, showered, tried on the 30 different outfits we brought, filled out our forms, and labeled our music. Nouno was kind enough to take the entire day off from work to help us reach our dreams, and it's a good thing because we never would have made it at all if not for him! We pulled up the the Atlas Theatre around 7:30 and the line was wrapped around the entire block. We were totally pumped and chipper when we got in line. We were perhaps even giddy. We quickly made friends with the people around us since we figured we might be with them for the next hour or so. Registration began at 8 so we figured the line would be moving soon. While we waited, we took some photos:
Very chipper at 7:30am!
This is the little tree we stood next to in line!
We got red wrist bands! Christina got to keep hers, but a security guard took mine! Boo!
We (sort of) met Cat Deeley, the host of the show! She is truly a vision of loveliness and I was practically stunned by her beauty. Nice work Leo.
So the short of the long is that we waited outside in the freezing cold for 5 hours! We were not quite as chipper when we could not feel our toes and had not eaten in three hours. We made fast friends with other dancers since we were all sharing our misery and freezing "for our art." Ayjay was in front of us and Stephanie was behind us. New friends! So there we are, after waiting 5 hours, right at the door... the very next to go in! Obviously, Nigel and Mary would be waiting at the door with Mia Michaels to see us dance, right? Heck no! After we signed our life away, we waited for an hour in the foyer of the theatre. Then, we moved to a hallway where we waited for another hour, and then FINALLY, we moved to a room... where we waited for another hour. Must note, however, that while we were waiting in the hallway, Nouno brought Sampson over so I could feed him. So I feed Sampson in the rest room, and then decide that I better pump the other boob (so as not to be lopsided on national television). So leave the boys waiting in a hallway, and go back into the rest room to pump. When I return, Nouno informs me that "a guy with a Mohawk just walked by." Gasp! TRAVIS WALL and SABRA JOHNSON walked right by while I was PUMPING! This hallway was narrow enough that they probably looked at my child (and basked in his cuteness), perhaps brushed his little feet with their beautiful arms, or at the very least, Sampson probably felt their breeze. And I missed it. Sigh.
So we start lining up in the room to go into another room, but we think this room is The Room. So we walk into a big room and it's completely dark except for the camera lights on the square of wooden floor in the middle. A producer, Travis and Sabra, and one of the choreographers were all sitting at the head of the room. They gave us an inspirational speech about what they were looking for in a cast member. He stressed that he is not looking for the "best" dancer, but America's "favorite" dancer... but please remember to point your toes. So then they counted us off in groups of 10 ( I was 1! And Christina was 5) and we had to lug all our stuff with us and wait for our turn. This was it! The music started and I danced across the floor and tried to be charming. After 20 seconds, the producer yelled, "NEXT" and I smiled and made my way back to my start spot. The next dancer danced for her 20 seconds and then, "NEXT!" Christina looked so beautiful dancing around in her little orange dress! So we all got our 20 seconds, and then we lined up for the judgment. They picked one girl from our group (who moved beautifully) and then they pick Ayjay! Our new friend! His 20 seconds was... more... interesting than most of ours and that is probably why he made it through. Later, we found out that Stephanie made it through too and continued progressing, but didn't quite made it to Vegas. So, they picked their faves, and said, "The rest of you, thank you very much." As if they had so much gratitude toward us for trying. Ha! So we grabbed all our stuff, and scurried toward the doors. One was marked "Yes," which lead into the hall where they took your picture and interviewed you and you danced on camera. The other was marked "No!" and it lead into the ally. I doubled over in laughter as I recalled the line from Val in A Chorus Line "...at every audition, I'd dance rings around the other girls and end up in the ally with the other rejects!..." Perhaps a boob job and butt lift would do it like it did for Val.
And to conclude the experience, we called Nouno to come pick us up, and went to the nearest restaurant to eat. Reality TV and Popeye's Chicken... what a pair! Yes, we were disappointed that we did not made it farther in the audition process. Yes, we wanted to be America's favorites dancers. Yes, we still think we can dance. Just for the record, here are Christina and I dance with our buddy Johanna.
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