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TVGuide.com: Can you explain to us non-dancers what this "chemistry" thing is all about?
Ivan: Chemistry is acting. Like in the contemporary piece with Allison, I really had to pretend that I was in love with her, like she was the one girl I’ve been waiting for my whole life, so I could get that emotion in there, and feel like every single time I touch her is priceless. Allison and I had a lot of time together and we worked on it. After the first week, we sat down and were like, "Hey, we need to make it seem like we’re a couple, because that’s what people want to see." And we worked our butt off to portray that. So when I get people asking me, "Are you and Allison hooking up?" I know I’ve hit my goal. We’re proud of that.
TVGuide.com: Is that a danger to your personal life?
Ivan: It is and it isn’t, because people who are close to me know the truth, they all know I have a girlfriend and I’m in love with her. And she knows that it’s all TV.
TV Guide’s Insider
Now I am afraid to find out about Benjelle.
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Natalie Fotopoulos and Ivan Koumeav could be the happiest losers in reality TV history.The constantly giggling duo, who narrowly missed making the Top 4 after being voted off So You Think You Can Dance last week, actually seem relieved."I was really ready — I packed my bags Monday night," says Koumeav, an 18-year-old college graduate. "I’m really excited because this is the first time in my life when my schedule is completely open to whatever."Fotopoulos, 22, also doesn’t seem too disappointed to have been kicked off the series by American viewers."I’m happy — it feels like a burden has been lifted off my shoulders," she says, adding she can’t get over how much support strangers have shown her through their votes and in public."People know who we are and we can’t get over the fact that we are, sort of, famous. It hasn’t sunk in that we were on television and people were watching."Fotopoulos, a dance teacher from Florida, says her only concern now is her injured knee — the result of years of dancing."I just recently heard from the chiropractor that I’m going to have to probably look at, the ickiest word, surgery," she says."It’s messed up and there’s some fluid in my knee that has to be drained. So, everybody just cross your fingers and pray that doesn’t have to happen. I’m not missing this (So You Think You Can Dance) tour."While Fotopoulos says she deserved to go home this week because her performances had been "lacking" over the past two or three weeks, Koumeav is just thrilled to have made it to the final six."I came in not ready for this competition and that first week you could see that I wasn’t."I’m really, really glad that I got a second chance," says Koumeav, the only contestant to ever make judge Mary Murphy cry due to the beauty of a performance."I owe this whole competition and how far I went to Allison (Holker)."She constantly pushed me to become better and that’s what, I think, helped me the most."Koumeav, a hip-hop specialist from Seattle, says he hopes his success on the show will motivate other male dancers to follow his lead, especially those who don’t have support from their parents."My dad wasn’t a big dance fan … but he called me after a show one day and said, ‘I’m really proud of you.’"I’m glad they used that on the show because so many kids who dance have fathers who don’t support them at all."I want them to see it’s OK — someday their fathers will come around."
Jam!
Wow! I did not know how bad Natalie’s knee was until this interview. They seem two like really sweet sincere people.
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These are the new, surprise stars of the pop-culture world.They are young, attractive and hard-bodied. That part isn’t the surprise.They don’t — for now, at least — sing or act or pitch or pass. Still, this summer’s "So You Think You Can Dance" on Fox, has given them a collection of screaming teen fans."It’s all about inspiration, (doing) something positive with our lives," said Ryan Rankine, 20, who reached the final eight before being ousted Thursday. "Our art form we chose is dance."That isn’t the usual teen choice. "I was made fun of a lot, because I was a dancer," said Benji Schwimmer, 22, who’s in the final six. "We were pretty much thrown in lockers, that type of thing." Now they get cheers. Schwimmer said a former bully even sent him an E-mail, apologizing.In its first year, "Dance" was a modest success; for this second year, its Nielsen ratings have increased 19 percent, putting the show into the top five. The finals Aug. 9 and 16 are expected to score big.So far, it’s tough to predict who will be in those finals. The most recent viewers’ votes brought some quick jolts
• Among the men, Rankine — with his intense background in classical and modern dance — was ousted. Travis Wall, 18, was also in the bottom two; Schwimmer and Ivan Koumaev, 18, weren’t.
• Among the women, Allison Holker — a spectacular beauty at 18 — was ousted. Natalie Fotopoulos, 22, was in the bottom two; Heidi Groskreutz, 24, and Donyelle Jones, 27, weren’t.
These people vary sharply in experience and in style. Schwimmer, for instance, grew up around his parents’ dance studio in California. "My training consists of mostly West Coast swing since I was a fetus," he said. Groskreutz is his cousin and knows all about that studio. "That’s where we danced, growing up," she said.
Fotopoulos — whose mother is a dancer in Tampa, Fla. — has been dancing since she was 2. Wall grew up around his mom’s studio in Virginia Beach, Va.Even as a kid, Wall already was dancing in national commercials and competitions. He was in Broadway’s "Music Man" revival, dancing in the chorus and understudying as Winthrop. When he auditioned for "Dance," he was staying with his friends Nick Lazzarini and Melody Lascayanga, last summer’s "Dance" champion and runner-up.Jones, by comparison, had a sort of dance-free childhood. "I started in college when I was 18," she said. "That was when I really got interested in it. … When I first started, I was dancing 15 to 20 hours a week."Rankine grew up in Brooklyn, where his mom has a hair salon. He started dance at 8 and joined Creative Outlook Dance Theatre at 13. He’s gone on to Dance Theatre of Harlem, San Francisco Ballet, Miami City Ballet and more. While Rankine struggled to learn hip-hop, Koumaev — wborn in Russia — grew up dancing that style. For any other style, he said, he has to simply throw himself into it."It’s committing to the steps," Koumaev said. Other dancers also have styles they struggle with. For instance
• Wall fell into the bottom two last week after his quick-step performance. He said he has trouble with "anything ballroom; you name it — fox trot, quick step, salsa."
• Groskreutz had trouble earlier with the Cuban rumba. "It was all drums," she said. "I couldn’t figure out exactly which accents they wanted us to use."
Their styles may vary, but the dancers have a few things in common. All are energetic and exuberant. And many of the guys found that dance wasn’t an easy route to popularity. The exception is Wall. "I was always the popular kid in a small town," Wall said. "I could (do acrobatics) and tumble and they thought that was the coolest thing ever, like putting my head between my butt and stuff."Schwimmer said he, Rankine and Koumaev have swapped stories about meeting bullies."We wanted to punch, (but) we were just, like, pointing our toes, trying to kick someone," Schwimmer said.
The Journal News
This is a great article and I hope you enjoyed it as much as I did!
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