Chelsie Hightower Interviewed On The Dynamics OF DWTS And SYTYCD
What an interesting interview with Chelsie Hightower. She talks about the differences between doing Dancing With The Stars and So You Think You Can Dance…and lots more! From The Souix City Journal….
Both shows, she says, have given dance enormous attention but their goals are different.
“So You Think You Can Dance,” Hightower says, “is really about the art form of dancing. It’s about dance in its rawest, simplest form. ‘Dancing with the Stars’ is about the celebrity and his or her journey.”
Personality, then, becomes a key factor, particularly when it comes to the audience vote. “They’re going to vote for the person they relate to the most,” Hightower says. “You’ve got to be sell-able.”
Injuries, romances and fights are all part of “getting attention.”
“After 19 seasons, people start to catch on as to what works and what they think the audience wants to see,” she adds. “I’m not like that. I’m not going to be someone to put on a show or create drama.”
Instead, the 25-year-old pro has focused on the work that lands on the dance floor and, in the process, she netted an Emmy nomination for choreography.
Crafting dances, though, is only part of the “Dancing with the Stars” assignment. In addition to working with the celebrity, the pro has to help design costumes, choose the music and decide what props to use.
“You get your music Sunday night. You have a costume consultation on Tuesday and you have to rehearse five to seven hours a day.” Add in press interviews and it’s clear the job is more difficult than it looks. Even when a celebrity is voted off, the professional stays, performing in group dances and “bumpers” – dance turns before and after commercials.
“There’s so much that’s out of your control,” Hightower says. Gunning for the mirror-ball trophy, then, is almost impossible. “You try not to keep score. You’re a cast. You’re supportive of everyone. But, at the end of the day, it is a TV show.”
To read the full interview, see The Souix City Journal. If you’d like to see Chelsie Hightower on tour with Dancing Pros Live, see this link.
Is it me or is Chelsie hinting that DWTS is rigged?
I think she’s saying that like most reality television….. You’re selling a story of a journey. If you want to win…. That’s what you’ve gotta do
She doesn’t sound bitter but in the same sense, she also forgets that there were rumors then (and even now) about her and Louie so showmance is something she has done before lol.
On the one hand I get the pros being frustrated with any kind of fabrication and story thrust upon them, and it seems many of the super fans like those of us here hate the fabrications…BUT it IS a TV show and if it doesn’t capture the attention of many millions of people it isn’t going to stay on the air. So, if you want your job, do your job, be willing to be a little entertaining. I’m sure there are many many many dancers who would be thrilled to have the chance to earn such a decent living and get such exposure and make such contacts. I just don’t like hearing past pros or celebs gripe about how it’s all about who captured the voting audience heart or imagination, of course it is and try to slam it by calling it a “popularity contest”.