WestKelowna.com - West Kelowna. Right Now!

SYTYCD Canada winner Tara-Jean Popowich talks about dance tour

By Mark Stone

So You Think You Can Dance Canada winner Tara-Jean Popowich

Contemporary dancer Tara-Jean Popowich wowed So You Think You Can Dance Canada fans throughout the season with her remarkable routines and last month was named Canada’s Favorite Dancer. Winning So You Think You Can Dance Canada also brought Popowich a cool $100,000 in cash and even a key to the city in her hometown of Lethbridge, Alberta. Tara-Jean, along with the top 10 finalists of the show, is embarking on a Canadian tour that kicks off right here in Kelowna next Wednesday, November 25th.

While the show at Prospera is bound to give fans a taste of some of their favorite dance routines, the tour isn’t all about dancing, Tara-Jean tells me. “It’s going to be a night full of entertainment,” she said. “You get to see a bunch of dance numbers and it’s going to be like the biggest dance concert you’ve ever been to. There’s even going to be a lot of skits interspersed with the dance numbers. It will almost be like live theatre.”

Popowich is looking forward to the tour, especially after the grueling schedule she had to adhere to while the show was filming. I read that it wasn’t uncommon for the dancers to run on three hours of sleep each night. “It’s true,” Tara-Jean confirms. “I’d rather work without sleep if it means getting the job done right. I was basically running on adrenaline for most of that time – three months of shows. Plus the audition process was two days so yeah, it’s been a long journey.” As demanding as the schedule was for Popowich (and the other contestants), it was exacerbated by her broken ribs. “I didn’t even tell anyone and tried to hide it from people for a week,” Popowich says. “Everyone found out and unfortunately it came out. They’re healed and they’re getting better.”

As the show carried on, Popowich learned to deal with being nervous and her confidence grew with each passing week. “It still doesn’t mean I won’t be nervous for the upcoming tour,” she explains. “Of course you’re always nervous but you get comfortable the more shows you do. And it makes it easier to give more; I’m really excited and I’ve never done something like this before. The tour is completely different… you’re not trying to get votes. It’s a different mentality. It’s going to be the best experience of a lifetime.”

From the time she won the show until now, Tara-Jean has been having the time of her life. “It’s pretty intense but I’m loving it. I’ve been doing a lot of red carpet events and I love every minute of it. It’s crazy having people recognize you but I’m always so grateful,” she says. The dancer even admitted that she’d give up her privacy as long as it meant she was doing what she loves to do. “If I ever got so famous that people would be following my every move it would be worth because I’d be famous for my dancing. It sounds weird but it’s true.”

So after the tour, what’s next for Tara-Jean, who was teaching dance in Vancouver before the show started? “I want to start my own show and to keep doing my contemporary thing; I’d love to work with [choreographer] Mia Michaels,” she says. “I’m trying to work as much in Canada as possible after the tour. I’m going to go to Toronto for a while and them I’m headed to New York after about six months. I want to stay in the TV industry and get more shows.”

Outside of dancing, Tara-Jean enjoys living fearlessly. “I love doing extreme things – I’m so fearless. I love bungee and surfing… I really love the outdoors. As long as I’m having fun, you know? I think skydiving is next, but a lot of people tell me I can’t do it because it’s too dangerous,” she says. Dancing will always be her #1 sport, though. “I’ll never take anything for granted. I am going to dance my heart out until I wreck my body!”

Tara-Jean is familiar with Kelowna and is looking forward to performing here and spending more time here after the tour. “I love Kelowna… it was the first place I went snowboarding. I loved Big White. I want to thank everyone for supporting me and I cant wait to perform in Kelowna.”

The So You Think You Can Dance Canada tour comes to Kelowna on Wednesday, November 25th at Prospera Place. The show starts at 7:30 and you can get your tickets at selectyourtickets.com. Ticket prices are $59.50 (Floor & Bowl), $49.50 (Upper Sides & Lower Back) and $39.50 (Upper Back).

This entry was posted on Friday, November 20th, 2009 at 12:00 pm and is filed under Arts, Entertainment, Kelowna Entertainment, Music. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.