by: Dinnis Chua, New Straits Times
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(From left) Pat, Aishah, Lam, Hernandez and 8TV chief executive officer Ahmad Izham Omar at the recent launch of So You Think You Can Dance? Season Two in KL Sentral, Kuala Lumpur. |
Tone up that body and get ready to twirl your way to fame. So You Think You Can Dance? is back for its second season and is looking to make dance stars out of Malaysians. DENNIS CHUA writes
THE country’s popular dance reality show will be back in May, promising more excitement as dance enthusiasts unravel their talent on the floor.
So You Think You Can Dance? saw its first winner last year in 8TV’s B-Boy Muhamad Haslam Abdul Rahman (or Alam) from Muar.
Auditions for Season Two were held on Sunday in Kota Kinabalu’s Imperial Hotel. On March 18, hopefuls should head to Panggung Bandaraya in Jalan Raja, Kuala Lumpur for the next session of auditions from 10am to 5pm, and Malaysians aged 18 to 30 are welcome to try their luck at getting selected.
8TV’s business development general manager Lam Swee Kim (the producer) said the show’s first season had succeeded in getting more Malaysians interested in dance and also educated Malaysians on what it takes to be a successful dancer.
“So You Think You Can Dance? has been one of our popular shows.
“Hopefully, we will discover world class dancers amongst Malaysians, including those from Sabah and Sarawak, where we are conducting auditions for the first time,” Lam said.
She said the television station was confident that the second season of So You Think You Can Dance? would enjoy similar success.
Alam, she said, was currently shooting a drama series about his journey as a dancer. The series is expected to be screened on 8TV in July or August.
“Alam amazed us with his dancing skills and touched our hearts with his struggles to make it as a successful dancer.
“I am sure there are many more Malaysians who are extremely talented in dance and need a platform to demonstrate their talents and have a shot at stardom,” she said.
Lam said 100 shortlisted participants would undergo three to four days’ training at a “dance boot camp” where they would learn various dances such as hip-hop, ballroom, traditional and modern contemporary. Only those who master each dance will move on to the next round.
“Live performances will kick off after the Top 20 dancers, (male and female in equal numbers) are selected. One male and one female gets eliminated every week until the 16th and final episode,” she said.
As in the first season, the winner will receive RM50,000.
The performances will take place at Ruums in Jalan Sultan Ismail, Kuala Lumpur.
Lam said the first season saw viewership of 300,000 to 500,000 a week and this was expected to rise by 20 per cent this year.
Dance instructors Ramli Ibrahim, Pat Ibrahim and Judimar Hernandez return as the show’s distinguished judges.
However, first season’s host Juliana Ibrahim is not returning, and her replacement is popular television personality Aishah Sinclair, formerly of 8TV Quickie.
Among the choreographers in the second season are Bilqis Hijjas and first season finalist Suhaili Ahmad Kamil. Bilqis said she decided to support the reality show as it was a great avenue to unearth new talents in Malaysian dance.
Suhaili, who is a part-time dance instructor with the National Arts, Culture and Heritage Academy or Aswara, said: “This year I hope to give back to a show which helped me realise my dreams.”
Judimar advises contestants to “be themselves, and to dance from the heart and not imitate others.”
Tranz, the jewellery brand of Poh Kong, is once again the official partner for the show.