The last time the So You Think You Can Dance audition tour stopped in Vancouver, Arassay Reyes was a nervous contestant from Surrey with vague hopes of passing the first round.
This time around, she’ll be a guest judge and choreographer on the show’s second season, is getting paid as a dancer, teacher and choreographer, and walked the red carpet at the Juno Awards last week.
“I never thought the show would be as big as it was,” said Reyes, who beat out hundreds of other hopefuls last year and made it to the top eight on the show. “The experience really opened a door (for my career).”
Reyes said she wasn’t prepared for how much work would be required of the dancers, who had to learn a new routine every week, but added that the challenge of dancing new styles was a boost to her confidence.
The biggest boost was being told by the judges, after a particularly moving dance, that she was the reason little girls want to dance.
“I have been doing this for my life and it’s my passion,” Reyes said. “And I thought, people don’t try (things) because they are afraid.”
She said that realizing she was an inspiration to others validated all the years she put into dancing and negated all the doubts she had in her self.
“I wanted to prove to me and the audience that I could do it,” she said.
Auditions
• Registration begins at 8 a.m. on Saturday at the Centre For Performing Arts, 777 Homer St.
• Contestants must be between 19 and 30 years old.
• For more information visit www.ctv.ca/mini/dance2008/Audition
