Arassay Reyes is just as sweet and personable over the phone as she came across on stage during last fall’s hit show So You Think You Can Dance Canada.
The Havana, Cuba, native is one of the top 10 dancers from the first season of the CTV series who are crossing the country on a live tour over.
When told she was obviously a crowd favourite and could have easily made the final four, the talented brunette modestly gushes: “Oh, thank you. I really appreciate it, thank you so much.”
Her English isn’t perfect: She moved to Canada and began learning the language just three months before she was selected for the show.
The 21-year-old’s dad first moved to B.C. seven years ago and last year Reyes finally joined him.
“I came to visit and after that I told him maybe I will try to move here, because it’s a beautiful country and you have freedom,” she said.
She now calls South Surrey, B.C., home where she lives with her dad, stepmom and grandparents.
The So You Think You Can Dance Canada 2009 Tour debuted in Vancouver last month. Reyes said she couldn’t wait to perform in her home province.
The group will have repeated the performance 15 times during the tour, hitting about three cities a week and in preparation they’ve been working overtime.
The charming brunette, who was paired mostly with Nico Archambault of Montreal, the winner of the televised competition, will again appear on stage with the handsome heartthrob.
She said she’s looking forward to performing one of her favourite routines with him, a contemporary piece to Queen’s Somebody to Love in which Archambault dons black feather wings.
“We really have the connection to be partners,” Reyes said. “I don’t know how that happened.”
Throughout the competition the couple was applauded for their outstanding chemistry on stage.
During her off time, Reyes went back to Cuba and spent time relaxing and hanging out with her family.
The Caribbean island is where she learned to dance; she started when she was eight years old doing Latin, contemporary and folk dance and later attended the Cuban National School of the Arts. Her hard work eventually won her a spot in the National Contemporary Dance Company of Cuba (Danza Contemporanea de Cuba).
While in B.C., she’s been learning English and dancing with the Vancouver dance company Grupo America.
The three months spent taping the popular show last fall were gruelling, Reyes said, and she was quite ready for a break and to see the rest of her family.
Now she can’t wait to get back on stage.
“We’re going to perform for thousands and thousands of people and I’m so happy to do it,” she said.
