Since winning top honours on So You Think You Can Dance-Canada in October, Tara-Jean Popowich has been on quite a wild ride. Though not in her own car.
“I’ve been so busy. My new car is still just sitting in my drive way at home, teasing me,” says Popowich, who won the car and $100,000, along with the title of SYTYCD-Canada’s top dancer. “But it’s good. I’m having fun. So don’t wake me up or it’ll all be gone. I’m doing what I love.”
For the Lethbridge, Alberta-native, doing what she loves includes an 18-city, SYTYCD cross-country tour. Kicking off in Kelowna, B.C. on Wednesday, the production will feature the top ten finalists from the second season. “It’s going to feature all the season faves, plus some new choreography. It’s very exciting and entertaining.”
Popowich, 20, admits there’s one stop she’s particularly excited about:?the one in her hometown on Nov. 29. “And it’s the day after my birthday,” she says. “I’ve got about a thousand requests for tickets in the front row. [We’re] going to have the whole town there.”
Popowich has found spare time to put a dent in that prize money. She paid off her mother’s mortgage, helped out on her brother’s tuition, and bought herself a computer. “I invested the rest of it, so it’s a bit like I’m still living like I never won.”
Popowich’s longterm plans call for dancing and more dancing. “I want to continue to teach dance and perform. You know, dance as long as I can. Dance ’til the body finally falls apart.” With auditions already starting for the third season of SYTYCD-Canada, Popowich has some straightforward advice for those seeking her crown. “Don’t think of it as a competition. And stay confident. The judges will pick up on that.”
The SYTYCD-Canada tour stops in Toronto on Dec. 10.
