So I Thought I Could Dance Reality Show!

Watching Idols the other night reminded me of a time when I thought I had talent. I think a lot of the time when you watch bad talent on reality TV you just wonder what that contestant was thinking signing up for this show?   “I mean it is obvious they can’t sing!!!” Well let me tell you of how I ended up being just another lousy contestant who thought they had talent for “So You think You can Dance Canada!”

In 2008, Canada brought, for the first time, “So you think you can dance Canada” to the streets of Toronto.  My brother Hama, and I had heard the rumours about the auditions and thought if any reality show was for us….it would have to be this one!  I mean we loved to dance. Ever since we were kids we believed we had real raw talent because we would get all dramatic and perform no matter who or what was watching. We were no professionals but our friends told us we were good and that was all the motivation we needed to know to push ourselves to enter the competition.

Us waiting in line I am wearing the white glasses

At 4am on the Sunday of the auditions Hama and I were on the road to Toronto! I couldn't believe we were up so early. We read on the website that you could only start lining up at 6am but auditions start at 9am. We got there at 6:30am and already there were over 800 people in front of us. Front street was bustling with young energetic people it was CRAZY. Some people had camping chairs and picnic baskets, others had radios and stunt gadgets. There were video cameras and reporters grabbing interviews with random people. I loved the energy and I was excited to be part of it all..this was our moment!

After four hours of waiting outside we entered into the main theatre doors and were debriefed on how the auditions worked. We were apparently entering the filter process, meaning that whatever gets shown today wouldn’t be on TV. Contestants would wait in the theatre for their turn then come onto stage 10 at a time (5 contemporary and 5 hip hop dancers). What happens is the judges made you dance to their music (either Hip hop or Contemporary) for 30 seconds. That was the only time you had to show them your raw talent, just 30seconds… Then they give you either a yes or no score. If Yes you come back on Tuesday and get auditioned and actually filmed on TV and if  No you have to escort yourself to the No Door which was written in big human sized letters (you really couldn’t miss it).  Keep in mind that everyone is watching!

While waiting for our turn to go on stage Hama and I witnessed first-hand that Canada did have dance talent we thought we had raw talent…but these people were even more raw…I am talking SUSHI! With regards to Hip hop moves I am talking STep1 Step 2 ...Stomp the yard kind of moves. People were actually part of dance crews that performed on regular basis. The contemporary dancers were ridiculously amazing with leaps and spins you name it. As each performance went on Hama and I got more and more drawn to the reality that – we just are not going to pass as real hip hop dancers.

Hama and I entering the doors to the theater after 4 hours of waiting

The lucky thing is if you were anything but a hip hop or a contemporary dancer...You would be given a YES for sure... with NO questions. Even if you were a bad salsa dancer or terrible tap dancer...you were in! The main reason was because the judges wanted variety and if anything you would be a good laugh on T.V. …just like those useless idols singers. I sat there debating on doing an African dance. I envisioned myself up there just busting some ridiculous African move..From Swazi to Shona to Zulu to Congolese  all in 30 seconds. I knew that I would be in the next round NO DOUBT. But then what…I would probably just end up on one episode of the show because  I can't leap.....I can't spin.....I can't stand on my head and doo a booty shake......EEEK. I had nothing but Kanya and her club moves???? And African dance??? What was I risking just to be on T.V for a brief moment? It could destroy my reputation I thought ..imagining someone stoping me in the street saying “Hey aren’t you that girl from that dance show….man You were so bad! But I liked the energy!”. So I decided to ditch the African Vibe and stick with the Hip Hop.

The crowed which watches while they wait their turn

When it was our turn to go on stage we were accompanied by 2 tap dancers, a Hip hop girl dancer and 5 contemporary dancers. The music started playing and the first hip hop girl starts dancing to the song LOW….She was really good and I wondered why did I have to go after her L. Then it was my turn  the song continues "Apple Bottom Jeans, Hips with the curve...the whole club was looking aather...she hit the floor...next thing you know...the shortty got low low low low low" So I think I was doing fine till the low low low part. Now you can't help but go low when you hear those words right? ....my body was going low...but my mind was like "kanya what the hell are we going to do when we hit the floor......we have no moves for the floor !!!!!! aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa" I distinctly remember facing the Judges and being on my knees almost like a moment of silence but I some how I managed to jump up and glided off the floor where I spun into Hama who glided onto the dance floor....Out of breath and still pumped I just cheered on Hama. I loved watching him move. Loved it! He had the energy and even did a handstand walk up to the judges! He was my star at that very moment because I knew that no matter what the judges said I had the satisfaction that I tried my best and enjoyed it.

It all ended so quickly and both Hama and I were given the big NO. We picked up our bags and headed for the door that said NO......one of the guys that was standing in line with us shouted...."we still love you Kanya"..... I was like " I love you guys too" lol. The door lead to a stair-well and opened to a back door on a curb.. in some random ally.. Still out of breath, disorientated and confused we couldn’t help but laugh at the fact that "we got kicked to the curb" lol.

Although we didn’t make it we left with a great sense of satisfaction that at least we tried and maybe that’s what all these people experience when they enter these competitions. It really wasn’t about being the best dancer in Canada it was about actually putting the effort in and enjoying the experience. We met cool people that day and got to really bond as brother and sister. You may ask me if I would do it again and my answer is “Helll Yhea, just don’t play that same song!”

lol PEACE!

The Final Special K Commercial

So I know some of you have been really trying to figure out which of the girls in the Special K Commercial I am....as there are three coloured girls and we all have similarities. Well to clarify the issue I thought I would upload the final product. I am the girl in the office wearing shorts...play the video realy really slowly. I am talking S-L-O-W and you will see it is really me. lol

I have only seen the commercial twice on TV. I call this clip my 1.5 seconds of fame. I am very happy still coz alot of girls didn't actually make it to the final cut. Although it was short I really enjoyed experiencing the making of the video.

So I hope the commercial gets you feeling like some Special K. :) and feeling like dancing.....the song is really catchy....It is so hard not so feel special with such a song in your head.

MWHA

The Making of Special Kay Part 2!

Arriving on set at 5am on a raining Wednesday morning isn't the best of feelings but the thought of being filmed for a real commercial warmed my heart. Avon dropped me off because the location wasn't the best of locations for a girl to be driving alone. We were shooting in a down town loft in Johannesburg. I kissed Avon goodbye, ran across the parking lot and jumped into the elevator. A young scruffy guy jumped into the elevator with me. He was probably one of the set up crew guys but he gave me this excited smile like you must be one of the models. I took a glance at my huge afro and my half awake face, wow I don't look like a typical model/actress and sure didn't feel like one. 

When I got into the apartment people were all in their own world setting up the scene. There were lights, cords and camera stuff everywhere. David our casting director was relieved to see me come in on time and rushed me over for make-up "lovie you are on first so we need you looking good quick!" David said with a morning voice. I plopped down into the makeup chair and had a wonderful lady decorate my face. She was so intrigued by the texture of my hair and asked if she could touch it. All I could think about was how I had to wake up at 3am to make sure my afro was as neat of a afro as possible, curling each curl with my finger and loads of jell.

Once I was done make up the french wardrobe guy glided towards me with my outfit. I had to dressed in a Tent which was being used as a changing room.Very practical i thought too myself!  Once I was dressed and ready the choreographer asked if I had practices dancing in my 6inch heals. I had briefly practiced and even wore the shoes while cooking and cleaning in the kitchen. The shoes were sexy hot and I wished I could have had a pair of them myself. I slipped on my shoes then awkwardly tried to rub lotion into my legs with out getting make-up on my white shirt and then I headed to the scene.

The choreographer went over a couple of moves with me and once i was ready I just stood in the middle of my scene. I took a moment to take it all in while people walked by me as if I was part of the furniture. I looked around and thought may I never forget this moment right here! I absorbed everything the lights the decor the people!  There were two extras in the shot one guy who sat in the desk behind me and then another girl. They were both dressed really smart and business like.... I almost didn't recognize them. 

Then it was time to shoot. The director shouted "Okay Kanya we want personality and energy when you move. We will do two rehersal shots and then get into the actual filming." It was all of a sudden silent and everyone that was walking past me before was now standing at some strategic locaiton - be it behind the lights, camera, radio or TV Even the casual set up crew were just waiting wanting to see what this was all about. I had a moment of "Dear God please may I not mess up my moves, all these people are watching me and I am in 6inch heels....it will hurt." I thought of what Avon told me the night before "Its alot different when you are actually being filmed and the lights are on you!" He was so right, it was different. But I wasn't going to let myself get worked up coz I know I can. My prayer lead me to some peaceful place inside of me and I pretended like it was just me dancing in my own room. I moved like never before, as if I had just had special K that morning!

After the rehersal shots I was breaking out in a sweat. The lights were really heating me up and my goodness it wasn't as easy as I thought. The make-up artist then appeared and fixed my face. The choreographer corrected me on certain moves.  The French wadrobe guy came and adjusted my collar and tucked in my shirt deep into my shorts. I had a giggle thinking the Extra right beside us must be thinking..."talk about invading someones personal space." I cracked a joke and said "I am going to have to tell my husband that another man was in my pants!" but jokes aside - I comforted myself in thinking that this guy was gay and this was his job. It wasn't like he was touching me inappropriately he genuinely was annoyed that my shirt kept coming out while I danced and that my collar shifted every so often. Detail detail detail!!!

I danced my heart out! Seriously by the time the producers were satisfied I was out of breathe, aching and hungry. The heals really made me have a work out. But I enjoyed every minute of it and would do it over and over again if they wanted me too. I was done by 7am and thought gee my husband hasn't even left for work yet! I could just go home and go back to sleep, but decided to sit and watch the next scene. 

The picture below is me having breakfast after a long morning! All in a hard days work :).

Not sure if you will even get to see me in the commercial but I promise you the experience was worth it!

The Making of Special Kay Part 1

So this is my first real commercial :) and I just can not resist my writing erg to let you all in on the making of Special K!

Last year December I was called in for two rounds of auditions for a Kellogs commercial. But these were not just any auditions we had to learn dance moves. I thought I was a pro at it but when I started rehearsing for the first round of auditions I realised that these moves were a little bit harder. Not because the moves were complicated but the video clip I had got made the moves a bit off beat. Now imagine trying to learn moves when they are off beat, and not only that....I kept getting my left and right hands mixed up coz I was watching a screen and not a person. If it wasn't for Avon, I wouldn't have got the moves right he - filmed and critiqued me every night before the audition..... What a Husband!

On the final round of auditions I managed to mess my moves up big time. They asked for energy and I gave them alot of energy....so much that I lost my coordination all together. I was so embarrassed coz during rehearsal the choreographer had made everyone watch me coz I was smiling and giving it my best. "Guys you got to dance like this girl in red and white, I want you all to just watch her for quickly," she had said. Kanya "Brr". Yet in front of the camera I was a wreck, maybe it was my nerves or the fact that I had learnt 2 different dances to the same music and mixed them both up. I just jumped around with my tight nit afro and my kellogs look-alike clothes. I thought if I didn't get called back everyone would be like...I thought she could "Dance." Quwa Quwa Quwa. I left the auditions feeling really down. I thought I "Had it" but I guess I had to much Special K in me...my mom did always say I was Special. She was right coz I did get called back and I was ecstatic!

Now we all were not sure what the add was about. Originally we heard there were suppose to about 30 girls and I was like gee....30 girls in 30 seconds nobody will see anyone. You might as well be an extra. But it turned out that they narrowed it down to 15 girls and we each had a role to play. We all met yesterday in some shady part of town. It was on the same route I used to go to Scandal shoot but a bit further...an older part of Jozi. When I got to the spot, I parked my car and looked out side... hesitated to step out thinking that I was sure I got the wrong spot. Then I saw one of the girls form the audition. When I first saw her at the auditions I thought she reminded me of a bush baby coz she had these big cute bubbly eyes and a small figure. I rolled down my window and said with a I wanna be someone's friend kind of voice "Hey you here for kellogs right." She replied "Ya and I am so F-word tired, was out partying last night." Okay she didn't look that tired I thought but grabbed my bags and walked with her in.

We walked into this old renovated house with wooden floors. The interior was much nicer than what we saw on the street. The location was a costume Organization. We shyly walked in coz we were actually 10 minutes late and a tall large man with grey hair told us to put our bags down and walk this way. As I walked behind him I noticed that he was a femanine kind of a man. The walk flamboyant but not as far as a gay flamboyance. He took us into the wardrobe section where each of us had a range of clothes under our name and picture. Staring at me from head to toe he said French accent "what is your name". "Kanya" I said...."But you do not look like this Kanya," he grunted with a confused look on his face. "Sorry, its the hair I have it straight but I will change it." "Okay my dear you are the office girl, put this on and this and come out and show me." It was so cool to see what they had chosen for each girl. I was given shorts and a jacket, with some cool high heels. My new "walk-in friend" was a pjamma girl which was so ideal for her character that morning lol. We were in wardrobe for hours. Trying on this and trying on that. My shoes were too big for me but they were all brand new stuff so they could change things at the store. They paid attention to absolutely every detail from the Earrings to the sunglasses and bangles. And the french guy was comfortable adjusting every bit of clothing on us. I comforted myself in thinking that he was gay and took his job seriously.It was so interesting looking at the chosen girls for the add. There were 2 other girls there with afros and I thought for sure they would choose only one of us and not all three of us. I was excited that they were there too coz they had such nice bubbly personalities. One was tall and model like with a bit of Chinese in her the other was shorter and rounder with German blood. We stood and talked about our afros for hours.

Once we were all dressed we got to go in and model for the client. Now these were the top dogs the ones that call the shots. One by one we walked in and they commented on everything. From shoes to hair. I had to tell them that my hair would have no problem going back into a afro :) coz that’s what they wanted.

While we were waiting us "actresses" chatted about where we were from and what we do. I had been called for a GIS interview the day before and I had this feeling of do we follow our passion or do we do what we can to get money? I knew that if I got a full time job doing this commercial stuff wouldn't be easy and maybe this would be the last time. Everyone was shocked that I was 28 years old with a Masters Degree. Something that I guess I take for granted. But what would I do if I was forced to make a choice doing what I am passionate about or doing what I was educated in? We shared our passions and talked about our jobs some were models, one a casting director for children, one a daddy’s little girl (don't need to work), one a Dance studio owner, one bartender. It was obvious to them that you would choose what you are passionate about. My fear was - at what risk?

Our Casting Director was also really cool to chat with. His job is just to make sure us girls know where we are suppose to be and when. He used to be a HR manager and now does this. I could tell he enjoyed his job. It takes a real people person to do it. He was also saying that the Production company that we were working for was also very good! I didn't really need him to tell me that, I could just tell. They were all so nice to me when I messed up my move during the audition and also they chat with us even when we are not working. A company I thought would be nice to work for (career wise).

We had Nando’s for lunch and went over to the dance studio to learn our routine. We all are doing the same dance but in different scenes (I would tell you them all but you wouldn't enjoy the add as much). I made sure I learnt my moves proper this time. I had to leave a bit early coz I had to go drop of Sabrina’s (Miata’s friend) bag at the airport. We have one more rehearsal today and then my shoot day is on Wednesday 20th Jan. Will let you know how it goes.