SO YOU THINK YOU CAN DANCE, the reality TV series responsible for augmenting terms like 'Arabesque,' 'cabriole' and 'finding the light and shade' into Monday morning water cooler conversations all across the country, is transporting its 2009 top ten directly from your flat screen to within frenzied pre-teen grabbing distance in a series of exciting live stage shows around Australia.
I caught up with excitable victor Talia Fowler to get her reaction on winning the show and to also pose the seminal question, what comes next?
"It still hasn't sunken in, I haven't even really been home yet!" she reveals. "I got ten minutes to see my family after the final and then we were straight onto Rove, then all the other media commitments. It's a really amazing recognition and a massive reward because I know I deserved it after all the hard work."
Reality TV shows are fast becoming the soap operas of the new millennium, but within the growing pile of trashy urban game shows So You Think You Can Dance definitely demands the most mental proficiency from its contestants, as the final four, in particular, stage some extremely involved and exciting routines displaying some amazing talent both in performance and choreography.
"I knew that I had a real chance but that I also had to bring something else to the competition at that point," Talia says. "I had to really do something special with the routines I was given, they even told me that I had to cry on stage when I did one of the contemporary numbers and that was really hard!"
Having to learn new routines quicker than you can say 'what the hell is quick step?' was one of the more difficult requirements in the programme, but it provided for some enjoyable dinner time family bonding over the boob tube.
"There was a lot of pressure," Talia states. "The first day we learned routines was very stressful because you have to learn these new styles so quickly and then go home and work on it most of the night and come back the next day and make it happen. The hardest thing I had to get used to was talking to the camera all the time because we had to really open up, but it got easier as the series went on."
From quiet, petite ballerina to fire breathing sex kitten, Talia's own transformation over the course of the competition was a catalyst to her rising popularity with judges and more importantly the Australian public.
"I guess that came from seeing myself as being successful and having all this support from people. You have to be yourself and be natural but also be able to change into a sexy temptress for routines like the salsa and really put yourself out there. You get totally lost in the moment! You forget it's actually a TV show, its really surreal and I was always like 'wow, this is really happening!'"
The So You Think You Can Dance road show is the next step for this young talented dancer who will then prepare for her own appearance on the finale of the American version of the show.
"I'm so glad I am representing Australia," Talia gushes. "It will be in front of 20 million viewers but I have had so much support so I'm really looking forward to it. For now I'm just concentrating on the road show, where the biggest thing I am looking forward to is seeing the people who supported me throughout the competition."
The So You Think You Can Dance spectacular will roll into Canberra (specifically, the AIS Arena) on Tuesday July 7. Tickets through Ticketek.
