I got a chance to ask America’s Favorite Dancer, 18 year old Lauren Froderman, a couple of questions at today’s So You Think You Can Dance conference call for reporters.
Lauren was bubbling over with excitement–still a little shocked that she won. She was sure Kent would take the crown. Check out the Q&A with Lauren, below. Also see a few videos taken–including a Q&A with Nigel Lythgoe–right after the winner was announced Thursday night.
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What was the most memorable thing any of the judges said to her over the course of the competition, and why? “The most memorable comment, the one that will probably stick with me forever is this past Wednesday when Mia Michael said that if she was still dancing should would want to dance like me. That is the biggest compliment I’ve ever received. I look up to her. For her to say something like that—she’s a big deal. That was amazing.”
How different does she think her journey would have been on the show if she didn’t have all the all-stars to work with? “It definitely would have brought a different element, because the all-stars really pushed us to work even harder because they really brought something new to the table. They knew what was going on. We were still trying to learn how this whole dancing on national television thing works–the interviews and the rehearsals. And the all-stars already knew everything. They really helped us out and made our lives easier and harder at the same time. I was just really grateful for them altogether.”
How does she feel reaching this level of success at the young age of 18? “I feel really really honored because I am only 18. My career—hopefully this will kick-start it into gear. I’m going to be having the time of my life on tour with everybody who’s going. We are really young, but I think it’s really cool that we’re able to experience this and hopefully be mature dancers at a young age. It’s going to be awesome.”
How did it feel to be the last girl standing? Did she feel doomed? Or did she feel like she needed to represent for the girls? “It made me nervous, that’s for sure because in the beginning—you’re right. The first 3 weeks it was just girls girls girls. It made it look like it was going to be a boy season and that there were going to be no girls left. I still can’t believe that I actually won. It’s so crazy to me. It definitely pushed me being the only girl. I wanted to represent for the girls and had a lot of support and it was a great experience. I couldn’t have had a better time.”
Did she and Kent and Robert talk about what would happen if one of them won before last night’s finale? “Yes we did. Kent, Robert and I are extremely close and I’ve known Robert previously before the show even started so I already had a friendship with him before starting. Kent and I became close right away on the show, and Kent and Robert were roommates. There was a really tight bond between all of us. We talked about it—we are all just really proud of each other. When we found out it was just us three in the finale, we were so happy. It didn’t matter to us who won anymore. We just wanted to spend this last week together and have the most fun and enjoy it. We were so grateful to be with each other because we really are really good friends.”
What went through her mind when she heard her name read? “Honestly, I was completely shocked. Because I really really thought it was going to be Kent. Whenever we go on stage, it feels like the whole room is filled with teen-aged girls who are screaming for Kent. He gets a ridiculous amount of fan mail (laughs). I really didn’t think it was going to be me. I feel so honored that it was and so grateful and humble.”
Was there one moment when she thought to herself ‘Maybe I could win this whole thing.’? “Oh man. To me winning came secondary because what I wanted to do was just stay as long as I possibly could and I wanted to learn and I wanted to grow and I just wanted to be with these new friends and this new family that I’d made—and just really enjoy the experience. I don’t think there was a moment where I thought I could win. But there were definitely moments where I didn’t want to leave. I wanted to stay.”
On the Nappy Tabs hip-hop routine, “That routine was so much fun! First off, I love tWitch. He is an animal. He’s a monster. I was so nervous when I found out I had to dance with him because that’s a lot to have to dance next to. I didn’t want to look weak or small. He’s such a good teacher and he helped me so much. I loved dancing with him. Nappy Tabs are a blast. And they are very encouraging—really amazing, brilliant people. That was a very fun routine for me.”
On her friendship with Robert, “Robert is great. Honestly, he has worked so hard his whole life and he improved so much on this show. I’m so grateful that I got to dance with him and be in the finale with him.”
How she met Robert and her thoughts on his dancing, “Robert and I met when we were younger through competitions. I traveled a lot when I was younger. We met and we became friends instantly. I can remember when I saw him—I had no idea that both of us had tried out for this show the same season. I hadn’t seen him in about a year and then I saw him in Vegas and we went crazy, we were so excited to see each other. The fact that we made it on the show together is unreal. He’s one of my favorite people of all time. I’m so so blessed to have been on the same season as him. He’s going to be so successful no matter what he does. He has the best heart and he is such a hard worker and he’s humble. I absolutely adore Robert, so much.”
What made “The Prom” routine with Kent so special? “It’s hard to explain. It was the only contemporary dance that I got to do on the show besides the one I did in the finale week. It meant a lot to me. Kent and I had such a good connection from the very start. We met on the last day of Vegas, and I felt like I was already in love with the kid. He’s so great. It was cool, because in that dance, I really let go—it felt like it was just Kent and I on the stage and not that there was a whole audience there. I think that’s what made it so cool ‘cause I never really experienced that feeling of complete abandonment from dancing. It was cool.”
What is she looking forward to doing with Kent on the tour? “Two things—hanging out with him every single day (laughs) and dancing with him. This is going to be the best time of our lives. I cannot wait for tour and we’re going to be traveling the country together. It’s already been decided that we’re going to be exploring buddies when we go to the different cities.”
Is there anything she wanted to say that she didn’t get a chance to after her win Thursday night? “I was so blown away I did not expect to win. The fact that so many people believed in me and supported me—it’s just crazy. The feeling of knowing that people are happy for you and they may not even really know you and they’re voting for you and they support you is amazing. I just felt so blessed and so humbled. It was an honor. I will never ever replace the feeling of happiness that I had last night.”
On SYTYCD host, Cat Deeley, “Cat is the funniest. She is so sweet and she jokes around with us. On the 4th of July we got the day off and we went over to her house and had a pool party. She is a really cool girl. She’s so much fun to be around. She has great energy and she’s always very very sweet to us.”
How did she change her approach to the competition after early criticism that she danced like a competition dancer—smiling too much etc? “ I was raised as a competition dancer–the most important thing was to acknowledge the audience. That’s how I’ve been trained, that’s how I grew up. I brought that to the show just because that’s all I knew. Being on the show made me realize that it’s not just about the audience. It’s about getting into your character, it’s about completely absorbing everything, and the environment—embodying the person you’re supposed to be and not just worrying about involving the audience. It’s having the audience want to come in instead of trying to pull them in. It’s a weird thing to describe, but the all-stars are a big help as to how my performance changed and improved. They were always the biggest support system for all of us .”
What was the best advice she got from the all-stars?, “The best advice I was given from all-stars were ones that told me to be confident in myself and to not really think about competition. Think of it more as just you dancing and being yourself out there. In particular Pasha–when we had ballroom, I was so nervous. I was a wreck in those rehearsals! So scared–because it wasn’t my style. There was a lot of pressure I felt to do well in ballroom. He would always tell me that I needed to be confident, that I knew the steps. That I need to be in the character and let go and just go for it. It really helped, because sometimes you hold back a little because you’re scared. But you really do need to just go for it and everything will end up working out. At least you’ll improve and grow from it.”
What would she like to do after the tour? “I want to get an acting coach and I’ve been singing for the past two years. I would like to keep training in that. I want to be as versatile as possible so that I can book lots of different jobs. I would really like to work in movies and television. I think it’s really cool to work in the commercial industry. Especially right now when I’m so young and have a lot of energy (laughs).”
What did she struggle with most during her experience on the show? “The thing I really struggled with the most was letting go of the fact that it was a competition. Honestly, I believe the success to So You Think You Can Dance is not treating it as a competition—treating it as a chance for you to grow and learn. The minute that I let go of the fact that I was being judged—not that I didn’t care, I wasn’t as worried [about] what the judges were going to say– I did it to learn and to grow. That was the point when it became fun and I really enjoyed myself. This experience has been crazy and I’ve taken each day, one day at a time.”
Who was her favorite choreographer? “That one is hard, because I really enjoyed all the choreographers that I’ve had. I will say it was really fun to work with Nappy Tabs because they have so much energy. If you do a step right they get so into it and so excited. I got to work with them twice. Each time the energy was really a lot of fun. I don’t know if they’re my favorite, but right now they stick out as being really really fun people to work with.”
Which female contestant was she closest to? “Ashley for sure—I loved all of the dancers—Alexie, Melinda, Cristina and Ashley. We all had so much fun. It was really great. But Ashley was my roommate, and we’re going to be going on tour together. I’m so excited because we always have a lot of fun. We’re crazy people, so we get along really well.”
Closing remarks, “Thank you. It sounds so cliché, but I’m just so honored to be America’s favorite dancer. I may have touched people’s lives, but it really touches me that I’ve been able to experience this and just be a positive influence in somebody’s life, and hopefully do something good in the world.”
Interview with Ryan Seacrest on KIIS FM
Nigel Lythgoe discusses the finale
via GiveMeMyRemote
Lauren Froderman Interview from Give Me My Remote
Lauren Froderman interview From Zap2it:
from Yahoo Music:
Lauren
Kent
Robert
