Dance Spirit's Hollywood Insider on "Superstars of Dance"
January 12, 2009
Obsessed with “Superstars of Dance?” Here are four things you might not know about the hit show:
- Blown away by Team India’s explosive Bollywood routines? You may have seen them before — team coach Nakul Dev Mahaja also choreographed the Bollywood routines performed by the group and Katee and Joshua on “So You Think You Can Dance” last season.
- When not coaching the American team, coach Marguerite Derricks is pulling triple duty! Currently, Derrick is choreographing the remake of Fame as well as the upcoming Broadway debut of “Alice in Wonderland.” Who has time to go down the rabbit hole?
- The South African team is uber-diverse, featuring hip-hop and Afro-fusion soloists, a swingin’ duo, and a group versed in cultural style of Gamboot. Yet despite different styles, many of the dancers have one critical thing in common – training at the prestigious Ailey School.
- Though Australia isn’t the first thing that comes to mind when you think of hard-hitting hip-hop, Nigel Lythgoe says the Australian team has krumping boiled down to a science. “[‘SYTYCD’ judge] Lil’ C isn’t going to like this, but the Australians have pinned krumping down to about six basic steps,” laughs Lythgoe.