The right moves

Paula Abdul is here to pass pas judgment on the dancers of Australia. Guy Davis s spoke with the star of Ten’s relaunched So You Think You Y Can Dance Australia.

Abdul: “The beauty of this show is that you see something raw and untapped, even if they may not be the most polished performer”

above right, contestants

vie for a spot in the competition.

Let’s face it, if anyone is qualified to pass judgment on people’s dance moves, it’s Paula Abdul. She’s been light on her feet since she was a kid. She was hand- picked by the Jacksons – as in Micha Michael Jackson – to organise the routines they would use in music videos and during live concerts. And that led to a successful career as a choreographer for some of the t biggest names in show business. Her career as a pop star in the ’ 80 80s and ’ 90s saw her regularly top the charts and win an array of awards, and then a gear shift in 2002 resulte resulted in a different kind of fame when she became a judge on the phenomenally phenomenal popular talent quest American Idol.

Now Abdul is back on the judging panel, this time for Ten on the network’s reboot of So You Think You Can Dance Australia.

It follows a brief stint as a guest judge on the US version of the show, show a gig she found rewarding and enjoyable.

“There’s nothing like being able to sit where I sit and witness aweinspiring talent,” she said.

For Abdul, finally being able to make it to Australia was an added bonus of her new job.

Scheduling conflicts in the past kept her from the three previous times tim she was meant to travel here.

“So many people I know have fallen in love with Australia, and through them I’d kind of fallen in love lov with it too,” she said.

Abdul appears alongside fellow judges Jason Gilkison, Shannon Holtzapffel and Aaron Cash and hos host Carrie Bickmore on So You Think You Yo Can Dance Australia, and considers the role an opportunity to enable dancers to show the best of their skills.

“I love being around talent – it always inspires me,” she said.

“I started behind the scenes at the age of 17 as a choreographer and I worked with iconic talent, some of them not that comfortable dancing, and I saw that vulnerability. It was where I really started to learn about motivating people and bringing out their best.”

Technical ability is of course something Abdul and the other judges will be looking for from So You Think You Can Dance Australia’s contestants. But it’s passion she says she really responds to.

“The beauty of this show is that you see something raw and untapped, even if they may not be the most polished performer, and that’s wonderful,” she said.

“If someone is not cut out for dancing, there is a way of being completely transparent and honest without breaking someone’s spirit.

“But if they don’t have their heart jumping out of their skin and grabbing me by the throat, I lose interest because perfection without heart is empty to me. Passion commands you to pay attention, and that to me is what’s interesting.”

So You Think You Can Dance Australia, Ten, Sunday, 6.30pm