Landon Anderson of Springville in Televised Dance Competition
Wednesday, June 25, Springville’s dance community held its breath to see if Landon Anderson would make it to the Top 20 in Fox Television’s So You Think You Can Dance competition (SYTYCD).
Landon is the son of Wylie and Tresa Anderson (owner of Charisma Dance Studio) in Springville.
Landon, first appeared on So You Think You Can Dance last year as the ballroom dance partner for Jenna Johnson’s audition. At the time, Landon was too young to be on the show but Jenna went on to be a favorite for the televised series. Landon and Jenna were competition ballroom dancers for four and a half years. As National Champions they have won numerous events throughout the country. They also represented the United States in the World Ballroom Competition in Beijing, China.
This year, it was Landon who auditioned for So You Think You Can Dance, so Jenna returned the favor and performed as his partner. The producers loved the performance and gave the audition a good amount of air- time. At Landon’s audition Jenna was invited to be an All-Star for SYTYCD.
During the competition, Landon got more than average air time and was a stand-out. The Andersons report that the producers seemed to see him as a potential finalist and went out of their way to make him feel appreciated. Although Landon did make it to the top forty, he was not chosen to be in the top twenty. This is still a fantastic achievement considering the number of dancers who audition for the show!
There is a little story that goes behind all of this. The week before the final auditions in Pasadena, Landon’s grandmother unexpectedly died. This had him traveling to North Dakota to attend the funeral from which he did not get back until the day before his flight to go on to Pasadena. Consequently, he did not have enough time to work on his second solo. Not only that, but in Pasadena the ballroom costume he had planned to wear for his solo became torn before he was to compete and he had to change to a non-ballroom look for his solo at the last minute. This look was not appreciated by the judges who were expecting a traditional ballroom solo from him and that was a determining point that took him out of the competition.
Landon feels that the competition was a wonderful opportunity and gave him some great public exposure. He expresses his gratitude for the friendships gained and the attention given him during the competition. Looking back, he believes things happened the way they were intended to be, and that being on the show at this time was not his destiny. Instead, he is looking forward to serving an LDS mission and believes this
To see Landon’s audition on So You Think You Can Dance, point your browser to http:// youtu.be/21LsGgtHgnM or search for Landon Anderson - Audition With Janna Johnson - SYTYCD.
is where he really needs to be. Congratulations, Landon, and much success in your future endeavors!
To see Landon’s audition on So You Think You Can Dance, point your browser to http://youtu.be/21LsGgtHgnM or search for Landon Anderson - Audition With Janna Johnson - SYTYCD.