‘Little Big Shots’ finale features Valley youngster
A youngster from the Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community will appear on the season finale of “Little Big Shots” with Steve Harvey. But don’t worry: Little RJ Lopez hasn’t gone Hollywood. Well, not yet, anyway.
“We just came back from Disneyland and San Diego, and he said, ‘Man, I miss Hollywood,’ ” says his dad, Rito Lopez. “It’s something he’ll never forget.”
Lopez performs as a hoop dancer with the Yellowbird Indian Dancers, a troupe that features his mom, Christy, his three siblings and members of his mom’s family. They often perform at Talking Stick Resort & Casino.
“Everyone dances, except for RJ’s dad,” Christy explains.
Lopez’s talent was apparent at an early age, his dad reports.
“We made him little hoops when he was about 11 months old,” Rito says. “He started performing with the family when he was about 3. You know how you can tell when the crowd gets it, when the dancer has that showmanship? He had that.”
RJ, 10, has competed in hoop-dancing competitions. At age 6, he won the youth division of the World Hoop Dance Championship at Heard Museum. A YouTube video of his performance caught the attention of the “Little Big Shots” team, who contacted the family. They interviewed him over the phone, then he flew out for a rehearsal taping, then again for the actual filming.
“I was pretty nervous when I went out on stage,” says RJ, who will enter the fifth grade at Noah Webster Charter School in the fall. “But then when I started dancing, it went away.”
The NBC program combines elements of a talent showcase with “Kids Say the Darnedest Things”-style interview segments. RJ says it was fun, thanks to Harvey being at the helm.
“He was really funny,” RJ recalls. “He asked me how old I was and when I started dancing. He asked me to teach him to dance, and he didn’t do that too good.”
In California, the family enjoyed all the VIP perks, including a stay at a nice hotel and a tour of the Warner Bros. lot. There was even a celebrity sighting. Well, sort of.
“Actually, we did see Mario Lopez, but my kids were too young to know who he is,” Christy says.
The whole experience was a blast, Rito says, as well as a good lesson for his family.
“It shows that if you work hard at something, good things can really happen,” he says.
As for R.J.? Well, it sounds like his dancing career soon could be taking a backseat.
“I used to be really addicted to dancing,” he says. “But I’ve been playing more sports now.”