Dancer hopes Spark will ignite TV career
What we filmed is a condensed version of episodes we would like to do.
IZAAK SMITH DANCER
A Prince George product is hoping to rise to the serial television ranks with a new project making its online debut Saturday.
Izaak Smith, 24, stars in Rise, the story of a young dancer entering a TV dance competition to try to lift himself and the grandmother who raised him to a better life.
The show is premiering online on ABC Spark Canada ( ABCSpark. ca) as a 10- minute digital special. If there’s enough interest, it could get picked up as full series.
“What we filmed is a condensed version of episodes we would like to do,” said Smith, from Toronto.
Smith first made the leap to national recognition when he made it the top six in the first edition of So You Think You Can Dance Canada in 2008.
He has since parlayed that success and the training he received at Judy Russell’s Enchainement Dance Centre into a dancing and acting career that’s beginning to take off.
“( The P. G. studio) really focused on storytelling and being connected to work on a personal level,” said Smith, who will also appear in the feature film A Fighting Man starring Famke Janssen, James Caan and Dominic Purcell slated for release this spring.
And though there is the easy comparison of Smith to his Rise character, Cary, in that they both went through the experience of auditioning for a major dance competition, Smith said the fictional character is so different from himself that it allows him to see some of the So You Think You Can Dance memories through different eyes.
“I get to re- live and re- imagine that part of my life,” said Smith. For example, Smith said he was a fish out of water in a big city for the first time, while Cary is already comfortable in his surroundings. Cary is also more comfortable in his own skin.
“He’s there to show them that he has something worthwhile and I think when I was younger I certainly was looking for a lot more, I think, validation. I was looking for answers from people versus being secure within myself and knowing who I was as a person and what I have to offer to the world,” said Smith, who joked that Cary also cried less than he did on national TV. “So I hope the young dancers watching the show can kind of pick up on that and I hope that character helps them navigate the crazy entertainment industry.”
Also helping navigate the murky industry waters are the friendships Smith has made along the way, including that of co- star Miles Faber, who plays his rival Tyler.
In real life, the two are close friends who auditioned for the same role in Rise but when producers wanted to see more of Smith, it was Faber who helped film his callback in his living room.
“Without Miles, I wouldn’t have got this job in the first place,” said Smith, who called it “amazing karma” that Faber was then selected for another role in the show. “There’s other people in this industry that wouldn’t have helped you necessarily ... but he dropped everything and helped me get the part. I couldn’t have done it without him.”