‘I’LL NEVER WORK WITH J.LO AGAIN!’
The top Kiwi dancer spills some serious celeb goss and reveals a ‘terrifying’ health crisis
When Woman’s Day talks to Lance Savali in Fiji just two days before he starts filming Treasure Island: Fans V Faves, the dancer has quite a dilemma on his hands.
“I’m in a pickle because I either go on tour with Chris Brown or I do the Super Bowl with Rihanna,” he confesses. “It’s hard because I want to tour Europe with Chris, but Rihanna is doing the f**king Super Bowl. I can’t do both. I really do enjoy working with Rihanna, but dancing with Chris feels like home too.
It’s tough!”
In the end, Lance opted to work with Riri’s ex-boyfriend instead of the Diamonds singer herself – and it might have something to do with his experience at the Super Bowl in Florida in 2020…
Asked what it was like to dance in front of such a large audience, Lance says, “It’s exciting. There were 80,000 people watching in the stadium and millions at home, but they’re so far away, there’s a disconnect. It feels like it’s more for TV. But the atmosphere is something you can’t describe. I want to keep doing it!”
However, his mood changes when we ask about Jennifer Lopez, who he was dancing for and who later released the documentary Halftime about the Super Bowl show, which also featured Shakira.
“F**k J.Lo!” he spits. Referencing photos that show him holding the singer up as she dances on a pole, he adds, “I should’ve put my hand in her pocket and grabbed the money she didn’t pay us for her Netflix special.”
So what happened with the cash? Shrugging, Lance replies, “I don’t know. It’s just J.Lo being J.Lo.”
Would he ever work with her again? “No,” he says. “F**k, no.”
Fortunately, the 31-year-old TikTok sensation is back to his usual jokey, laid-back self when talk returns to Celebrity Treasure Island. Of his stint in 2021, when Lance was runner-up to comedian Chris Parker, he reflects, “It was an experience I struggled with but really loved. I wouldn’t have wanted it to end any other way. It was like a movie! Obviously, I wish I’d won, but seeing Chris in that moment was how it was supposed to end.”
He and Chris are still “tight as a knot”, but sadly, Lance had to miss the funnyman’s wedding to film Treasure Island: Fans V Faves. “I have FOMO,” he admits. “I’m sad because Chris is a good friend of mine and it’s a monumental moment of his life.”
However, the chance to actually win Treasure Island proved too tempting. Lance grins, “It’s an experience money can’t buy. I wouldn’t want to miss out.”
Famous for his game playing in his first season, Lance insists he doesn’t have a strategy heading into this series, although he does admit to a secret alliance with his 2021 co-star Art Green.
“Art, he’s my bro, but we’re going to pretend like he doesn’t really like me. We both have huge targets on our backs. People aren’t going to trust me or believe a single word I say, and Art’s a physical and mental threat. Look at him – he looks like Superman!”
Lance reckons Breakfast host Matty McLean will be his toughest competition on the island. “He’s going to throw me under a bus as soon as he can, but apart from him, it’ll probably be Art. We’ll be a team until we can’t be.”
The dancer is once again competing for the Heart Foundation, a charity that’s meaningful to Lance because he’s suffered from multiple cardiac conditions. Born with a disorder called supraventricular tachycardia, he struggled with palpitations while filming Treasure Island in 2021.
Asked how his heart is now, Lance says, “It’s f**ked. I’ve got
‘Sorry, Rihanna – I’d fake an injury and go!’
Treasure Island: Fans V Faves screens 7.30pm Monday to Wednesday on TVNZ 2.
a new problem called atrial fibrillation. I’m supposed to have an operation for it, but my cardiologist is holding off until it gets worse. It just means I can’t push myself too hard. I have to monitor it and make sure I’m hydrated.”
He admits he’s “nervous” about eventually having to undergo surgery, adding, “I’ve watched too many movies where people go into operations and they’re mentally awake when they’re put under. That’s just terrifying!”
Speaking of matters of the heart, Lance says his love life is “non-existent as always”, although he’s “dated a couple of girls here and there” since we last saw him on Treasure Island. “Nothing toxic. No bad blood. We’re just on different paths.”
The only answer, he reckons, is to find romance on reality TV. “Wherever I am in my life, if Love Island or Too Hot To Handle called me, I’d be there. Or even The Bachelor NZ, if they let me be my authentic self. Sorry, Rihanna – I’d fake an injury and go!”