The News Herald (Willoughby, OH)
‘DANCE’ PARTY
Northeast Ohio native helps put some showmanship into show that is ‘So You Think You Can Dance Live!’
As producer of the “So You Think You Can Dance Live!” national tours, Beachwood native Steve Bilchik said early on he became acutely aware of the power production values play in creating a memorable and lasting entertainment experience. ¶ His muse as an elementary-age kid was Darth Vader, but the venue wasn’t a movie theater. Instead, it was the Star Wars character’s raucous appearance at Cleveland Force indoor soccer games in the old Richfield Coliseum. ¶ “Those openings were epic,” said Bilchik, who works as a faculty productions producer and now calls Los Angeles home. “That was some of my earliest exposure to live production like that and how you could inspire people and evoke emotion and feeling with music and lights and characters. Those Darth Vader entrances at The Force games definitely left an impact on me.” ¶ Today, that kind of impact is what Bilchik hopes audiences take away from “So You Think You Can Dance Live! 2018.”
The national tour, which features season-seven winner Lauren Froderman and season 9 runner-up Cyrus “Glitch” Spencer, as well as season 15 top-10 contestants Jensen Arnold, Hannahlei Cabanilla, Genessy Castillo, Evan DeBenedetto, Jay Jay Dixonbey, Magdalena Fialek, Darius Hickman, Chelsea Hough, Cole Mills and Slavik Pustovoytov, comes through Northeast Ohio for a show Oct. 24 at Playhouse Square’s KeyBank State Theatre.
Bilchik said fans attending the upcoming “So You Think You Can Dance Live! 2018” show, which is directed by visionary director Raj Kapoor with dance routines overseen by Emmy Award-winning choreographer Mandy Moore, can expect to see familiar showstopping routines from Season 15.
There also will be original choreographed routines for the dancers, with the idea of transforming the popular reality-television show into a theater extravaganza.
“The hardest part is just that you’re taking something that people are used to watching on either their TV or their phones,” Bilchik said. “It’s a very controlled environment, and on TV you can make things look a very specific way. So we’re just taking what people see on TV and translating it to a live environment, but giving people the experience as if they were there at the TV show.
“I always kind of use the example of my parents, who still live in Cleveland. They’ll never get to go to a taping of ‘So You Think You Can Dance,’ so going to see the live show is the closest they’ll get to that. The challenging part is just really making sure you check every box for a visceral experience beyond just what’s happening on stage. Just creating that environment.”
The 1997 Beachwood High School graduate, who attended Florida’s Lynn University, started out as a promotional intern for the now-defunct Jammin’ 92 radio station before landing a job at MTV. From there, Bilchik started producing tours.
“I’m not a performer myself, but to help others do what they do and give them a platform was something that always been exciting to me and kind of what drives my desire to do what I do,” said Bilchik, who returns to Northeast Ohio when he can to enjoy a slice of Geraci’s pizza, a Panini’s sandwich and buy some Ballpark Mustard to take back to Southern California.
Speaking of which, how does Bilchik feel about a certain basketball superstar taking his talents to the West Coast?
“You know, I’m disappointed,” Bilchik said. “However, I felt like he came back, he did right by the city, he did get us a ring and he didn’t make a show of it in leaving this time. So as someone who left Northeast Ohio for California myself, I’d be a hypocrite to judge.”