On Friday, I had the chance to talk with the latest evictees from So You Think You Can Dance Canada. While many correctly predicted the result, I certainly did not expect the interview with Lisa Auguste and Izaak Smith to be as riveting as it was. Izaak’s take on the concept of reality television was particularly fascinating.
Murtz Jaffer: It didn’t seem like you guys were surprised when you heard last night’s results. Were you?
Lisa Auguste: Well I guess basically from week to week, you can never really feel safe. This week, it just depended on what Canada was voting for and since last week I was in the bottom again, I was assuming I was going to go home this week really and truly. Unfortunately, you’re always hoping that you’re going to be wrong but really, like I said it was just sucky. I did not want to go home. I wasn’t done with my cycle yet.
Izaak Smith: For me, it was interesting just cause as you get closer and closer to the top, you just realize you just have more and more of a chance of going home. When we first start here and there’s 10 couples. It’s like ‘oh really… there’s a pretty good chance I am not going to be in the bottom three,’ but then when there’s three guys it’s a one in three shot. Really, you don’t even have to be that far off in votes. You just have to have the least amount of votes. We all could have been neck and neck or really separated and like Lisa said earlier, there’s really no rhyme or reason of knowing how people are going to vote. If you don’t mentally prepare yourself for going home, you’re going to get that shock like we saw with Kevin in the first week and I think we all kind of learned a lesson with that where it’s like ‘you gotta be prepared at all times for this to come to an end. But you know what? I was really happy with my week and the entire journey here. I didn’t feel like I lost. I feel like everybody in that Top 6 won. It’s really weird and mixed emotions. Of course I want to stay and of course I want to win the show and all that stuff but at the same time, since we’re all friends and everything, you can’t help but be a little happy and a little eager for them which is weird…
MJ: Because it’s not you?
IS: Yeah, it’s a little too selfless for me.
MJ: Tell me about the tears then (referring to Izaak crying when he saw the results).
IS: The tears? I always cry each episode, watching people go. I hate it. I hate having to see people leave and it’s one of those things where you wish if everyone does a good job, you could stay but no matter the calibre, even if everybody gets A++ on the test, there’s still somebody that has to go home.
MJ: Is it frustrating being eliminating where you were? Being so close to the finale? Is it easier to be eliminated right at the Top 10 than the episode before the last one?
LA: I wouldn’t know but what I would think would be yes. For me, my goal was to make it to Top 4. That was my goal and to be so close and to leave the week before, it’s like an extra burn. You know? But at the same time, there are no complaints.
IS: For me, I definitely wanted to finish in the placings. Like I wanted to say ‘I came in third’ or ‘I came in second…’
MJ: Rather than “tied for fifth.”
IS: Exactly, or just to “have made top 6.” It’s kind of more of a generic rank. At the same time, I just can’t imagine what it would have been like to be sent home at that first audition and just been told ‘you’re not right for the show in general.’ For me, I can empathize with what people feel like, coming out to the show, getting ready for the auditions and then just being told right off the bat, “you’re just not what we’re looking for.” And then having that type of rejection, an absolute no. At least here, I came and I fought and I struggled and I put some emotion into this. I was invested and I felt like I was battling being in the competition but just to be kind of outright “it’s not you,” I could imagine that could be worse in its own sense.
MJ: It was kind of a different story for you both this season. Lisa, you seemed like you were one of the judges favorites while Izaak was the ultimate underdog. Do you think the way the judges saw you had an effect on how Canada voted?
LA: I think majority of the times it does, I don’t know if specifically this week it mattered. I think it does. Which I found, which was bizarre and I could be completely wrong but if you ended up getting bashed, you were usually safe.
MJ: Or if you messed up like Natalli did with her routine, the people end up voting more.
LA: Exactly. If you did a good job, people would assume that you would be okay and then you wouldn’t get as many votes (that’s what I am assuming). I don’t know man, it just sucks all the way around and you never really know and you wish that you could have some sort of control over it and there is nothing you can do. People are asking if there is anything different you could have done and it’s like “really?”
MJ: Don’t you think I would have?!
LA: Yeah.
IS: It’s really weird. Perception, perception, perception. Even coming into this competition, the first thing that me and Kaitlyn got told was that we were the “babies” of the competition and then like right away, we were struggling to get past this perception that we’re so young and everything. Then all of a sudden you see yourself on camera and you’re like “I look younger now” and once you are given those kinds of roles, I think people kind of adapt to them. I am not saying that I am not young, but there’s other traits of you that might not come out because that’s not how they edit you.
MJ: Izaak, why do you think they were so hard on you? They seemed to give you the toughest time.
IS: I don’t know. It could be for a lot of reasons. It’s reality TV. We all know how “real” and how not real it gets at the same time. It still has to be a TV show.
MJ: It’s so funny that you say that because that’s exactly what we do on my show. Determining whether reality TV is real or not.
IS: Well you gotta know that first and foremost comes television. I think I had to kind of learn that lesson within myself about the lies and fairytales that kind of go on with it because I know that they were giving me negative comments but there were times when I felt that they weren’t constructive negative comments. I am sorry for Lisa because she’s been listening to me talk about this all day. They were making comments that were kind of open-ended. Like what if your boss told you that “tomorrow, you just need to be better.” Bring it more. It really felt at times in the competition, like I am here to come and learn from you guys but I don’t have the keys to unlock those hidden talents that you’re looking for in myself. I need you to tell me specifically. Not just to say “be a more grounded dancer” but describe to me how I can accomplish this.
LA: Especially if you’re so young!
IS: Exactly!
MJ: Yeah and if you go back and look at every comment that you got, it was always something nonsensical. Like Jean-Marc making some kind of VID comment or Tre saying some kind of nursery rhyme.
(Lisa & Izaak laugh).
MJ: Did you just get used to it? Even on American Idol, at least they say, ‘oh, you could have hit that note better.’ Or you could have done that better…
IS: Yeah and I think that goes with the constructive comments as well. Like I don’t know from Lisa’s perspective, but I can only imagine being told that you’re doing well but you don’t know why you’re doing well this week. It’s like what did we do different last week to this week? Was it our style? Was it just one of those random things that we can’t control? Was it because I ate my Whaties this morning or something? Let me know so that I can do that for the rest of the competition. Otherwise, you’re just shooting in the dark.
MJ: A lot of people were shocked last week when Arassay and Vincent left the competition and Leah Miller compared it to Will’s exit from the U.S. show. This time, she didn’t say anything like that when you guys left. Did that bother you at all? Wasn’t the whole purpose of this show to establish it as its own entity and not make any U.S. comparisons?
LA: No. Definitely not offended at all. The audience stood up and applauded before we were even done. Leah’s still doing her job. You can’t really get mad at her for that. I can understand where she’s coming from and I can understand what you’re saying as well.
MJ: That came off to me like she was playing favourites.
LA: But that’s kind of what happens. It’s not necessarily a favourites thing. It’s who you bond with and who you connect with when you’re there. And if her and Vince had a really good friendship, that’s just kind of what happens. It’s nothing personal. I didn’t feel like we were less-liked or anything? It was alright. I don’t know how Izaak feels, but I felt okay.
IS: I wasn’t expecting a giant tear-fest from the judges or anything. I wouldn’t say my goodbye was understated but for me, I felt it was very personal because you watch these shows and you always see everybody’s little montages and then all of a sudden, I had my montage and for me it was interesting because it was more of my moments. I know sometimes when people leave the show, everybody is involved and it’s one of those big things but for me it was an interesting experience because it was more like I was personally leaving the show. It was a lot more personal versus show-y and production. This is it, you’re dead kind of feel.
MJ: This is obviously a very sexy show and I would argue that it is probably the sexiest show in Canada right now. Was it ever hard to wear any of the costumes on the show, knowing that the whole country would see them?
LA: We don’t get choices, first of all. Unless we’re doing the very opening where you say your name, that’s your own clothes pretty much. And when you’re doing your solo. Those are the only choices that we really get. Everything else is done with the choreographer. Really unless you’re super uncomfortable… can’t dance in it, doesn’t fit you properly, those are the only times…
IS: Your boobs falling out…
LA: Right. Other than that, if it doesn’t work, the choreographer will say it doesn’t work. In the end, we all kind of love playing these character roles so if we have to get a little grimy for it or a little nasty for it… we’re down.
MJ: Do you ever feel like lab rats. We’re on this show and we have to wear this…
IS: It never got to the point where somebody was like ‘I am not going on stage…’
(Lisa shakes her head).
IS: Oh, it got that bad?
LA: Not for me but I know that it has. (Laughs).
IS: I can understand how it’d be different for the girls, but definitely it was weird pressure for the guys that you are part of the show and the show wants to make you… I wouldn’t say dress less but definitely show the best parts of you.
LA: Lots of shirts coming off…
IS: I am trying to be tactful here!
MJ: This goes back to your original point about how it’s a TV show right?
IS: Yeah, and it’s also a competition. There’s skin to win as well.
MJ: Is there anyway that Nico doesn’t win this competition? You know it’s like they announce you guys at the top of every show. “Lisa….” “Izaak…..” And then when they announce Nico’s name it’s like Bon Jovi just entered the building.
LA: Personally, when we started seeing and feeling how the crowd was reacting (especially in the first couple of weeks) when Nico’s following was pretty obvious, it was like ‘okay, a guy’s going to win this.’ But because you get closer to the end, and people end up losing the people that they were voting for, Nico may not necessarily be what they want and Miles has a good advantage just the same. Nico’s a beautiful face and he’s a great dancer. Miles has this insane body and he’s a great dancer. It really could go anyway. And then there’s Natalli and Allie who are two different spectrums. One is cute little ballerina, gorgeous and then you have a sexbomb like Nat. You know what I mean? It just depends on what’s going on with the voting.
IS: I think the final four is actually interesting. You basically have the titans of all your demographics. I mean you have got badboy Nico, kind of been dominant this entire competition. Then you’ve got baby-faced Miles who’s been struggling but he’s been working and pulling up. His arc has been coming up to this final episode. You got sexbomb Natalli. Mature. Who has been through the business and she’s a professional. And then you’ve got just starting, fresh-faced Allie. It’s really kind of like polar opposites in all the fields and it’s like… who is going to win? Is it going to be the nice guy finishing last?
MJ: You can change my name to Izaak next week if Nico doesn’t win.
IS: No way.
MJ: I have never seen a more predictable result in my entire life.
IS: But wouldn’t that just make great reality TV?
MJ: It would. Who was your favourite partner to dance with during the competition? You can say Nico, I kind of expect it.
(Lisa & Izaak laugh).
LA: I didn’t have problems with anybody but because Vince was my longest partner, I’d have to say Vince. It was easier for us to connect because we had like five weeks to do it. We had five different styles to do it in. I was blessed and honoured to dance with him.
IS: Arassay was amazing. She was really really supportive. I just have to give her props. But the person I was most thrilled to work with was Allie. The way she just came up to me and kind of broke it down. She was exactly what I needed in this competition. There’s more than meets the eye with Allie and especially how shrewd she is with this competition which is surprising which was totally refreshing. I think the biggest thing is that she didn’t come in with the attitude that she was better than me. I am not going to say that is what it was like with my other partners, but perception on TV after being told week after week that my partners were outshining me, I could see how other people could be like ‘oh, Izaak’s holding me down.’ I wouldn’t put it past them and she never gave me that vibe at all.
MJ: One of the things that really surprised me in this competition was how the partners kept switching after the Top 10 and you didn’t really get the same pairs that you had before for a kind of reunion…
LA: They were trying as best as they could because we were still picking it out of a hat.
MJ: So what, did they just put the partner that you haven’t danced with at the top?
LA: Well, when it got closer to the end because there wasn’t enough people. I couldn’t dance with the same partner two weeks in a row. So if I got that partner, it was obvious who I had left (because there was only one other person).
MJ: So there was no redraw?
LA: Only if you picked the same person’s name. That’s the only time that they did.
MJ: For a long time Izaak, I have felt like you were the smartest competitor on the stage because you seemed to play to the cameras a lot, especially in your solos. I have been dying to ask you if this was intentional and if you were trying to get votes?
IS: It’s funny because everybody in the production kept saying ‘we don’t know why or how or where you learned but you were just so intuitive in terms of playing to the cameras and stuff.’ It was really just kind of learning where my audience was. The thing is too, I have taken video classes during school and stuff and I don’t want to say that I could see through the director’s mind but I could totally picture how things were going to wind up on camera. Each one of my solos was more of an experiment and I think that’s where I was really growing. My very first solo was about Tre and it was very angry and it was very much towards her and I saw it on film and I was just like ‘ugh.’ That looks totally wrong and you don’t know who I am playing it to because it never cuts over to Tre and makes it obvious…
MJ: Why were you playing to her?
IS: It was about the second week in a row she told me that she thought I wasn’t being real on the show and I thought that was kind of ironic that she was giving me that comment. It was kind out of frustration. I wanted to show the emotional side of me.
MJ: Even when you guys came out and did the appearance thing during the U.S. tour at the ACC and I was just fixated on what you would do and you proved me right because when they lifted up the curtain and all of you were standing there, everybody else was stoic and just standing there and you were the only one moving and snapping your fingers.
LA: Oh, we were told to stay still! (Laughs).
IS: Oh, sorry. If that’s what happened, my bad!
MJ: Lisa, do you feel as though you snuck on the radar in the competition? A lot of people talked about Izaak the underdog, Nico being the favourite, the rumoured Lara/Miles romance, Allie the ballerina. You kind of snuck in under all of that and nearly made it to the final.
LA: I felt like people didn’t know. Know what I was about. I was reading a couple of things closer to the beginning of the competition where they were saying ‘oh she seems really cocky and she’s overconfident and all that jazz.’ I don’t know. This is the way I was brought up. If you’re wrong, you go wrong and strong. For me to pretend like I was shy and timid and don’t know my skill would be stupid for me. I was like, I gotta be who I am and if people don’t appreciate that then those people won’t vote for me and that’s okay. I was happy that I stayed who I was and I kind of just grew on people I think and I think that’s why I kind of snuck through because I never really had a bad performance except for one (in my opinion). It was the samba that I ended up screwing up right at the end and I will live that forever in my head! I am glad that I grew on people, I am glad that I stayed true to myself and I am glad that I kept on growing.
MJ: What was your favourite routine in the competition?
IS: Although, I wouldn’t call myself a jazz dancer, I would have to say that my two favourite routines would have to be breaking dishes and the Cinderella one that I did with Allie just because it was something I felt that I could bite into.
LA: I have four. The first one, the contemporary that I did with Vincent. For one it was great and it was my first one being on the show. My second one would have to be house because it was the most fun I have had on stage in a really long time. My next one would be “When I Grow Up” with Nico. Working on those heels was a mission and my last contemporary that I just did with Miles. Those were my four favourites.
MJ: How excited are you about the tour?
LA: So excited, I am so excited to be rammed and crammed on a bus and to tour Canada. And dancing for people all over again. It will be awesome!
IS: I got excited for the tour and more excited to be on the show after we saw the American tour. It was just a completely different vibe. Even though there were people who got voted out at Top 14, I was like so crazy. I was like ‘oh my god! They are from the show!’ It makes the blow a little bit less. Yeah, you got voted out but in the audience’s eyes, you’re still a winner and you’re still somebody from the show. And it will be awesome to just do our pieces and just perform them. I am not going to have to walk over to stage right…
MJ: And look at the camera…
(Lisa laughs).
IS: Exactly and worry that I am doing a bad job or something. That’s what we do. We’re there to perform. I dance because I want to perform for people and stuff like that.
MJ: Thank you.
LA & IS: Thank you!
