TORONTO — So You Think You Can Dance Canada debuts its third season on Sunday, just days after the U.S. version wrapped with abundant injuries, including Edmonton native Alex Wong’s torn Achilles tendon.
Dance Canada judge Jean Marc Genereux, who choreographed on the U.S. series, says he hopes contestants here will see the bruises and breaks south of the border as a cue to be extra careful.
“It’s a great school to learn from and say, ‘Guys, look what happened to the U.S. show, let’s not do the same mistake: warm up, make sure the choreographers are aware of the difficulty that you’re asking for,”’ the Montreal ballroom master said in a recent phone interview.
“Everybody has to be smart and conscious about it and we’re going to have an amazing season. But it’s never a zero guarantee about injuries or drama or anything.”
Of course, those who’ve watched the hit Dance Canada on CTV know that all too well after watching Season 2 winner Tara-Jean Popowich suffer from dislocated ribs on the show. Another Top 4 finalist from Season 2, Everett Smith, also had dislocated ribs as well as vertebrae problems in his neck and a shoulder injury.
Even choreographers aren’t immune to injury.
During rehearsals for the Season 2 finale last October in Toronto, guest choreographer Mia Michaels hurt her back and spent a night in hospital.
Genereux says bodily harm is “the nature of the beast” in the dance world, especially when you have to learn routines at a fast pace as they do on the series, and switch partners often.
But he adds that the amount of injuries on this past season of the U.S. series was particularly high because of a new twist that saw the contestants paired up with “All-Stars” from past seasons.
While Genereux felt the All-Star element was “fantastic,” he also concedes that it put a lot of pressure on the contestants and they ended up pushing themselves too hard and rehearsing for too long.
“The process of So You Think You Can Dance is so specific and so special, you think you’re equipped for it and sometimes you’re not and sometimes you learn as you’re doing it,” he said.
“And that’s why this year in Canada, we’re going to make extra special reference to the U.S. show and learn from it.”
Dance Canada will not have an All-Star element. Instead, as in previous seasons, the Top 20 — who will be revealed Monday, Aug. 23, after a week of audition episodes — will dance with each other in a bid for the $100,000 grand prize.
The Top 20 are an “amazing group of dancers” who have “something a little special,” he teased.