Traveling from one big city to the next, “So You Think You Can Dance” selects the strongest and most talented performers to dance their way to the top.
Season 12 upped the competition by pitting stage-trained dancers against street dancers. The show selected 20 dancers, 10 from Team Stage and ten from Team Street. Each week, one member from both teams were eliminated.
The last dancer standing, Gaby Diaz, was a member of Team Stage. Though she holds the title of America’s Favorite Dancer, nine of her fellow contestants will join the stage with her on the So You Think You Can Dance Season 12 Tour. The top 10 hit the road to 65-plus cities this fall. Performing dances from the show mixed in with a couple new dances, the tour will make its fifth stop at the Saenger Theatre in New Orleans on Oct. 19th.
The Daily Reveille caught up with Hailee Payne and Jim Nowakowski, two members of Team Stage, as they prepare to start the tour.
The Daily Reveille: What inspired you to start dancing?
Jim Nowakowski: I started dancing with the influence of my older sister at the age of two and a half. I was very rambunctious and outgoing as a child, so my parents just put me in a dance class because I copied everything my sister did. I was asked every year if I wanted to continue and I said yeah, so it just kept happening that way.
Hailee Payne: I started dancing actually because I was watching the Macy’s [Thanksgiving] Day Parade with my dad. I saw the Radio City Rockettes on the screen, and I absolutely had to do that. I was like “ahh!” I said to my dad right there, “I have to dance!” My dad was so excited because he always wanted me to dance. That’s just what I’ve been doing since and I haven’t stopped. Obviously, my dream has changed a little bit from the Rockettes. I’m not tall enough. But that’s what really
influenced me to start dancing.
TDR: So what is your preferred dance style?
HP: For me, I love doing hip-hop, actually. On the show, I was a jazz dancer. I love every style, but if I could dance any style it would be hip-hop, jazz or jazz funk.
JN: Mine would be classical ballet. I started at a formal ballet school at age 11, and I did that all the way until I was 18 and went to a professional ballet company.
TDR: What made you want to try out for SYTYCD?
JN: I was looking for a change. I wanted to dive into and explore more forms of dance. I’ve been a part of the classical ballet world for a really long time. It all seemed really interesting to me, so I decided it was now or never.
HP: I have always wanted to audition for the show. Ever since I was 8 years old that was the first season, I saw Nick Lazzarini win. I was like “I have to do that!” What a great way to start your career. For me, I was living in Utah, and it was the best way to get my name out and do what I wanted to do. I want to be a professional dancer, so what better way to get your name out in front of all these choreographers and the show? It was just such a great opportunity that I couldn’t pass it up.
TDR: How excited and relieved were you when you found out you made the top 20?
HP: Oh my gosh, when I found out I was in the top 20, I was almost in disbelief because I had auditioned two other times. Season 11, I got cut right before the live show. To actually hear the words, “You’re in the top 20,” was like, no, it’s not real! It was disbelief, and then it was a lot of different emotions ran [running] through my body. I was nervous. I was excited. It was just a whirlwind, but it was just the coolest experience ever.
JN: For me, I was actually in rehearsal hell when they called me. I was so excited that I wanted to tell everyone … but we were in disclosure and couldn’t tell anyone, so that was really hard. But I was so excited for the adventure and new chapter that was beginning. It was really surreal and overwhelming at the same time.
TDR: What was the funniest moment on the season for you?
HP: I know the funniest moment for me. It was the very first week, and we were still getting to know each other. I mean, we knew [each other] from Vegas, but this was really getting to know [each other]. We were in the rehearsal for our Broadway number, which was the very first group stage number; so all 10 of us were in there. We had these canes [as props] and we were doing this cane section. The choreographer, Warren Carlyle, says, “You just have to squeeze, you’ve got to squeeze,” as we were like flipping these canes. So the next time we did it, our friend, Darion, squeezed so hard that he tooted. We all just lost it. I will remember that moment forever. It was the funniest ever.
JN: Yeah, I have to agree, that was pretty special.
TDR: So how excited are you guys for the tour?
HP: I am so excited. Coming on the show, this is what you look forward to. You want to try to get on that tour. To know that I’m going is so cool, especially because this is going to help me prepare for what I want to do on my career. I want to go on tour with music artists. It’s such a great experience. I am over the moon about it. I’m always texting my mom like, “I’m just so excited. There’s only like seven days left.” She’s like, “Hailee, I know. I understand.” I’m just so excited about it.
JN: Yeah, I’m excited as well. Especially being able to meet all of the fans. They write to you. You get fan mail. You get messages, but you don’t actually get to meet them. So I think that’s going to be a really special time for all of us to actually interact with all of them.
TDR: How different is prepping for the tour versus prepping for the show?
JN: …Now that we’re familiar with the routines, it’s a little easier in terms of what we are expected to do. It’s a big stamina, endurance show. It’s more a taste of the professional world rather than a competition. So the tables are turned a little bit and the pressure is not as high.
HP: We’re doing 70 [shows] and it’s going to be a lot, but I think we can do it. And like Jim was saying, it’s very different from the show because stamina wise, there are 15 numbers and each number runs into the next so we don’t have commercial break. We don’t have talking to the judges. So it’s definitely a full-blown showcase, which is really cool cause as dancers, most of the time in performances, at least for commercial dancers, you’re behind an artist or you’re selling a product. So it’s cool that we get to do a show that’s all about dance and all about the artistry. So hopefully people come and appreciate some of their favorite numbers from the show.
TDR: Speaking of dance
numbers, are there any special surprises in store for the tour?
HP: You know what, there are a couple new numbers that people will have to come to the show and see. We have a couple of them so everyone will have to come out.
TDR: Lastly, what do you guys think is next for you after the tour?
HP: For me, I’m actually moving to Los Angeles. I’m taking the big step moving to L.A. and trying to take on the job as being a dancer. I know it’s going to be tough and difficult as anything is, but I’m just ready to go for it and dive in headfirst. I already have an agent, and so now I’m just ready to go out and audition for whatever comes my way. I hope it’s a music tour, you know, maybe with Lady Gaga or something if she makes a new CD. I’m just ready to do whatever comes my way. I’m super excited, and Los Angeles is where I’ll be.
JN: I may be out in L.A., I may be in New York, I may be in Europe. I’m not sure. I’m going to take it day by day.

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Courtesy of Lee Cherry