Adriana Falcon, a native of Shrewsbury, Massachusetts, became the first dancer to be sent home by the judges on Bravo’s newest reality show, Step It Up and Dance.
Adriana spoke to BuddyTV today about her time on the show. She talked about her first impressions of her castmates, her dance background, her favored styles of dance and what it was like performing to the Spice Girls’ song “Spice Up Your Life” in front of Scary Spice herself, Mel B.
Below, you will find an audiofile and a complete transcript of the interview.
Hey, everybody. This is Debbie at BuddyTV, and I’m talking to Adriana, from Bravo’s newest reality show, Step It Up and Dance. So, it’s tough to be the first one eliminated. What was going through your mind while the judges were deliberating?
It was really tough. I wasn’t sure how they felt about the performance. I felt pretty good about it. I was pretty confident, but there is that awkward silence when they’re just talking and we were sitting on stage, waiting anxiously for what their perspective is going to be. So, it was a little anxiety-ridden.
What were some of your first impressions of some of the other dancers?
I realized, doing the show, that I make quick judgments about people. So, I had really strong opinions about a few. Let’s see, I thought Oscar [Campisi] was a little bit standoffish, but I learned throughout the show that he’s actually a great person. A lot of the dancers from L.A. seemed to have really strong personalities, which I thought was a little bit different from the New York dancers. The New York dancers, myself included, had a little bit more of a chill vibe. You know, we didn’t put it out there as much as I thought the L.A. people did.
And how do you think your dance abilities compared to those of the others?
I really respect everyone in the cast and what they brought, because everybody brought something really different. And so, I thought I did the same. My technique is strong and was on the show, and I thought I brought that. And I brought a little flavor as well. You know, when you’re in an environment like that, it’s a competition. We didn’t know what to expect, so it was a learning process. I think that my castmates are very talented and I think I stood strong up there with them.
What’s your background in dance?
I studied at a studio in central Massachusetts and then I went to UMass-Amherst and was on the dance team and was the captain for that. Upon graduating, I didn’t feel like I was done, and I wanted to discover a little bit more about the industry and where I could fit in, so I went to Broadway Dance Center in New York to do an internship, and that’s where I really laid the foundation for my professional career.
Tell me about the audition challenge at the club. Are you comfortable freestyling?
Freestyle, I think, in general, is freeing but it’s also difficult. Freeing, in that you get to do whatever you want and feel the music, but difficult because you can’t think. But that freestyle was interesting because every 30 seconds, the music changed a great deal. So it was like, we had country, and then we had disco, and we had hip hop. Jamie King, when we were auditioning, really articulated that he wanted us to move to the music that was playing, not necessarily just our comfortable style. So when country came on, we had to dance to country music and do a country line dancing type of style. And then, disco, we had to change it up. So I think the improv section and challenge was using the music and improv-ing in different styles. That, I wasn’t too comfortable with because I hadn’t really done that before.
Which style were you most comfortable with?
Typically, jazz. Anytime I can do that and theater, it’s fun to. I try to be versatile, so I take hip hop class and tap and all that as well. What’s good about the show is that they’re looking for a versatile dancer. This challenge was hip hop, it was Jamie King, it was his choreography, so I feel like it may not be one of my strengths, but I could hold it down and I now know where I have to take more class and keep growing in that style.
You guys had an hour and a half to learn Jamie King’s routine, and is that a normal amount of time to learn a routine like that?
Not that intricate. Well, it depends on what choreographer you’re working with because some choreographers teach really fast and expect you to perform right away. Others, you are in rehearsals and you actually help build the piece. I thought it was kind of intense because the movement to me seems really intricate, and we had to perform it right away. And then, they kept throwing at us, you know, “You’re going to improv now, and you’re going to change this movement, and you’re going to set it and stage it.” So, I thought it was really quick. Yes, to answer your question, I thought it was pretty quick.
What was it like performing for Mel B?
It was exciting. I was a big Spice Girls fan back in the day. So it was really cool.
They’re back.
Yeah, they are back. I think I liked them originally, though. I don’t like the comeback situations so much. You know, do it once and then… Do it like Sex and the City. You know, leave on a high note.
So, now that you’re back in regular life, what are your plans?
My plans are to continue to do what I do and to grow in that realm. I still work with a dance company here in the city, and we’re gearing up for a show next week. I really want to do more film and television and explore that a little bit more. This was my first opportunity to work on a television set. It’s completely different than live theater. So, I definitely want to be doing more of that, and I think this was a great opportunity to learn all of that, working on camera and figuring out placement and how to work the camera and how to, you know, just work it.
-Interview conducted by Debbie Chang
(Image courtesy of Bravo)
Staff Writer, BuddyTV
