SYTYCDism Exclusive Interview with Jack Chambers

I (Trandrew) got the chance to sit down and talk with Jack Chambers, the winner of the first season of So You Think You Can Dance Australia Thursday, September 25, 2008 at my hometown's So You Think You Can Dance tour. Jack flew up to San Jose from Los Angeles after working with Mia Michaels on a solo specially choreographed for him. I was so confused when Courtney Galiano announced that Jack was in the house, and then I accidentally ran into him during intermission. I introduced myself and told him how I kept up with SYTYCDAU and he was so surprised to find someone who knew him.

While waiting for the dancers to come out in the Meet and Greet room, no one was paying attention to Jack, so I walked over and had a great conversation with him. Here's what I recollect:

I asked him if the Australians had any feelings toward Twitchington's Viennese Waltz and he definitely told me that there was a lot of controversy when that dance was released on America's SYTYCD -- with the same type of costumes, barefootedness, mood, music. He told me there was a few things that were reminiscent of SYTYCDAU but the waltz was definitely the worst.

He had just performed his Mia Michaels solo in Los Angeles and said the experience was phenomenal, although he did have nerves going into the session because it was a one on one workshop with Mia.

What made me giggle was when Jack told me how great of a SYTYCD fan I am. He said I really know my stuff, so that made me feel good. He said out of 8000 people, I was the only person who recognized him and actually knew how he danced and everything. His sister was also there with him and she was such a sweetheart too. They both dance amazingly. He said when going outside in Australia, so many people recognize him, but it was so refreshing to be able to slide by in the U.S.

I've always had this obsession with Australian accents, so I kept complimenting them. Jack's sister said she thinks it's quite ugly but I thought it was so awesome. Jack said Americans articulate every single word and that we finish our words.

I asked Jack and his sister if there were any standouts in the show, and he told me he enjoyed Twitch and Katee's door piece the most. As of individual dancers, he thought that they all stood out so it was hard to pick an individual favorite. However, I do vividly remember Jack saying, "Mark is extremely amazing. So entertaining." That should make the Markers cheer.

Jack also told me the tour in Australia went very well, although it wasn't like fifty-something tour stops like ours. He thought it was really amazing attending a venue with such energy from the fans, especially since he went to the San Jose stop, which had the biggest and craziest fanaticism for hometown girl Katee Shean.

Jack boarded a plane to New York yesterday and plans to stay there attending and teaching workshops for 3 weeks. He said it's quite amazing how people pay him to dance now, as opposed to in Australia. It's a well known fact that Jack Chambers wants to make it big in Broadway, so we're all crossing our fingers for him. He sings and acts as well -- triple threat?!