So You Think You Can Dance performers Lisa Auguste and Miles Faber, left, perform their Mirror contemporary piece while, Kaitlyn Fitzgerald, right, shows off her skills leaping through the air.
photo by kati mason
A&E Reporter
It was a bittersweet homecoming for Rexdale resident Lisa Auguste, who failed in her bid to be a So You Think You Can Dance Canada finalist but earned a spot in a cross-country tour to promote the TV series.
“It’s nice to be at home,” said Auguste, 27. “I feel more at ease. I know some people feel the pressure of performing at home, but I feel pretty good.”
She was among the top 10 dancers from the CTV show who participated in the 15-city tour that made its Toronto stop at the Air Canada Centre on Feb. 12.
Auguste made it all to the top six before she was voted off the show last fall, which she said frustrated more than upset her.
“I was angry. My goal was top four,” said Auguste. “It didn’t matter about the winning. It was about learning and getting to the end.”
At the Air Canada Centre, she reunited with her partner on the show, Vincent Noiseux, 22, to perform an Afro-jazz piece which combined traditional African movement with jazz and a House piece, a quick stepping form of hip hop.
Auguste also got together with Miles Faber, 21, to perform a slow moving, emotional contemporary piece that used a mirror as a prop.
One member of the audience, a fan of the show that wrapped up last December, said Auguste was among her favourites, along with Allie Bertram, from Calgary, and the eventual winner, Nico Archambault, of Montreal.
“I think they are the most well-rounded and the most influenced by their emotions when they dance,” said Ashley Preston, 25, a French teacher from Mississauga.
Stacey Morris, 20, a Brock University student, said she loved everything about the Feb. 12 show.
“I thoroughly enjoyed it; I thought it was very entertaining from start to finish.”
Dancers thinking about auditioning this year, for the second season of the show, need to make sure they keep training and stay true to themselves, said Auguste.
“Be aware and pay attention,” she said. “Know when to push yourself and know your limits.”
As for Auguste, she said she isn’t sure where she will take her dance career.
“I have to do what’s best for me and see what’s out there.”