In a season filled with amazing dancers — Katee Shean, Joshua Allen, tWitch, Chelsie Hightower and Chelsie Hightower — season four finalist Mark Kanemura is the only one whose career I actively follow. It’s partly because Mark spent the last year, sequined shoulder to sequined shoulder, with Lady GaGa on her Monster Ball Tour. It’s also party because of this.
But I’m obviously not the only one smitten with Mark since “So You Think You Can Dance” has asked him to return as one of their All-Star’s on the show’s seventh season. And now that the eleven newbies were revealed last night, we can finally welcome the vets back to the stage.
Before he returns to the show that made him famous tonight, I caught up with Mark to see how the nerves were doing, what touring with Lady GaGa is like and why fans tend to beat him up.
PopWrap: How do you feel about returning to the “So You Think You Can Dance” stage?
Mark Kanemura: I’m definitely excited but I’m also really nervous. Even though I’m an all-star, I still feel like I’m going in for the first time. You know there’s going to be twists and turns and surprises. And that gives me anxiety. They are so … oh my gosh. They can be so cruel about that stuff sometimes [laughs]. So I’m really worried and nervous for what they have planned for us.
PW: Even though your not technically in competition?
Mark: I’m always competing with myself. That’s the hardest battle. I also feel like because I’m coming back, people expect more from me. Which makes sense, I expect more from me. So there’s that pressure as well.
PW: What was it like when you got the call about returning?
Mark: My heart dropped. I had flashbacks to my season because at first I thought they wanted me to compete again. I thought, hell no! [laughs] But once they explained the all-star idea to me I thought it was very interesting. Plus the show itself is really challenging so it’ll be a great way for me to get back into working on different styles and pushing myself out of my box.
PW: Mary Murphy is leaving the judges panel this season, do you feel like that leaves a hole?
Mark: Maybe. But that spot is being filled by someone who’s absolutely incredible. Mia Michaels’ critiques are so honest and helpful. I don’t feel like she ever holds back, so that’ll be great for TV. She was always one of the judges I could listen to constructively because I knew she wanted the best for all of us.
PW: But that means she won’t be able to choreograph individual routines this season, bummed?
Mark: If you look back on the past seasons, I feel like all her numbers are memorable. So, yes, I think there’s a loss there. But it also presents the opportunity for us to work with new choreographers that could bring something new to the show.
PW: You had some really memorable routines on your season — what is the most mentioned by fans?
Mark: [laughs] It’s definitely always, always, always, always without a doubt “Bleeding Love” [watch it here]. Always. I went back home to Hawaii after the show and there was a woman who literally came running up to me and started beating my chest saying, “oh you bastard, I can’t believe you did that!” I have never had a response like before. To this day I get feedback about that.
PW: I always loved “The Garden” [watch it here].
Mark: Yea. I think that routine was the reason I felt so happy leaving that week. I just felt so fulfilled. I had two really great routines. Sonja was able to watch me throughout the season and saw things people wouldn’t ask of me, but I could do. So I feel like she pulled that performance out of me. It felt so good on my body – it was just so freaky and nasty, exactly what I liked.
PW: It kind of foreshadowed your work on the Lady GaGa tour. What has that been like?
Mark: It’s been a dream come true. It sounds so generic to say that, but at the same time, people who know me know that working with her was so specific to me. That was the one job I put out into the universe. I just had to, had to, had to dance with this amazing artist. There’s just something about her that I need to be around and experience.
PW: I’d imagine it’s a very surreal existence on tour with GaGa.
Mark: It is. You wake up, go throughout your day and end up on stage with this incredible freak. I could not believe that I was doing that. I was so drawn to her was because I felt the way that she viewed art was relatable to me. She gave me courage to be who I was, and who I wanted to be and sometimes it’s hard to wear that freaky self that I am. She’s really inspirational. The journey itself has been incredible.
PW: How has working with her changed your dancing?
Mark: They way that she is with her music and her fashion is the way that she is with her dance. When she’s performing, she holds nothing back. She lays it out there for you. To be around someone like that, who encourages you to go there, is incredible. Plus the choreographers – Laurie Ann Gibson and Richie Jackson – do an incredible job of not only choreographing, but encouraging the dancers to put ourselves in the dance. And that’s rare in the industry. They don’t want robots on there.
PW: How did you get hired, an open call?
Mark: The story itself is crazy because I couldn’t go to the audition. I was in Nebraska teaching, so it was a huge gamble not going to the audition for an artist I really wanted to work with. But I had worked with the choreographers before somehow they remembered me from this past job, so they hired me.
PW: So you got the news in Nebraska?
Mark: When my agent told me I literally started crying my eyes out. I was running around with crazy eyes and people were scared. And on top of that I had just had this large cup of extremely large coffee, so those two together weren’t a great combination. I was bouncing off the walls, crying, screaming. It was the most ridiculous thing. I lost my marbles.
PW: Can you pinpoint a most memorable moment with her?
Mark: [laughs] It would have to be my first [performance with GaGa], the VMA’s doing “Paparazzi.” Although, when I first met her, that was crazy too. She came in and we showed her the routine and I was like, “ok Mark, this is your opportunity” so danced harder than I ever had before. And I almost had an asthma attack [laughs].
“So You Think You Can Dance” welcomes its All-Stars tonight at 8pm on Fox
Photo: Fox; WireImage