you can't stop the beat.

In the summer of 2006, I started watching a little show called So You Think You Can Dance. Being a dancer, I had a whole network of friends who adored any and all things related to dance, and they were all urging me to watch it. I actually skipped the first season (which was on during the summer of 2005) and didn’t really get into the show until the middle of the second season. And then it was all over.

Season two was, by far, the one I obsessed over most. There were two dancers I absolutely loved (Benji and Donyelle, for anyone who watched), but even the whole Top 10 was amazing. When it was announced that they would go on tour, I was ecstatic. When I found out (from the forums – yes, I’m a forum junkie) that they would stick around to meet fans after the show? I just about died. Normal people would get this excited over celebrities; I was freaking out about dancers.

Meeting Donyelle and internally freaking out.

That first year, the anticipation of meeting these people was overwhelming. I attended two shows that year because at the first show, I couldn’t stay late and didn’t get the opportunity to meet everyone. At the second show, I was with a group of girls whom I had met over the internet and we had an absolute blast standing out in the cold, waiting for the dancers. It was an experience I’ll never forget.

The Waterbury Crew with Ryan (one of the dancers).

Since then, my passion has died down from a level of obsession to one of enjoyment. I’ve been to the tour every year since, although there were a couple shows where I skipped out on the meet-and-greet afterward. This year, though, I was back at it. I attended the show on Sunday with my two best friends from dance, and it was fantastic. They even brought back* the traditional "surprise" encore to You Can't Stop the Beat!

When the show let out, we took our familiar spots behind the barricades, waiting for an hour in the middle of Newark to meet some amazingly talented folks. And you know what? As casual as the waiting felt and as calm as I was for most of it, I still freaked out when my favorites approached.

Billy Bell! Oh my freaking goodness, this kid is ah-mazing.

My family thinks I’m weird for getting so excited over something that seems so irrelevant, but I really don’t care. Judge me all you want, but I’m a huge dance geek and so I'm going to obsess over some dance "celebrities."

*Here's where my obsession comes back into play: You Can't Stop the Beat was one of my favorite dances from Season 2 which they then used for the encore that year on tour. It was also used for the Season 3 and 4 tours, but then last year, they didn't use it! I was so pissed. So I was very happy to have it back. #geekmoment