Area dancers learn moves from TV contestant
Appeared on ‘So You Think You Can Dance’ Dancers from Darlynn’s Dance Unlimited in Mount Pleasant were treated this week with a workshop taught by Peter Sabasino, a former contestant on the Fox television show “So You Think You Can Dance.” Students spent the afternoon learning choreography and doing technical exercises with Sabasino, who was enthusiastic and continuously pushed the dancers to become better.
“If it’s hard and you can’t get it, that’s even better, because you’ll work that much harder,” Sabasino said to the dancers while teaching them steps.
Instead of going to auditions since he was eliminated from the sixth season of “So You Think You Can Dance” last year, Sabasino has been traveling and teaching dance classes and loves doing so.
“It’s nice to audition, but I want to inspire,” he said.
“People can make a career out of dance, and I want them to see the benefits of hard work.”
One of the things Sabasino hopes to inspire, in both children and adults, is a greater interest in tap dancing.
“Tap is the most exciting form of dance,” he said. “You can see it and hear it.”
Sabasino, 22, has been dancing since he was 4-years-old.
“It’s more than dance,” he said.
“It’s also a lesson on life. You have to dance through the storm, not just in the rain. You have to keep pushing forward, just like in life.
“It’s rewarding.”
That attitude was present throughout the workshop.
Sabasino frequently encouraged the dancers, and shared personal stories of auditions and other dancers he has worked with to help the class feel more confident and grow as dancers.
“If they just pick up one-tenth of his love of dance to help their character and personality, then it’s worth it,” Darlynn’s Dance Unlimited owner Darlene Trout said.
Trout’s students were both excited and nervous about participating in a workshop with Sabasino and weren’t sure what to expect from him, even though they were the reason Trout contacted Sabasino about teaching in the first place.
“My kids wanted me to,” Trout said.
“My kids are up for learning.”
Even before the session with Sabasino was over, the dancers felt that they had gained a lot from him.
“He helps us to be better dancers,” Alexis Newingham said.
“He’s helped a lot.”
They also felt that the workshop was a good opportunity to dance in the summer, and that it was a lot of hard work.
“We’re going to hurt tomorrow,” Newingham said.