The Audition © 2000 It was a Monday afternoon and I was sitting on the floor with my best friend Tiaga Jenson stretching. Tumbling class was about to start. Neither of us were gymnasts, though I was small enough to be one. We were dancers and were desperately trying to stay out of the exotic dancing scene. It was difficult. Exotic dancing paid well, but we weren't going to lower ourselves to that level. The instructor walked into the room. "I have some exciting news," she said. "Starting tonight at seven and continuing through the rest of the week, Fatima Robinson will be holding auditions for dancers for the Backstreet Boys' new tour. Everyone is encouraged to try out. There will be a freestyle routine in which you choreograph your own. There will be an improvised routine, where music is put on and you just dance. And there will be a routine choreographed by Fatima, which she will be teaching over the next week. The auditions are on Saturday." After that was said, we began our class. When class was over, Tiaga cornered me in the locker room. "Are you going to do it, Kris?" she asked me. "I dunno," I replied. "Come on Kris. This is our big chance. And you already have what, eight routines you have created?" "I know, but I'm not tall enough." "Sure you are." "No I'm not. Have you seen the dancers those guys have on tour? They are at least five, five. Me, I'm only four, ten." "So. You should do it." "I dunno Tiaga. I'll go tonight, just to watch. But I don't think I'm auditioning." That night, at quarter to seven, Tiaga and I walked into the dance studio. There must have been fifty people there. Most were dressed like Tiaga, in bike shorts, tee shirts and tennis shoes. I was in boxer shorts, a tank top, and tennis shoes. I walked with Tiaga and sat down beside her. Promptly at seven, a tall think black woman walked in. She was quite beautiful and had the body of a dancer. "Good evening all. My name is Fatima Robinson. You all know why you are here: you want to be in the Backstreet dance troupe. Unfortunately we only have two open spots, but we will be choosing six of you, the two in the troupe and four alternates. For the next five days you will be working your tails off. You have an entire routine to learn in that time. So let's get started. Everyone up." Fatima then started teaching the girls the routine to "Everybody." I watched from the sidelines. I watched every night until Friday. No one said anything to me. I saw girls struggle with the moves and they really weren't that hard, just ask any sixteen-year-old. Tiaga was having a bit of trouble, but we stayed after on Friday and she got it really quick once I showed her. "You sure you aren't trying out?" she asked me as we walked out of the building. "You seem to know the routine." "I only know it because I've seen it a hundred times already. And it's really not that difficult." "Tryouts are tomorrow, are you going to be there?" "Of course I'll be there." "Are you going to do your 'Larger than Life' routine?" "No, I'm not doing my 'Larger than Life' routine. I told you. I'm not trying out." "But Kris. This is our chance." "No Tiaga, this is your chance. I'll never be picked." "But how do you know unless you try?" "Trust me, I just know." The next morning we were at the dance studio at the crack of dawn. Tiaga wanted to get in some practice before the tryouts. We put on "Everybody" and I did the routine with her. Every move I did was crisp and sharp. Tiaga was good too, and compared to some of the other girls I'd seen, I thought she had a really good chance at making the troupe. When the song was over, I told Tiaga that she was going to do wonderful. "What song are you doing for your solo?" I asked her. "'Drive Me Crazy' by Britney Spears." "Really? That's perfect for you." "Yeah. Hey, can I see 'Larger than Life'? I just wanna see it. You never know what they're gonna give us for improv." I sighed. "Alright, but I'm only doing it once." Tiaga put on the music and I started dancing. I really did love the routine I had created. It combined some tumbling with dance and was a whole lot harder than the video version of the song. There was a triple handstand pirouette in the middle of the song that led into a back handspring. I ended the song on my stomach reaching towards the mirror. Behind me, I heard clapping. It was more than just Tiaga. I got up and glanced in the mirror. Behind me, just inside the door were the Backstreet Boys and Fatima. "That was absolutely amazing. Where did you learn to do that?" AJ asked. I just grinned. I wasn't even breathing hard. I turned around and said, "I just do it. I don't even think about it." "Are you trying out?" Fatima asked. "I dunno. I didn't really rehearse the group thing." "Yes you did," Tiaga said. "You did it with me yesterday and this morning. You know it." "Well, you've already shown our judges your free dance. And I think you impressed them. All you have left to do is the improvised routine and the group." Fatima walked over to the stereo. "They're judging?" I couldn't believe my ears. The Backstreet Boys were going to be choosing the dancers! "Why shouldn't they? They're the ones that are going to be dancing with you." I laughed. "What's your name?" Fatima asked. "Kris Casado. And I really don't know if I wanna do my routine in front of everyone else. I mean they did see me just watching. I don't wanna intimidate them or anything." "You're not afraid of performing are you?" "No ma'am. I love performing." "Well, if the guys have no qualms about it?" She turned to the Boys. They all shook their heads. "Okay. You can do your improv and then what are we going to do about the group? The tryouts aren't until eight and it's only seven." "You taught them 'Everybody,' right Fatima?" Kevin asked. When she nodded, he said, "We'll do it with her. I think we can judge if she can keep up with us." "What about you, Tiaga?" I asked my best friend. "Oh, no, go right ahead. I'll try out with everyone else." "Okay, it's set then. Your improv will be to 'Don't Want You Back,' okay?" Fatima said. "Fine with me," I said. Fatima put on the music and I just danced. I was making eye contact with the guys, and I could hear every word they said. "She's kinda short," Nick said. "Yeah, but everyone's short compared to you, Nick," AJ shot back. "But even if we paired her with Howie, there'd be like a foot difference." "Hey, I'm not that short," Howie said. "Just shut up and watch," Brian said. The song ended and I hit a pose. Everyone applauded. "You sure that was improv? Tiaga asked. "It looked choreographed to me." "Tiaga, you know what songs I have choreographed. Now if they would have said 'That's the Way I Like It,' you would have been up there with me." I winked at her. I had choreographed a routine to "That's the Way I Like It" that was still unfinished, but I was hoping that would change. "You aren't even winded," Howie stated. "Oh, this is nothing. I usually put on three CD's and dance for about three hours straight," I told him. "Wow." "You ready to do this?" Fatima asked. I nodded and the guys all got up from the floor where they had been sitting to watch me. "Do it in windows, Brian, Kris and Howie in front." We positioned ourselves. Before the music started, AJ said, "Short ones up front, huh?" I turned to AJ as the music started and said, grinning, "Shut up and keep up." I hit every move in the routine, even though I'd only really done it a couple of times. Nick was so busy watching me that he missed a couple of steps. It didn't even phase me. When the music ended, all the guys looked at me. "You got all the from watching?" Fatima asked. "Yeah, the routine isn't that hard. I mean if sixteen-year-olds can get it from watching the video a hundred times, I can certainly learn it by watching you teach it," I told her. Fatima looked at her clients. "Guys," she started." "We know, we know. Backstreet huddle," Howie called. The boys huddled up like a football team. Even though they were meaning for me not to hear, I heard every word. "She's short, but she's good," Kevin said. "We can't overlook her talent." "Yeah, did you see that triple to a back handspring? Man, I wish I could do that," Brian replied. "You can," AJ told him. "I've seen you." "Really?" Brian asked, being silly. "Yes." "Guys, later." Kevin told them. "It's like I said, she's so short," Nick told the group. "I mean she's like what, four, six?" "Four, ten," I said. They turned to me, surprised that I had heard them. "Hey, I have good ears, okay? Everything you've said I've heard before. I've lost more jobs than I can count because I didn't meet the height requirement." "Like what?" Brian asked. "Raiderette, Dallas Cowboy cheerleader, Laker Girl, you name it, I've tried it and every time I didn't get the job because I wasn't tall enough. And to tell you the truth, I didn't even wanna try out. Fatima gave no height requirement, but I knew whomever was judging wouldn't pick me. So if you don't mind, I'm gonna go change now and I hope I didn't bias your judging at all." I started walking towards the locker room door. No one said anything for a while. I was halfway through the door when Brian spoke up. "Kris." I turned around. "Yes?" "We want you in the troupe. You are too good not to be. I know Nick has some problems with it, but he's tall. He likes tall girls. We don't have a height requirement because we look for talent, and you have it. We're offering you a spot, if you want it?" I looked at Brian and then at each one of the guys in turn. It was a paying job and I would get to see the world. "Alright, I'm in, under one condition." "Name it," Kevin said. "I audition again with the rest of the girls and if you still feel the same way, you announce it at the end." "But I thought you didn't wanna intimidate them?" Howie asked. "I'll dance in the back of the group and do one of my simpler routines. I love an audience." I grinned. At that moment dancers started walking into the studio. The guys went back to sitting in front of the mirror so they could judge us. There were about half as many people as there had been the first day. Fatima told all of us that if we made the troupe we would be dancing with the Backstreet Boys so it was only fitting that they chose who their dancers would be. She led us through a group warm up and then gave each of us nametags, which we wrote our names on and put on ourselves. Fatima then broke us up into three groups of ten for the group dance to "Everybody." I was in the last group. I sat on the side watching. There were dancers of every level; beginners right on up to advanced. It wasn't going to be an easy choice. Tiaga was in my group and when our turn came, we stood in the back. The music started and I did it just like before. I watched Tiaga out of the corner of my eye and she did wonderful. I knew it was going to come down to the free dance and improv that were going to be the deciding factors. When our group finished, the guys huddled and made the first round of cuts. They only cut three people, and the girls were very good about it, thanking them for the experience. I had heard them talking beforehand saying that they really didn't know the routine and the only reason they were there was because they always finished things they started. Next was the free dance. Tiaga did "Drive me Crazy and was absolutely great. I knew she would make it, providing she didn't screw up the improv, but she had enough talent to pull it off. For my free dance, I did New Kids on the Block's "Games Remix." The tape was always in my bag because I used it as a warm up. It was a relatively simple routine, compared to "Larger than Life." It had a front handspring in it and a backward roll, but that was about all the tumbling that was in it because it was a really old routine. The guys didn't make any cuts after the free dance. It was too hard to choose. It came down to the improv. A large number of girls had problems with it. Their routines were choppy and broken and I knew it wasn't what the guys were looking for. They were looking for people who could make something up on the spot if they forgot the moves. Just about every audition I had gone to had an improvised routine. It was the new craze. This time for my improv, I had to do "We've Got it Goin' On." Once again, I nailed it. Everyone thought I had choreographed it. I assured them all that I hadn't. After the last girl had danced, the twenty-seven of us remaining sat down on the floor while the guys went into another room to discuss their decisions. Everyone was talking about their performances. About a half-hour after we had finished, the Boys emerged from the room. "We wanna thank you all for auditioning. It was a tough decision," Kevin said, "but I think we've found our dancers." "The alternates are Danielle Micheals, Sarah Sanderson, Tiaga Jenson, and Julie Vertile," Nick told everyone. Tiaga turned to me and hugged me. "And our new Backstreet Girls are," Brian paused to drag out the suspense, "Devon Johanasberg and Kris Casado." Tiaga jumped up from her spot on the floor. I just looked at the guys. They had chosen me, even though I was short, I had made the cut. They wanted me to dance with them. Tiaga and the other girls jumped up and down, hugging each other. I just sat there on the floor. The girls who didn't make the troupe gathered their things and talked the guys into giving them autographs and taking photos. Brian came over to me and sat down. "Anything wrong?" "Nah, just surprised, that's all." "Why?" Well, I told you. I've lost more jobs than I can count." "Does your height bug you? I mean, are you sensitive about it?" "Nope. It's just a pain when you're working in a profession that discriminates against you. So when do we start?" "Well, you certainly have talent. And we start on Monday." Just then, Fatima called for our attention. "Okay all you new dancers, just because you're an alternated doesn't mean you get to kick back. You are to be at every rehearsal. Rehearsals start on Monday at eight sharp. Be there and be stretched because you are going to work." I was so happy that I finally had a job that I didn't care how many dances we had to learn, when or how long rehearsals were, or anything. I was just happy to be working. And to think that I wasn't even planning on auditioning.