Travis Wall goes from 'Dance' to juggling - his busy life

By Laine M. Rutherford

Correspondent

Travis Wall's calendar over the past six months has looked something like this:

Travel to cities across the country to prejudge auditioners for a spot on the Fox reality show "So You Think You Can Dance."

Choreograph and teach a jazz dance to would-be contestants who make it past the first round of official judging. Watch himself, if possible, on episodes of the show's new season.

Appear on "American Idol's" Idol Gives Back.

Move from Los Angeles to New York.

Teach master classes at dance studios and conventions.

Catch flights to Virginia Beach to teach and choreograph numbers at Denise Wall's Dance Energy, his mother's studio on Bonney Road.

It has been two years since he almost won on "So You Think You Can Dance," and the show is still helping to keep him busy.

Last week, the 20-year-old Virginia Beach native thought he'd have a little breathing room and some time to work on some dances for himself in advance of a performance in the Denise Wall show at the Sandler Center for the Performing Arts. Then Wall got a call from a producer in California.

"They were getting ready to shoot a scene for the new Adam Sandler movie, and (director/choreographer) Adam Shankman stopped them and said the movie needed Travis Wall," Wall said the day before he left for filming. "They're flying me out there and back first class, and promised me I'd be back in time for the show.

"I'm really excited. It's my first movie."

Wall's schedule is intense, but he wouldn't have it any other way. His goal is to achieve fame - and fortune - by the time he's 25.

"I don't want to be 41 before I'm famous, so I work constantly. I've had four days of vacation this year and the rest of the time I've been working - flying a lot and going pretty much nonstop."

Wall's star has been on the rise for years. As a child, he won numerous dance titles and appeared in a national Dr Pepper commercial. As an adolescent, he performed in the Broadway revival of "Music Man."

At 18, he appeared as a contestant on Season 2 of "So You Think You Can Dance." Although he didn't win the title of America's Favorite Dancer (he came in second), he used the experience as a springboard to further his career and maintained a presence on the show. Wall appeared in several episodes last season, cheering for fellow Virginia Beach contestants Danny Tidwell - his brother - and Jaimie Goodwin, a longtime friend and dance partner.

Wall danced back into viewers' lives when Season 4 premiered in May. He appeared in the early episodes, highlighted as a vital part of the audition process.

"Let's see how well the dancers handle Travis Wall's choreography," show host Cat Deeley intoned each week.

Wall was shown leading dancers in a routine designed to help the judges determine who would go to the semi-final auditions in Las Vegas.

"It was essentially Jazz 101, what I would teach an 8-year-old," Wall said. "But for breakers or people who haven't had any dance training, I guess it was challenging. I tried to choreograph it easy so everyone could look good."

Shifting from contestant to choreographer/teacher fascinated Wall. His presence, he said, was both intimidating to dancers who knew of his accomplishments and comforting to those who knew Wall's story of having been cut at the Los Angeles auditions, then being accepted when he tried out again in Charleston.

"I know what they're going through. It's so nerve-wracking," Wall said. "Being on the other side, though, is amazing. You never know how things are really done when you're on the show as a dancer or watching it on TV.

"My opinion of a good dancer is very different from what they're looking for, which is how dancers look, how they present themselves, how they interact with other people, and not necessarily how well they can dance. Personality - that 'It Factor' - is the most important thing to the producers."

Now that the competition is under way, Wall-nuts, as his fans call themselves, may get a chance to see him on the show again.

"I'm supposed to choreograph partner routines, but I'm not sure when. I'm pretty much on call from now until Aug. 7."

Wall's calendar is full, but he has made it clear he'll drop everything to continue his relationship with "Dance." Wall hopes the exposure will expand his reputation as a choreographer.

"I love dancing, but being able to choreograph is what I love doing most. Seeing dancers performing my work is incredible."

Laine Mednick Rutherford, Laine.R@cox.net