"Randi Anthony. Congratulations, youre in the project!" When I heard Wade Robson say those words, I though I was going to pass out. My heart dropped to the floor with relief. I think June 28th was the best day of my entire life.
It all started with me getting online at work, went to MTV.com and saw "Can you blow Wade Robson away with your dance skills?" I was thinking,with my luck they already had auditions. Well, they had already hit LA, NYC and the dirrrty south, ATL. One city left, Chicago. I HAD to go. So I gathered up 6 of my friends ,who I've danced with, and we headed down to Chicago for "The Wade Robson Project" auditions. I was a little nervous about the audition, because it was hip hop and the first cuts were freestyle. Ive only been freestyling for about a year or two. But hey, I had to start somewhere, right? I really wanted this, but I knew it was going to be a challenge.
So that brings me to June 28th, probably the best & longest day of my life. 4am the alarm went off. I jumped, literally jumped, out of bed and hit the shower. I was ready for this.Wade Robson, here I come! We wanted to be in line by 6am. We left the hotel at 5:30am and walked to Vision Nightclub, where the auditions were held. Auditions didnt start until 10:30am, so we sat in line for a while.
Meanwhile, the nerves were starting to get to me. I just kept running through my head what one of my friends, Melissa, told me, "This will be the only time he will see you dance, dont hold back, take it and run with it!" More and more people kept showing up. People from all walks of life, street dancers, b-boys, pop-n-lock, clubbers to jazz dancers, you name it.....they were there. Then a couple of people from MTV came through the line to have us fill out these super thick packets. This guy from MTV was explaining how the audition runs and what the packets were for. All of a sudden, out of nowhere, he said, "I know you, you look soooo familiar to me," I responded confused, "Who me?" His name was Nick, Id never seen him before. He swore up and down he knew me from somewhere. We proceeded to fill out the packets and the line started to move forward. In about an hour and a half my life was about to take a turn.. little did I know!
We finally get into the club and got our numbers. 861, Randi Anthony. As were all sitting there, Wade came down the stairs. He makes a small speech saying thanks for coming and good luck, then he said, "We may be pulling some of you out to do solos so be prepared." My gut dropped to the ground. I though I was going to pass out. What if, just what if I got pulled out to do a solo. What would I do??? As much as I love hip hop, wasnt sure if I was ready to freestyle solo in front of Wade Robson. However, I thrive on the nervousness of an unknown challenge.
All right, a few groups have gone, and I was in the next group of 10 to go. While I was waiting I was thinking "Dear God, this is in your hands, whether I make it or not, let it be your will." The song they were using was one of my favorite new releases, Rock The Party by Benzino. I was starting to get fired up once I heard that. I was watching the group before me, and there were some amazing dancers in there. In we go. They lined us up in numerical order. As Wade explained how it would go, I noticed Nick, the guy who thought he knew me in line, was behind the judges table. He was a JUDGE?!? "Focus Randi, focus." The music started, and my passion and fire took over. It was on! I pulled out moves I didnt know I could do. After that part was over, he pushed us to the side. Next, Wade took a couple girls out for solos. Then he took "sexy" out for an interview. This old hag of a guy, who was there for jokes only, I hope. All Im thinking now is "Ok, Randi, jam on the sideline, make him notice you!" He'd already had 2 girls solo, now this guy, why would he have anymore. Then the time came. He pointed at me, and pulled me out. HOLY SHIT! No way, Im freestyling in front of Wade Robson. ALL BY MYSELF!!!!! The best 25 seconds of my life. He cut the music, and I went back to the side. "these numbers please step out 861 & 864 please stay, the rest of you thank you very much" Oh my gosh, I got through 1st cuts. Now, Im in the area with the select few who have made it through 1st cuts. I sat on the couch in disbelief. Time to prepare for choreography but, that is my strong point. I knew that I had a chance now. That didnt calm the nerves though. I love to work under pressure, it tests you. Pressure sees what you can handle. I was ready to take it on.
So about an hour later they took us in a group of ten to learn the choreography. Kevin, Wades assistant, taught us two counts of eight. Thats it? Two counts of eight? Even better! I got it right away. But just because I had it didnt stop me from practicing for the next two hours. The audition ran in rounds. When I was learning choreography, they were still auditioning people for first cuts. So until the auditions were closed, I had all that time to practice. Non-Stop I did those two counts of eight more times than I can count. I will NEVER forget them for the rest of my life. It was about 3 pm and I hadnt eaten anything all day. Too nervous in the morning and then I didnt bring anything, because I didnt think I would need it. So someone working with the crew brought us in a plate of food, and every single person attacked it like they had never seen food before in their lives. The dancers that had made it to the second round were so incredibly nice. I met so many amazing people that day. They were so supportive and willing to work with each other. Not like other auditions I have been to. It was so awesome to watch everyone and seeing everyones own flava.
I finally sat for ten minutes to rest, collect my thoughts, and take in what had just happened. I still was in awe, I was watching the dancers around me, and they were amazing. I couldnt believe I was looked at as being able to keep up! I mean, these guys and girls were unbelievable to me. As they finished up with the auditions, our time was up. They took us back into the audition room. We remained in numerical order and auditioned in groups of 5. Ive learned one thing about auditions, and that is to listen with your eyes. When the choreographer does a move, they dont always explain it in detail. They do it the way they want it done.