So You Think You Can Dance Q&A: Melinda Sullivan is One Class Act

As I prepared my questions for the interview with Melinda Sullivan, I wavered on whether or not to bring up what I thought were completely uncalled for, unprofessional, harsh comments from both Mia Michaels and Adam Shankman after Tuesday night’s salsa performance with Pasha. In the end, I did mention it, and her answer to my question, as well as several others, solidified my high opinion of her character.

Melinda also answered several questions regarding how she got into tap, who her inspirations have been, and about her relationship with Harold Cromer, her mentor.

She got into a tap and ballet class when she was four years old, but hated the ballet part. She loved the tap, especially the shoes. When she was nine she entered a rhythm tap class and fell in love with the idea of tap as a form of jazz, in the musicality of moving through space and time. She met Harold Cromer in 2003 at the NYC tap festival and immediately fell in love with listening to him share the history of the style and tutor her in the art of becoming a complete entertainer. Melinda seems to be a philosophical, passionate, open-minded soul – during the interview she also said she most looked forward to getting back into bikram yoga now that her time was her own again. That’s what she does to relax.

A couple of questions revolved around her salsa number and how out of her comfort zone it was. She responded that of course it was tough for her, she’s never been trained in any sort of ballroom dance at all, but she did enjoy the sexy, the sizzle, and working with Pasha. The routine contained elements that wouldn’t be attempted by someone just learning Salsa in another situation, so she was pleased with her ability to learn it quickly and throw her personality into the performance. There were difficult moves she was happy they pulled off and she seemed pleased with her effort. When I asked her what her favorite style was that she got to try on the show (outside tap), she responded that the Salsa was her favorite, she enjoyed calling on her Latin roots and working with Pasha in the style.

There were the inevitable questions (including mine) dealing with the comments from Mia and Adam – namely the assertion that they should have kept Cristina the week before and let Melinda go then.

Me: I want to compliment you on your professionalism and grace through this entire process. Obviously, working in any creative genre you develop a thick skin and grow used to criticism, but how hard was it for you not to defend yourself in the face of such harsh and even uncalled for comments?

Melinda: In life and on this show you have to be respectful of the people and the format of the show. It’s their opinion. It’s more important to stay true to who Melinda is  - to be an example for other young girls for how to handle these situations with class and poise.

When answering a follow-up question on whether or not she thought their comments were fair, she responded that we have to remember that this is reality television and it’s also about drama and ratings. She hopes to have the chance to work with all of them in the future.

She commented how she had no idea how intense the experience would be, that leaving the show with an intact body and mind was something of a success in itself. It taught her so much about herself: how to push in a healthy way, how to dig deep and believe you can do it. She knows now she can do whatever she wants, it’s mind over matter. My favorite quote? “I am my own invention, I can manifest my own future.”

What does she want to pursue, this self-professed complete performer? Acting, it seems, is the focus of the day, though she did say if she could pick a project she would go for a biography piece on someone like Ann Miller – someone she could pay tribute to with tap and singing as well as acting.

Fun Fact: She wishes she could have performed a Hip Hop routine with Twitch – who she competed against in a 2003 episode of Star Search.

Melinda is so obviously and genuinely passionate about the style and history of tap dance. She wants to make tap dance more accessible to the masses, to show her generation how sexy and fun it can be. It can be edgy, it could be integrated into movies and music videos. She has no regrets about anything having to do with the show because she got to tap to a live, nationwide audience. She seemed thrilled at being able to share four separate solos with America. She talked about the tap legends who inspired her, about wanting to carry on the great art form that so many African Americans shaped and created but got little credit for in their day due to the racial tension of the day.

She worried little about the judges and what they had to say on Tuesday night. Melinda was on the show for herself, for her fellow contestants who she called great dancers and amazing athletes and people, and for the tap community.

When asked what advice she has for teenagers and young adults who are looking to work professionally in a creative industry she replied she had two pieces of wisdom:

1. Research what you are interested in. YouTube is an invaluable source for our generation. You have to learn from the past, because everything has been done before. You have to take what others have done and reinvent it with your own flavor.

2. Create every day. Your creativity is a muscle that must be flexed, used in order to grow. The first pieces of what flows out of you might be bad – it probably will be – but keep going until you flush all the bad out and the good emerges behind it. Create all the time.

Melinda Sullivan was lovely to speak to, to listen to, to connect with. She’ll be able to do what she chooses in life, and I have no doubt in my mind that she’ll continue to display as much class as she has during this process, that she’ll stay true to the beautiful person she is, through it all.

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Photographs courtesy of Fox and IMDbPro.