NEWSStep It Up and Dance winner speaks!
June 10 2008, Published 6:00 a.m. ET
There’s nothing better then being able to say, "I told yah so." That’s the sentiments Step It Up and Dance winner Cody Green must be having right about now. (And me too! I named Cody as a TV Hunk Discovered when the show premiered in April!)
The 27-year-old Canadian native, who currently stars in Grease on Broadway with Idol alum Taylor Hicks, almost got cut after Step It Up’s first dance challenge, but then went on to snag the $100,000 grand prize on its June 5 finale. Sweet!
I caught up with Cody at Taylor’s Broadway premiere after-party in New York City’s Planet Hollywood. There, he filled me in on his newest co-star, his hardest Step It Up routine and what he plans to do with all that dough!
How does it feel to go from almost being tossed off the first episode to winning Step it Up and Dance?
You know, every week it changed. One week you were in favor with the judges, then you weren’t. I felt good about all of the challenges. Even the weeks where the judges weren’t as happy about it, I felt a made a good impression on the guest judges. I didn’t feel I was in danger of going home.
What was your biggest dance challenge?
The stomp challenge. That was one of the hardest things I’ve ever done. Trying to coordinate banging the garbage cans together while dancing while doing it all on the beat, my brain was going all over the place. It took a lot for me not mess up.
And the most fun?
I think it was Tina Landon’s choreography to Rihanna’s Umbrella. We rehearsed on a rooftop and there was helicopter flying above us and the sun was setting. It was really surreal.
Want OK! each day? Sign up here!
What are you going to do with your prize?
I’m going to pay off some bills, of course. I’m going to put some money into teaching and giving some master classes and doing choreography, which I love. I’d also like to set up a little scholarship back at home at my mother’s dance school for the kids when they go do competitions. And I’m hoping to transition to a new show this fall.
What would you like to dance in next?
I want to play Riff in the Broadway revival of West Side Story this fall. I auditioned for it, but I haven’t heard back from yet. Regardless, I’m looking forward to that show coming out.
Taylor Hicks has joined Grease as the Teen Angel. What did you think of his opening night performance?
It’s a lot to jump into. He has to stand in that ice-cream cone structure he’s in for about 15 minutes before he has to sing. Then all sudden, it opens up and the lights are bright and right on you. But he’s been really great. He seems like a really cool guy.
