Found some more Wade Robson Interviews.....
October 2001 Big Hit Magazine interview with Wade
Part I
"I Taught Britney to Dance!"
Ever wondered who taught Britney and *NSYNC their funky dance moves?
Well, the answer is none other than 18-year-old Aussie Wade Robson.
In
the late '80s Brisbane boy Wade made news when he won a Michael
Jackson
look-a-like contest. He then moved to the USA and now choreographs
for
Britney and *NSYNC, and also co-writes music with Justin Timberlake!
Our
Michele Manelis spoke to this lucky dude in Los Angeles...
Q: You've worked with lots of famous people obviously, but you're
best
known in Australia for being the cute little Michael Jackson
impersonator. Can you tell us about being discovered by pop legend
Michael
Jackson?
A: Well, I started dancing when I was two. The first things I ever
saw
was "The Making of Thriller." When I was five - I think it was '87 -
Michael was touring in Australia doing the "Bad" tour, so he was
holding
this look-a-like contest, dancing contest. Some of my mother's
friends
were saying, "They should put him in it, he's really good." So she
called and up and I was too young, it was like eight and up or
something,
but they said, "look, we'll let him in, he's not gonna win, but he'll
have some fun." So I went in my own little "Bad" suit, with he hat
and
everything and killed it and ended up winning. And then went on to
the
finals and won that one and the prize was to meet him. I went to the
first show, went backstage afterwards, met him, talked to him - in my
whole
outfit - and he asked me to perform with him the next night. So, I
came
to the next show and Michael was performing the last song, "Bad," and
this big massive security guard came and picked me up and took me
backstage and threw me up on stage in front of 60,000 people. I just
started
dancing and then didn't want to get off (laughs). It's supposed to be
like a minute long, but when I started dancing and he started
leaving,
he's telling me to leave (laughs). I wouldn't get off [stage], I was
loving it so much!
Q: So, do you still credit Michael Jackson with giving you your big
break in showbiz?
A: Yeah, I mean he definitely helped me out, he got me started. You
know,,, and just from that point, kind of just finalised that this is
what
I want to do. I mean not just dancing. I want to be in the
entertainment industry, period. I want to entertain. So the next day
I went and
joined a dance company, and started doing it professionally, and we
would
do shows all week and all that sort of thing for years. Then when I
was
seven, and I came with the dance company to perform at Disneyland.
So,
that was kind of my first taste of America, we did it and I loved it.
So periodically for the next tow years, we would come out for a month
or
so and then decided one day, my mother and my sister and I packed up
six suitcases and just left. I have a brother, who 28 and a father
[back
in Brisbane] and everybody thought we were nuts, but we're still here
going strong. So when I moved out and Michael helped me out, when I
got
there, put me in a couple of his videos to kind of start me out. I
was
in "Black Or White," and "Jam" and "Heal the World," all those sort
of
things.
Q: And then he signed you to his label too?
A: I started doing my own thing, doing dancing in a lot of people's
videos, and all that sort of stuff and when I got to about 11, ended
up
joining this duo, me and this other kid, it was called Quo. Then we
ended
up being signed to Michael's label and so we did an album and that's
what kind of got me into the choreography thing. Because I was the
dancer, a lot of people just said, well why don't you just
choreograph the
video?" OK. (laughs) "Sure, I guess I know how to do it."
So I just did it, and after doing that I decided I wanted to start
teaching classes, so here I am.
Q: Why did not stay with your group Quo?
A: Well, I stayed with it for a little while. We did it for about a
year and a half to two years and at the end it just kind of... a lot
of
political things went on with the label and the relationship started
to
kind of go bad with the other kid. It just wasn't fun anymore, so it
wasn't worth it. But when I was doing the Quo thing, I also started
getting into writing and producing music. Just from being around the
producers all the time, doing the album, I'd gotten interested in it,
so I
started building up a studio.
Q: When did you move into choreography?
A: I started teaching at this place, when I was 12, and really soon I
had a class of 50 to a 100 people, and it just started getting crazy.
and then, I had my first real choreography job when I was 14 for this
group called Immature. There were three guys, and I had known them
and had danced with one of the guys in the Academy Awards when I was
10. So they've been checking out my class, you know? So that kind of
kicked me off. I did a bunch of jobs with them and then a bunch of
other artists they had, nothing really massive, you know, just kind
of slowly getting there.
Q: So how did you get the job with Britney Spears?
A: She had seen a reel of mine that was sent from my agent, and also,
I knew one of her dancers really well and he kind of talked me up a
lot, so I kind of got the job on trial to begin with. The funny part
was that I was 16 and nobody in her camp knew my age, so her people
would call the house or even she'd call the house and talk to my
mother, and they thought she was my wife (laughs) which was kind of
funny! So we just kind of left it like that, and then I ended up
going to Orlando, to start working with her and I hadn't met her yet.
We're waiting in the hotel and she comes down, and I'm with all the
rest of the dancers. So I meet her and she doesn't put two and two
together, she thinks I'm just one of their friends, `cos I'm so young
that I can't be the choreographer. Anyway, I thought it was funny, so
I went along with it and we go over to the studio and she realises
who I am, freaks out. Loses it! Takes this dancer in the corner, "Why
are you doing this? He's just a baby, he can't choreograph for me!"
Even though she's the same age, you know. He said, "Look, let him
show you. Let him do what he came here to do. Let him prove himself
to you, and believe me, you'll be thanking me in a minute." So I did
my thing and she lost it. She went nuts, "I'm gonna sign you up for
everything I do!" So, from there, I stayed on board with her and
started remixing a lot of her music too. That's what kind of became
my trademark, that I was also producing. I became the package.
Like, "If you hire Wade, he can choreograph, but he can also remix
your music for the show, add al the accents to the music, all that
cool stuff." That just kind of heightens it, makes it that much
better. So I started doing a bunch of the music for her shows and
every job that I did with her I had more and more control. The first
thing I ever did with her was just a straight-up choreography job. I
did the opening of her first tour and then when it came time to
revamp that tour, I ended up directing the whole thing. I never
directed before, I just said, "Yeah, I can do it."
Q: Do you actually go on tour with them?
A: No, I'd go out, when I'm doing a tour, for about a week-and-a-
half, just to make sure the show's OK, you know. I leave once I'm
comfortable with the show.
Q: We've made a $50 bet to say that is was you filling in for Joey
when he hurt his leg and couldn't dance in the "Pop" video. So was
that you or not?!
A: Well, yeah, if you watch making of the video, that's pretty easy
bet (laughs). I wanna make that bet. You should take it up to like a
thousand dollars! (laughs)
Q: Are you a slave driver when you're teaching?
A: Yeah.
Q: What do you say if your students aren't as obedient as you'd like
them to be?
A: I'm not a violent person at all, I don't have a temper, so it
takes a lot for me to raise my voice or anything like that. It'll
happen if somebody really pushes me, but it takes a lot for that to
happen. So I really just try and instill respect in people. I'm not
the one normally who's gonna freak out and say, "Shut up!". I'll just
stop and kind of let them finish whatever they're doing and just
say, "Look. We have a tour in a week. This is your tour. You're going
up there, you're gonna look like shit if you don't work hard and get
this right now, so you tell me what you wanna do!" You know?
Q: You've co-written some tracks with Justin Timberlake on *NSYNC's
"Celebrity," how did that come about?
A: Justin and I got along really well, we'd always talked about, we
wanna get together and write some music. So, finally after that tour
finished in August of last year, he decided he was gonna come down
and kind of like just hang with me for like a week in my house and
we'd write some stuff and see what happens. So, when he was coming to
my house for the first day, like two hours before he came, I started
working on this other track called "Celebrity" (laughs). I started
out like this little rap track, I had the chorus of it, it was just
real kind of nursery rhyme chorus, and he came and loved it. He
said, "Well, why don't we work on that? Let's build on that." It
ended up being the theme for the whole album. And then, once we
started working, man, we just clicked right away. It was amazing. You
know, he's start to think of an idea, and I'd start doing it before
he said anything, or vice versa.
Q: Has that happened with anyone else you've worked with before?
A: Not this intense. We really clicked right away and it was just
insane. We finished each others sentences. And when it came to music,
I mean we did like six songs in you know, a week-and-a-half, just
tons of stuff and so four songs have ended up on the album. I co-
wrote and co-produced some stuff, as well as a song called "Gone"
off "Celebrity."
Q: Is writing something that you want to keep doing?
A: yeah, well that's what I'm concentrating on now. I just finished
their last tour, which was insane. But now, I'm kind of taking two
months, just to do music and so I got a bunch of great music stuff
happening. I got two songs on Marc Anthony's album that's coming out,
possibly the first single. You know, a bunch of good music stuff, I'm
working with [famous producer] Teddy Riley on some stuff.
Q: Are you working on any more music for yourself?
A: Yeah, well I'm getting ready to do a solo thing. I'm just, you
know, in experimental stage right now.
Q: So who are you signed to?
A: Nobody yet. Bunch of offers, but I'm just kind of holding out. I
don't want to do it yet until I feel I'm ready, so I'm just
experimenting and doing a bunch of different stuff, and I'm kind of
finding what my niche is going to be.
Q: Would you want to work with Britney or *NSYNC on your album when
it does happen?
A: I think I'd definitely end up writing some stuff with Justin, `cos
we work so well that way, but who knows? I think there's a duet in
there somewhere, or something, sure.
Q: It's amazing they gave you so much responsibility.
A: Yeah, well that's something I've always kind of respected about
her. The whole team; Johnny Wright, her manager. I've prove myself
and that's why, but he really does give me a lot of creative control
and just a lot of trust. He'll tell me, "OK we're doing MTV awards,
go do it, and I'll come see it the day before the show." (laughs) You
know what I mean?
Q: How would you describe working with Britney? What's she really
like?
A: She's great, man. Since the first time I ever started working with
her, he's really innocent and really naïve. In a good way. And naïve
sometimes about the bad things of the world, but she's kind of a trip
to be around. She's been sheltered from it somehow and so, her mind's
really open to a lot of things, so that's really cool. She trusted me
and would really go along with anything I say, if she believe in it.
But we built up a really good trust with each other, so we could be
straight up with each other about anything, you know? She's just easy
to work with and a hard worker, I can't work with anybody who's not
willing to put in the work.
Q: How did you then get involved with *NSYNC?
A: I was working with her for about probably six months to nine
months or so – I'm still working with her – doing all the awards
shows, and al the sort of stuff. I co-directed her second tour, did a
lot of music for it and then, naturally kind of went over to the
*NSYNC camp. All part of the same thing. The first time I worked with
them, it was actually on a music tip. It was the '99 MTV Awards and
they did a dual performance, Britney and *NSYNC. She did two minutes,
they did two minutes, back-to-back, I choreographed their part and
did the music for it, and I didn't the music for *NSYNC's part, I
didn't choreograph it, I just did the music. So that was my first
little thing with them. Then it came time for their tour, and they
asked me to choreograph two numbers and that's what it started out
as, just choreographing two numbers. They were talking to me about
some of the stuff they wanted to do for the whole tour, I just
said, "Do you have a director? I mean is there anybody who's putting
this together?" They go, "Uhhhh" (laughs). I was like, "Well, fine
you need somebody, I can do it." "OK" (laughs). And that's just kind
of how it came about, so I co-directed it with another guy and that
tour was a lot of the concepts were their idea, and I just kind of
put it all together. Made everything happen.
Q: Who's the best dancer that you've worked with?
A: (pauses) Britney. Just `cos she's really, really improved and
she's never stopped learning, and every time I work with her, she
gets that much better.
Q: You've done some acting with the Olsen twins?
A: (laughs) Yeah, I was on "Full House" when I was nine or ten. They
were, six or seven when I did the episode, but they were cool. I
didn't really talk to them that much (laughs). I just remember them
being fed their lines from an acting coach during the scene. The
coach would say it, then they'd say it. That was funny.
Q: Who's the most famous person that you have programmed into your
mobile phone?
A: (Laughs) That's funny. Um, most famous person? I don't know,
between Michael and Britney and *NSYNC and, I don't know, there's
just a bunch of people. Ricky Martin. That's a funny question.
(laughs)
Q: Do Britney and *NSYNC ask you about Australia?
A: Um, yeah, they've asked me. You know, they've asked me if I miss
it, and that sort of thing. What do I miss about it.
Q: What do you miss about it?
A: Sometimes I miss the people because they're interested in what you
do, but they don't care about who you are, who you know, and that's
cool to be around. That's what I enjoy when I go back there to visit.
You know,, you live in LA and every single frickin' person is in the
entertainment industry. You could sit ion the freeway and bet that 80
or 90 percent of everybody that's next to you in the entertainment
industry. That's kind of freaky sometimes, `cos it's like, "God, one
day I'd like to talk about something different." I think that's
something that's really cool, people in Australia are interested in
what you're doing, and they respect it and they appreciate it, but
it's just kind of "OK, whatever, let's go, let's go have a beer,
let's go do something fun." They get over it real quick, so that's
cool to be around. And also, it's just a really relaxed place,
everybody's just chilling, having a good time
Q: How often do you go back?
A: I try to do it regularly now, like every two years or something
like that. Over the last four years, I've been back maybe twice, but
before that, I had like a six-year break in between, where I hadn't
been back. But I'm trying to keep it pretty steady now, get back
every second Christmas, you know?
Q: Would you ever consider taking a dance class back in Australia?
A: Yeah, I've done it before. Last time I went back, not last time,
the time before. That was fun!
-----------------------------------------
September 2002 issue of seventeen....
We spoke to Wade Robson, the hottest celeb choreographer!
Q. Wade, you did more by age 17 than others manage in a lifetime.
How do you fit everything in?
A. It took time to figure that out-but it's time management. I try
to work on one project per week. If i have one week with all music
meetings, the next week I'll schedule film meetings. It doesn't
always work out, but then i step back and calm down.
Q. Who are your biggest influences or inspirations?
A. Michael Jackson-when he performed he controlled everyone in the
audience-he had power. It was insane. Also, Gene Kelley and Fred
Astaire, and people like Walt Disney, who were amazing entrepreneurs.
Q. What advice do you have for teens looking to start a career in
music or dance?
A. For anything you want to do, set goals and be specific. Visualize
them in detail and put yourself where it can happen.
Q. Our readers love to hear about celebrity style... What's yours?
A. I'm a total denim/jeans guy. But, just like any aspect of my
life, I can't stay in anything too long. I like to change it up a
lot.
Q. I know you work with JanSport. What is your favorite pack?
A. The Pulse pack in ice blue because it holds your walkman and
there's a hole for your headphones to come out of.
-------------------------------------------------------------
Interview from nsyncstudio.com
Wade: Hello?
Caitlin: Hey, Wade?
Wade: Yeah.
Caitlin: Hi, it’s Caitlin.
Wade: How you doing?
Caitlin: How are you?
Wade: I’m good.
Caitlin: You sound sort of…tired or something?
Wade: Yeah. I haven’t slept yet. [laughs]
Caitlin: [sarcastically] Oh, good! Happy Valentine’s Day, though.
Wade: Oh, you too.
Caitlin: Okay, since you’re quasi-tired and I know sleep’s important, I’m gonna try and keep this sort of short cause you’re probably like, “Where’s my bed?” I’m gonna start off with a random story for you. I actually saw you backstage at Madison Square Garden cause I was taking pictures of O-Town for tigerbeat.com at the time and I heard all these girls outside screaming this unintelligible whatnot and I turned around and you walked in. (You were on your cell phone so I wasn’t going to say anything to you because I don’t like interrupting people.) So you went through security and I got on my cell phone and was like, “Kevin. Guess who just walked past me?…WADE!” And all these other people (media) were sort of staring at me like, “Who was that?” They honestly had no idea who you were, for some reason…and it was the media, so I thought that was sort of pathetic. Do you think that…I noticed that up until recently there’s not been as many pictures or articles or interviews with you per se, as in comparison to what I thought there would have been. Do you keep a low profile on purpose so you can just do your work and concentrate on that or is all that just coincidental?
Wade: I think I’ve kind of just disappeared over the last couple months cause I stopped choreographing. [laughs] I sort of retired. So, you know, I sent in my resignation and all that sort of thing and stopped after I finished Britney’s tour. I’m moving into directing films.
Caitlin: I heard about that. I’m really looking forward to seeing what you come out with.
Wade: Thank you. I’ve just kinda been in a transition period, so I kinda disappeared for a minute. Caitlin: I think that a lot of people like to label things because it’s easier for them to put it in a box, ship it out, buy it…you know? But I think that you happened to get this label of “Wade is Britney Spears and *NSYNC’s choreographer.” I think that the public doesn’t know that you do all these other things, except choreograph. You write, you produce, you direct… Firstly, is there anything you suck at because you’re painfully brilliant at everything else.
Wade: [laughs] Umm…sports! [laughs] Even though I haven’t really tried them. But, I used to play a lot of basketball when I was younger. But, I don’t know. I think I kinda sucked at it! [laughs]
Caitlin: What I think is sort of insane is that you and I are the same age, actually…
Wade: For real?
aitlin: Yeah! And you’ve done so much more in your life than I’ll ever do. Like, this, right here. Me talking to you is “my claim to fame.” Actually! I wondered if you knew this. I had to do this project for class where we had to look up what our first and last name means. Did you know that YOUR first and last name means “Mover Shining With Fame?”
Wade: Really?
Caitlin: How’s that for irony?
Wade: From where? What language?
Caitlin: I…don’t know. Wade means “mover” and Robson means “shining with fame,” apparently. Wade: That’s cool!
Caitlin: Yeah. You can get that on your license plate or something!
Wade: Ha!
Caitlin: I wondered if you could humor me and explain the role of what a producer does. A lot of people, myself included, have a misconception about what they do. Sort of break down what you do for me as a producer.
Wade: A music producer?
Caitlin: Uh-huh.
Wade: A music producer. It’s funny. That role actually gets collided for me sometimes. I have trouble separating it from different things. Pretty much when it comes to the song, there’s ways that you split it up. In a song there’s writers, there’s arrangers and there’s producers. I’ve kinda done it all…always…just kind of…I don’t know. It’s kind of how I always thought about it from the beginning to the end. A producer, really, technically is somebody that…say somebody else may write a song. Write the music and the lyrics and the melody, right? At that point, a lot of the time somebody like Quincy Jones used to do…he’d write a song. Lyrics, melody, music. And then this producer comes in and takes the song and will decide what the song needs to sound like. How it needs to feel, how long it should be, what instruments should be used, what singers should be on it, how their vocals sounds. It’s, you know, producing the “sound” of the song. What is the vibe, what is the tone? You know, WHAT is it?
Caitlin: Sort of like a director, more or less?
Wade: Yeah! I mean, that’s the technical side of it. The thing is, that’s not what I do when I’m a writer---from the beginning. So I’m involved from the get-go. Writing the lyrics and the melody and that just naturally goes into producing it. So…yeah.
Caitlin: Has the “See Right Through You” epic saga reached you yet?
Wade: …no.
Caitlin: There’s this kid that goes to Brigham Young University…stop me if you’ve heard this. And apparently WEG (Wright Entertainment Group---management of Britney Spears and *NSYNC) managed him as a songwriter and he said he wrote “See Right Through You.”
Wade: Ohhhh…yeah!
Caitlin: And Justin found it and was like, “Uhh…what’s that over there?!” And stole it. Wade: …and they tried to sue me.
Caitlin: I was…really?!
Wade: Yeah.
Caitlin: They had a thing in the Brigham Young University school newspaper about this and your name is not mentioned in it. It’s weird because he was like, “Justin stole it…” I was saying to myself, “Wade also worked on it too.” This seemed more like a publicity thing than anything because your name wasn’t even mentioned. It’s like do you homework before you start “blaming” people.
Wade: I don’t know if it’s the same guy but, I mean, we did get a complaint against us and it’s pretty hilarious. Before I heard the song, you know, the song that he did…
Caitlin: I read the lyrics to it and they’re nothing alike.
Wade: The only thing that was the same was that he said, “see right through you.” It wasn’t even the same melody and it wasn’t even the same context…it had NOTHING to do with it. And, aside from all that, he said that he gave the song to WEG in, I think, March 2001.
Caitlin: That’s right.
Wade: To begin with, we wrote the song in September of 2000 and handed it into the label in January of 2001. So…how in the world did we hear his song in March? Didn’t steal it!
Caitlin: It’s insane…the lengths that people will go.
Wade: Yeah, it’s pretty funny!
Caitlin: So the kid at BYU can go…SUCK IT! [laughs]
Wade: Haha!
Caitlin: Moving on! When you were recording back with Quo, I read here and there that you learned a lot about music and the overall art of musicality why you were working on that but, overall, it wasn’t the greatest experience for you. And, if that’s true, could you explain that a bit?
Wade: It was great being around all those producers and working with some really good people. It’s what kinda started…I always loved music and it started my love of music. But, it ended up that I was in a world that was not really me. The music that we started out doing was this really hardcore shit. It was me from Australia via Compton all of a sudden. It just wasn’t me. It wasn’t really a part of my personality. And we were in this world that just wasn’t me for awhile. And, like always, it ended up being a lot of politics going on with the label…relationships start failing…all that good stuff.
Caitlin: I think you definitely had to…if it’s not from you and from your heart and something you don’t want to work on, it’s pointless…if it’s not truthful. Because that’s what it’s all about.
Wade: Right.
Caitlin. When I started learning that you did all these things that you were doing (producing, directing…
, I was saying to whoever I was talking to at the time, “If Wade just went out and did his own thing, he’d be UNSTOPPABLE.” You wouldn’t even need to choreograph anything! You could just go out there, on stage, and improv it and it would be amazing! So now that you’re going back and working on your own music, on your own terms, as opposed to before, how does that feel?
Wade: Yeah, well, I’m actually not doing the album thing anymore...
Caitlin: No! You’re not?!
Wade: No, I decided not to do it.
Caitlin: So you’re just going to focus on directing now?
Wade: Writing and producing for…
Caitlin: For other artists?
Wade: Yeah. And directing. I don’t know. Maybe I’ll do it at some point.
Caitlin: Oh, c’mon! Put out at least a single, just for me!
Wade: [laughs] It got to a point at the end of the year that I was getting ready to work on it, just do it. Someone brought it up, you know, “When are you gonna work on this solo album thing?” In ten seconds I pumped out ten reasons why I don’t want to do it. And when I heard myself do that, I said, “Oh, shit, man. If you did that that quickly, then why are you gonna do it? You’re gonna be miserable.” What it all boils down to is that I don’t want the life. From the beginning, I’ve been somebody that’s very in control of every aspect what I do. I’m the director, I’m the one who’s writing the schedules. And when you become an artist for these record labels, you become slaves for these people. They tell you what to do, where to be, who you are. Even though I would have more control than certain artists, doing my own music, that sort of thing. You get to a point where all that stops. And you’re a puppet. And I don’t know if I could deal with that. It stops becoming creative and that’s what I do. And, aside from that, the fame thing, as well. When I gathered a certain amount of fame, even with just this choreography stuff, it’s great…I can deal with it. Over this last holiday, it was kinda the first vacation I ever took in my life. I, finally, after the Britney tour, I took a minute and went to Hawaii for a week. Rented a house on the beach and just chilled and then came back. For the whole month, which I’ve never done before. Really, besides for just physically stopping doing things, really stopped my mind for a minute with all the work. Just hung out with family and friends, did all the corny things I’ve never done… I went to Disneyland, went to Vegas for New Years, all that fun stuff. When it got to the new year I said, “Man, I don’t want to lose that stuff.” I don’t want to lose the ability to, like, be in Vegas, walking around the casinos with friends and being stupid. That’s life. But I can do that and then I can come home and still write music and write films and direct them. It’s the best of both worlds. I don’t want to lose that aspect. So… [laughs] that’s the plan for now.
Caitlin: No! Now that you just explained that to me, it makes sense. It makes perfect sense. Absolutely. You mentioned the Britney tour…the rain thing! That was amazing! I know you had mentioned on a publicity thing for the tour, “make sure you stay ‘til the end of Britney’s show!” And I was sitting there saying, “What’s Wade talking about?… Dude! That light! It looks like rain!”
Wade: Ha!
Caitlin: And they were like, “Caitlin, you ASS, that IS rain.” How did you concoct that one up? Was that your idea or collaboration?
Wade: The rain on stage was a conglomerate, kind of. Me, the guy that designed the set, Steve Cohen, and our Production Manager, Rob. So we thought of just a general concept first. That’s the thing that you don’t do…travel with water! [laughs] But that’s what everybody said throughout the whole process, “Sooo…you’re gonna tour with water, huh?”
Caitlin: I was also sitting there saying, “How is she not bursting into flame?” Because she has this mic pack on in water!
Wade: That was a little scary aspect we had to deal with. [laughs] That was the funny part. Purposely but sort of subconsciously, we just sorta forgot about that. The concept was so huge, we didn’t want to bother ourselves with those “small little details!” We got to rehearsals and were like, “Shit. She’s gotta wear a mic!” [laughs]
Caitlin: Yeah! Damn that electricity. Final question: What is something you’re truly proud of?
Wade: Something I’m truly proud of…the mail that I get. Some of these letters that I get are just amazing. Kids that are so inspired about what I’ve done with my life. They say things like, you know, “I’ve been dancing my whole life. I’ve always wanted to be a dancer.” And, they may have some family problems, whatever they may be. And, “You made me think that I could do something with my life because you did it, so that means I can do it.” Just like me, you’re my age. That’s an awesome feeling. That’s been the plan from the beginning, when I was 5. When I first went on stage in front of 20,000 people with Michael [Jackson] and just saw the looks on people’s faces when they saw this little 5-year-old up there killin’ it. Cause that was entertainment, man. You’re performing, you’re doing what you love and people are reacting to it, loving it, having a good time. You’re making their night that much better. That’s still the number one feeling. That’s why we do it. And to see the inspiration that goes along with that…it’s a pretty amazing feeling.
Caitlin: It’s nice to hear you feel that way. I know some people get…not bitter, but, nothing fazes them. They need a reality check to why they do what they do.
Wade: I keep people around me that are always keeping me on reality check. [laughs]
Caitlin: Well, I wish you the best of luck with anything and everything you choose to do.
Wade: Thank you.
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Wade Robson- An Insight of What's to Come
You've seen him on tour with artists such as Nsync and Britney Spears. In
fact, being director and choreographer, he was the mastermind behind some of
their tours! Now, this workaholic is about to turn the page in his life again.
Find out about Wade Robson and how Michael Jackson plus fate came to equal a
lifetime of dreams come true. This is an inspiring story about the life of a
21-year-old who is on his way to accomplish his goals and add to the world of
entertainment as we know it by adding something new and unique with a pop, lock,
and twist. With a new show coming out and some ideas up his sleeve, we are going
to watch this superman as he climbs, or hip-hops rather, up the ladder of
success.
Through entering a dance contest at the very young age of three, Wade Robson
was destined to be a star. After winning a contest which would reward him with
tickets to a Michael Jackson concert, Wade would find himself on Stage with
Michael who couldn't get him off of it! "He (Michael) stayed in touch with my
family and then we moved over here and he was my mentor. Everything I know is
because of Michael. He is my idol," says the ingenious choreographer.
Being attentive to some of Wade's productions, I asked him if he pulls some
of his moves from the "King of Pop". Wade admits that his focus as a child was
Michael Jackson's dancing. Later, Jackson had Wade train with some of his
people. However Wade says, "I like to think I have my own style, but a lot of
people tell me that when they see him dance that they see the similarity between
us, which is not bad at all". That, we can all agree upon! So, how does Wade do
it? "I just isolate myself in my garage or in the studio and I play loud
music and I start moving. When I hear a song I have a vision in my head and the
art is putting that vision on stage with people and making it come alive for
others to enjoy".
Wade is now going through what he likes to call a "rebirth". He says, "I
think part of life is always growing and changing and I am definitely showing a
different side to me, but I am just learning and growing". What does this mean?
Wade is going to try his hand at directing musical movies which will be
"totally different from anything you have ever seen!" he exclaims. Being inspired by
greats such as Gene Kelly, Fred Astaire, and Ginger Rogers, and his favorite
musical being "Singin in the Rain", Wade is happy to say that "I pretty much
spend time doing everything I love to do-music, movies, dance". I'm sure Wade's
fans will wait with anticipation until his modern day musicals hit the big
screen!
In the meantime, Wade also has a show coming out on MTV that he is really
excited about. Looking to air in September, Wade reveals a little about the show:
"It is called the 'Wade Robson Project' and we are holding auditions right
now all over the USA. We are looking for unknown talent who can freestyle and do
choreography. They will receive $100,000 in cash and prizes, we will put them
in a music video, and they will get to tour with an artist".
Being a fellow choreographer myself, I asked Wade if he has realized ALL he
has accomplished at such a young age. "I enjoy my life. I never really sit back
and think too much about it. I am a workaholic and I always keep thinking of
new ideas and of the future. I will sit back and think of everything I have
accomplished when I am 90". Wow, Wade!!! I guess we can look forward to years
and years of entertainment provided by you, which is a blessing, because you are
truly one of the most fabulous prodigies in the entertainment industry!
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