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Salsa Circuit
Mexican-born Rodrigo Basurto Season 4 contestant on So You Think You Can Dance Canada
Hip hop dancer hopes to make it to Top 18. Mexican-born Rodrigo Basurto, a 26-year-old hip hop dancer, hopes to dance his way into the So You Think You Can Dance Canada Top 18 tonight.
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Third time's is a charm for 26-year-old hip hop dancer Rodrigo Basurto who, after three attempts, has been invited to take part in the fourth season of So You Think You Can Dance (SYTYCD) Canada.
Basurto, who has lived near Yonge Street and Eglinton Avenue for the last four years, plans to dance his way into the show's Top 18 tonight.
His dance partner for the program is 24-year-old Lauren Lyn, a spicy salsera from the Danforth and Greenwood avenues area.
For the show's first episode on Monday, July 11, Lyn and Basurto performed a sassy street cha cha followed by a hip hop routine choreographed by SYTYCD Canada judge Luther Brown for the first results show on Tuesday, July 12.
Basurto moved to Toronto from Guadalajara, Mexico seven years ago to follow his dreams of becoming a professional dancer.
"I was supposed to just come here for one year and learn some English and dance but I just loved it here," said Basurto, who came to Canada at the urging of his father.
In 1996, Basurto started training in urban dance and salsa at Guadalajara's Opus Art and Talent Dance School.
Three years later he joined Family B boys crew (which still exists), competing in various events and performing for seven years across Mexico and the United States.
From the ages of 12 to 14, he was also a singer and a dancer in a seven-member pop group.
"I always loved choreographies and I wanted to step it up to the next level," he admitted, adding at first life in a new country wasn't so easy.
"I moved here when I was 19 not knowing a word of English. I just started from zero and it's been a crazy ride for me," he said in between rehearsals for SYTYCD Canada.
One of the first things Basurto did when he relocated to Toronto was to connect with a Toronto friend he'd met back in Mexico who suggested he audition for a co-ed hip hop crew named For Real.
"It was my first real hip hop choreography and three days after (auditioning) I made it into the group," he enthused, adding he was one of 30 male dancers who tried out.
"I was so happy. (It was) like I won the lottery. The connections just started popping out right there."
One of those connections was Shameka Blake, whom Basurto calls his "first real Canadian friend."
An experienced dance instructor and performer, Blake knew SYTYCD judge Luther Brown and invited Basurto to check out his classes.
"I gave it a try and I was addicted. I just started training non-stop," said Basurto, who is also versed in aero, popping, locking and capoeira, a Brazilian art form that combines martial arts, sports and music.
Over the next two years, he performed and trained with numerous talented instructors and choreographers while working in construction.
Two years ago, he gave up the labour job and took on dancing full-time.
Basurto, who has also taught hip hop workshops to kids ages five to 12 from across Canada, has danced in numerous music videos and commercials.
He's also a back-up dancer for Canadian singer/songwriter Danny Fernandes and recently performed with Lady Gaga during the 2011 Much Music Video Awards on June 19.
In late 2008, the time was right for him to try out for the second season of SYTYCD Canada.
That first year, he said he wanted to see what the show was all about. The following season, he knew what to expect, but unfortunately didn't make the cut. After another year of training and preparation, Basurto made it to the show's Top 22, and survived the first cut to make it into the Top 20.
"I was stronger in every single way," he said. "This year is just my year. It's so crazy for me to be here."
To further prepare for the show, Basurto and some of his fellow competitors took ballroom dance lessons from SYTYCD Canada Top 22 dancer Yuliya Zavadska and her partner, Sharon Levit.
Down the line, Basurto said he wants to take his dancing to yet another level and travel around the globe performing and teaching dance.
In his spare time, Basurto enjoys snowboarding, surfing, swimming, playing tennis and hockey.
Source Joanna Lavoie
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