Closer chat to Adam Garcia...
Thursday 08 March 2012
Closer Online chat to man-of-the-moment Adam Garcia about his love of dancing, crazy fans and his latest venture, Move It...
Hi Adam, you've been around dancing your whole life - what made you want to get into it in the first place?
When I was 7 my best friend at school came up to me one day and told me I was going to do a ballet class with him. I don’t remember making a choice at the age of 7 that I wanted to dance. I ended up really liking it. He quit, I didn’t and now here we are. He’s now a very successful director.
You’re going to be performing at UKs biggest dance event MOVE IT next week – are you excited about it?
I am very excited, I’ve never been before because I had to go to LA last year. This year I get to perform as well which is really cool.
Do you ever get nervous before performing to such big crowds?
I get nervous all the time, even after all this time. Obviously you want to get everything right and there’s still nerves now. No matter how much rehearsal you do, you’ve got to do it right and get it correct. With the amount of experience I’ve had, you learn to cover the mistakes up really well. I’ve fallen over before and you can’t hide that very well. I just smile and laugh it off. Once it’s done, its gone anyway.
Judging Got To Dance – what’s it like and do you find it hard to whittle down the contestants, knowing you will make and break dreams?
It is but I guess there’s always a chance someone’s going to say no to you and you’ll get criticism. It’ll be a parallel universe if everyone gets their dream job. We also know its not a no the end. Everyone but 1 act is going to be disappointed, there can only be one winner. So basically I’m shattering 499 acts’ lives. And I think they get into the competition knowing what they’re expecting. It sounds slightly like a platitude but for most people, even if they don’t win, they get something incredible out of the experience.
What was the most awkward audition on Got To Dance?
It was probably an older couple who did a dance and it was good but it just wasn’t enough to get through. They were really argumentative about it. They were like “basically you’re wrong.” And we were like, ‘well why don’t we just give you the prize money now because YOU think you’re the best. Here’s the wake up call – you’re not that good.’ Sometimes you have to do a reality check on people.
What’s the craziest experience you’ve ever had with a fan?
When I was about 19 or 20 and I’d first come to London, a girl became obsessed with me and the show I was in. She turned up at the stage door saying she’d run away from home so she’d have to come and live with me! She was probably only about 15 so I had to try and get hold of her parents and tell them to come and collect her. It was crazy!
You said in an interview that you wanted people to send you bras and knickers…have you had any sent to you since then?
Yes I did, straight after that interview. I think it was meant to be a joking response luckily because they sent me an enormous pair of granny knickers. I haven’t been sent any recently. The fans have kept their knickers to themselves. I suppose I can’t have a house full of knickers in different sizes, there’s nothing I can do about them really.
What’s the most embarrassing situation you’ve ever found yourself in?
Wow. Every Saturday night! I’m not sure, there’s been a lot. I’ve had so many embarrassing things happen that I’ve got an incredibly thick skin now. In the 1st series of Got To Dance I’d been away in LA and didn’t realise who Alexandra Burke was. She’d released Hallelujah and a contestant did a piece to it and I was like ‘wow that’s great, I love the Jeff Buckley version, who sings this?’ Ash and Kim were like ‘where have you been, under a rock?’ I felt old and stupid at that point. When they told me it was Alexandra, I then had to ask who she was. I do know who she is now though.
What’s the best job you’ve ever done and why?
I think it was probably one of my first jobs, the musical Hot Shoe Shuffle with really good friends of mine. We toured Australia and then came to England. The experience I had was really great. I never thought I would be a professional performer and that job made me one. It had a good influence on me.
Do you ever feel like leaving the performing world altogether?
From time to time. If things aren’t going right you’re like ‘I’m going to leave and then you’ll be sorry.’ I also think about what else I want to do in this life – employment, adventures, experiences. The performing world is heightened and unreal and you can long for more normality. But I’d be bored within seconds. I always said if no one gives me a job I’ll quit but I keep getting jobs!
You’ve got family on both sides of the world and have travelled a lot, which city most feels like home to you?
I’ve been in England for 20 years and I love London but I think in my heart of hearts I’m very much Australian. When I visit my family there’s a sense of coming home. Sydney is home for me.
Other than Kiss Me Kate in the summer, what other projects have you got coming up in the future?
That will take up most of my year until Got To Dance. There’s a 2-day break between them. I finish Kiss Me Kate on 1st Sept, and we probably start filming for Got To Dance on the 3rd-4th. I don’t start Kiss Me Kate until May so I’ve got about 8 weeks to practice my golf swing in LA. I go out to LA the day after Move It so I’m very busy.
Adam Garcia will be performing in association with D.inc Wear and Mune healthy water at the UK’s biggest dance event MOVE IT on 9th to 11th March at London Olympia. For tickets and further information visit www.moveitdance.co.uk