Get Ready for Ballroom Cabaret with Luka & Jenalyn on 'World of Dance'

Photo credit: Emmy Pacheco.

In our continuing series on World of Dance, Dance Dish was able to catch up with Luka, 19, and Jenalyn, 16, Ballroom Cabaret dancers who are competing in the Upper Division on the show. Ballroom Cabaret is going to be an exciting addition to the dance-competition show because it features a combination of ballroom dancing, cabaret, Cirque and theatre arts.

Even though the show isn’t debuting until May 30th on NBC, the audience isn't the only one who is waiting for the show to air, so are the contestants.

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“We are excited and we are anxious for the whole world to see what we do. At the same time, having the World of Dance Tour is a great platform to get out what we do in a different direction,” says Luka. “The talent on that show is unbelievable.”

“There’s a lot of new talent. It’s so diverse because there are people from all over the world with all different types of styles, it’s crazy,” chimes in Jenalyn. “It’s definitely worth watching.”

For the duo, auditioning for the show was a leap of faith in their careers. They are from Toronto, Canada, but the couple wanted to step outside their comfort zone in the dance industry.

“It was a shot in the dark and we wanted to have people see what we do. We wanted to show it to the world and see what happens from there,” explains Luka. “Thankfully, the people from NBC believed in us and liked what we had to offer. It’s been a true blessing.”

“It allowed us to show the type of style we have so we can educate others about Ballroom Cabaret,” says Jenalyn.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y8-7CPMlZyI

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To understand what their style is all about, Luka gave Dance Dish a rundown of the rules in this “hybrid dance form.”

“It is within the ballroom division, but there are no limits outside of a time limit. So you’re able to do whatever song with as many tricks, or flips you want to do in that division,” says Luka. “This helped us transition smoothly over into the dance community and get on TV because we come from that no-holds-barred background.”

The couple has been performing together for three years, beginning when Jenalyn was 13 years old. She’s still in high school and traveling with her mother.

“Coming to LA and all the different cities for the tour has been a pretty crazy experience,” she laughs. “I still have to keep up with school, but my mom has gotten to experience all of this with me.”

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The World of Dance cast announcement has also had an impact on being recognized in the dance community and inevitably, their social media numbers.

“We had a video we did a World of Dance Tour and it immediately went viral. All of sudden our phones are blowing up,” Luka shares. “All we are trying to do is take that moment momentum, grow and get to the next level.”

It sounds like Luka and Jenalyn are already on their way.

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