Disney's Shake It Up interview and dance tips!

 

Do you like to dance? Can you boogie the best on the dancefloor? Well now is you chance to show off your moves! You can win a once-in-a-lifetime dance master class from Got To Dance champion Akai Osai, and then have your moves appear over the end credits of Disney Channel’s rocking show, Shake It Up . Wow!



We caught up with Akai to tell us all about his new competition, Shake It Up: Dance, Dance ...


NG Kids Hi Akai! What have you been up to recently?
Akai Osai I’ve been really, really busy! I’ve been working on lots of different projects, including a new movie called Horrid Henry 3D and Disney Channel’s Shake It Up: Dance, Dance contest. Plus, I’ve also been working on some solo music, too.

NGK What can you tell us about Disney Channel’s new dance project?
Akai It’s called Shake It Up: Dance, Dance and it’s a contest based on the hit Disney Channel dance show, Shake It Up. We’re trying to get people to create their own dance performances at home. You can upload your performances and vote for your favourites over the summer. It’s going to be really cool!

NGK What do you think of the Disney Channel show, Shake It Up?
Akai I think Shake It Up is really, really funny. The show is all about dance, but it’s also got a lot of drama and comedy. I’m always tuning into Disney Channel to check out what CeCe and Rocky get up to. I watch it all the time.

NGK Who are your dancing heroes?
Akai My dancing idols are Usher, Michael Jackson and Ne-Yo. They’re all brilliant dancers!

NGK Have you had the chance to work with any of your dancing idols?
Akai Not yet, but I’d love to. One day, I’d love to do a song with one of them – especially Usher. He’s great.

NGK How often do you dance?
Akai I dance every day without fail. I practice all the time in my living room at home. I push back the dining table so that I can do my flips. I love it!

NGK Can you give us tips for the competition?
Akai My number one dance tip is to have swagger. You’ve got to have swagger to be able to pull off a winning dance performance. I’m not joking about this! You’ve got to have style with your moves. For example, just look at Jaden Smith: he’s brilliant and he’s got loads of swagger!

NGK OK, swagger! Got that. What next?
Akai Experiment! There are loads of different styles of dance, so find the one that suits you. It’s fun to experiment with different dances and there are loads out there to try. Right now, I want to learn how to tap dance because I think it would be great to incorporate tap into my routines. Try out different styles to see what you’re best at – and discover what you enjoy the most.

NGK Great! And anything else we should know?
Akai Yeah, The easiest way to see if you’re dancing well is to rehearse in front of a mirror. You’ll be able to see how well you’re doing by looking at your reflection as you practice. You can check out if your arms are sloppy or not – and you can also see if you’ve got a big smile on your face, too.

NGK Got it! Thanks Akai!


Catch Shake It Up every day on Disney Channel, and to find out more about Disney Channel’s Shake It Up: Dance, Dance contest with Akai, head to disneychannel.co.uk/dancedance now!

Check out our other cool features:

  1. WIN! A trip to Nepal!
  2. WATCH! Diary Of A Wimpy Kid Rodrick Rules videos and interview!
  3. Shark fans speak out!
  4. WATCH! Kung Fu Panda videos and interview!
  5. David de Rothschild interview - plus videos!
  6. WATCH! Dino Death Trap video and interview!