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By Rich Heldenfels
Beacon Journal popular culture writer
Published on Wednesday, Jun 03, 2009
Dance Lady. When I caught up with Canal Fulton's Mary Murphy recently, the So You Think You Can Dance judge was on her way from Boston to Atlanta for auditions for Dance's sixth season.
Yes, sixth. The fifth season of the Fox summer hit is on the air right now — with another new episode tonight — but the network has ordered another season for telecast in the fall. So the production team is working on two seasons at once, and Murphy, born in Lancaster but brought up in Canal Fulton, is spending a lot of time on the road. She said she has not been back in this area for a couple of years. (She does hope to be home later in '09, and to talk to the students at her alma mater, Northwest High School.) Right now, the show — and promoting dance — take precedence over everything else.
Asked whether she had time for a private life, Murphy said: ''I don't, really. I used to have a dog, but it passed away two years ago.''
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The Road From Canal Fulton. I was curious how Murphy had gone from Canal Fulton to becoming a ballroom-dancing champ, founder of dance competitions, owner of a school (San Diego's Champion Ballroom Academy) and, most recently, a judge on So You Think You Can Dance.
When she was young, she was an athlete instead of a dancer, she said. ''I grew up with three brothers,'' she said. ''They called me Jackrabbit because I was running everywhere all the time. I did track . . . and I majored in extracurricular activities.'' About the closest she got to dancing was as a majorette, throwing in moves that she made up.
Still, she said she was happy to start with sports before dance, because she thinks the athletic training is important for dancers. (And, on SYTYCD, dancers often reveal their amateurism when they don't have the stamina for even a brief routine.)
''Then I went to college [Ohio University] for physical education, and I got involved in dance,'' she said. After college, she was working at a dance school in Washington, D.C., and was invited to see the U.S. Ballroom Championships in New York City. The moment she saw the dancers, she said, ''it hit me like a lightning bolt.''
Determined to win a U.S. title, she took up ballroom full time, competing as well as opening her studio in 1990. In 1996 (with dance partner Jim Desmond), she won at the U.S. ballroom championships. ''I retired (from competitive dancing) the very next day,'' she said.
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TV Calls. Murphy remained active in dance in other ways, including as a judge. Outspoken and colorful — our chat was punctuated by her familiar on-air laugh — she caught the eye of the producers of So You Think You Can Dance. She was intrigued, as a break from her routine and as a chance to promote all kinds of dancing; she is especially fascinated by seeing hip-hop dancers tackling ballroom routines, and ballroom dancers taking on hip-hop — or any dancer suddenly making a connection with dance and the audience.
And the show arrived as a dance wave was rising on TV; Dancing With the Stars premiered in June 2005, SYTYCD late the following month.
''I've been enjoying the ride ever since,'' Murphy said.
Rich Heldenfels writes about popular culture for the Beacon Journal, in the HeldenFiles Online blog at http://heldenfels.ohio.com and now on Twitter. He can be reached at 330-996-3582 and rheldenfels@thebeaconjournal.com.
Dance Lady. When I caught up with Canal Fulton's Mary Murphy recently, the So You Think You Can Dance judge was on her way from Boston to Atlanta for auditions for Dance's sixth season.
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