Dancing With the Stars: Mya Raises the Bar

I’ve never watched ABC’s Dancing with the Stars before. (except of course, the disturbing youtube video of disgraced Republican Tom Delay shaking his butt) But my ears perked up when I heard that Mya was one of the celebrity dancers. Most people usually consider her a talented R&B singer, but I remember the days when she was considered a great dancer…

Mya is a dancer turned smooth urban R&B vocalist who released her eponymous debut in the spring of 1998, when she was just 18 years old.

Mya was born in Washington, D.C., where she took dance classes as a child. After briefly losing interest in the art, she returned to dancing in her pre-teens, eventually joining the dance troupe T.W.A. (Tappers With Attitude). She left the group after a short while, heading to New York to study at the Dance Theater of Harlem with Savion Glover, best known as the choreographer/mastermind behind the Broadway spectacular Bring in da Noise, Bring in da Funk. Her passion for improvisation made her a favorite of Glover, who had her perform solo at the Kennedy Center.

Although Mya was best known as a dancer, she was also musically inclined, learning how to sing and play the violin as a child. When her father — a professional musician — learned that his daughter could sing and was serious about a musical career, he shopped around the demo tapes, eventually earning the attention of Haqq Islam, president of University Music. Impressed with Mya’s audition, Islam signed her to Interscope Records.

This 2003 video, choreographed by Travis Payne, is one of my favorites. Mya pays homage to both Cyd Charisse and her tap mentor/genius Savion Glover. It features some rapid/instant/tricky costume changes that mostly occur without the changing of a scene. This video earned Mya two nominations at the 2003 MTV Video Music Awards for Best Dance Video and Best Choreography.

This is Mya dancing on the seventh week of Dancing with the Stars