So you think you can dance?

If you are a dancer or affiliated with dance in any way, Elizabeth Barry wants to know one thing: So you think you can sell yourself?
The 31-year-old Barry convinced Fox television to give her exclusive access to the dancers from their television show “So You Think You Can Dance?” so she could interview them for her newsletter, Gendance. The weekly e-mail newsletter is dedicated to dance and dancers, and has gained almost 250 new readers a week.

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“I do everything in a cool sort of way that’s quick and smart.” – Elizabeth Barry
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Barry, an energetic entrepreneur, runs it out of her Hoboken home, from which she also runs a small public relations firm. Her firm specializes in dance-related clients. Recently, she ran a campaign for the release of the board game “Danceopoly.”

Bringing the industry up to speed

In the newsletter, Barry does post-production interviews with the Fox dancers and chats with Broadway stars like The Little Mermaid’s Drew Seeley, and other up-and-comers like 10-year-old tap dancer Dario Natarelli.
Mainly, it is a place where people who love dance can find a place to showcase themselves.
The newsletter recently dedicated a tribute to dance icon Michael Jackson. “I grew up dancing to him,” she recalled. She said his iconic status was the high water mark for dance, but she wants to help others surpass that mark.
She asked Asuka Kondoh, “a Latin Ballroom beauty” from “So You Think You Can Dance?” about Jackson’s dancing legacy, in a light way.
“What would be your version of MJ’s white glove?” Barry asked.
“For me, it would be bling. Lots of crystal and rhinestones,” Kondoh said.
And she asked a Salsa dancer from the show, Jonathan Platero, “Do you remember the first time you saw [Jackson’s Thriller video]?”
“I was young, so I was scared. I thought it was a movie. Once I found out it was a music video, my brothers and I would watch it for hours every single day, trying to pick up the choreography,” Platero said. “I used to try to do it full out and perform for my parents.”
Barry said she had to go through a rigid vetting process by Fox to have access to the dancers, but now she is reaping the rewards by connecting with other people who love dance as much as she does.
Timothy J. Carroll may be reached at tcarroll@hudsonreporter.com.