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Access Atlanta > Blog > Archives > 2007 > April > 05 > Entry
Let’s hope dancers didn’t get cold feet
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
The audition line outside the Fox Theatre on Thursday morning might have been dubbed, “So You Think You Can Freeze?”
Winter decided to pay a return visit just in time for the hundreds of dancers who slept overnight to audition for the hit summer Fox series “So You Think You Can Dance.” (Click here to see photos from the audition.) Some wore flip-flops and thin cotton shirts, unprepared for the biting wind. A few borrowed hotel blankets, while some purchased what warm clothing they could find at the nearby Wal-Mart.
“I can’t feel my toes or my fingers,” said Laura Ayala, 28, a dance school owner who drove 18 hours with her family from Long Island, N.Y. “I had no idea it was going to be this cold. I’m sooooo grumpy.”
The shivering Ayala had been waiting 10 hours, which was nothing compared to Vanessa Vaughn, a 30-year-old actress from Kansas City who now lives in D.C. She was first in line, arriving the day before at 10:30 a.m., nearly 24 hours before she entered the Fox for her audition.
“I didn’t know anybody here and didn’t have anything better to do,” she said, far more chipper than Ayala. Since the age limit is 30, “this is my last chance.”
While most folks we interviewed were from out of town, Buzz finally found a local in Rikki McKinney, a 24-year-old professional dancer from Midtown who works at Gotta Dance Atlanta. “Most Atlanta dancers just know hip-hop,” he said. “I can do ballet, modern jazz, anything. I’m all about versatility.”
Meeting Mei Lan
When your job description calls for interacting with Jane Fonda and Elton John, who each consistently prove polite and accommodating, it’s difficult then, when you’re dissed by a diva.
Alas, that’s been our experience over the past few months with Mei Lan, Zoo Atlanta’s baby panda rock star, who somehow prefers sleep to media attention. This week, with the help of zoo rep Susan Elliott, our luck improved greatly. Early Wednesday morning, Mei Lan was not only out when we arrived for a visit, but was engaged in a wrestling match with her mother, Lun Lun. With increasing skill (and nice sets of claws), Mei Lan also scaled tree limbs in her habitat.
Outside, when zoo members arrived promptly at 9 a.m. (with the fervor of Beatles fans in 1964, incidentally), Mei Lan demonstrated her drunken sailor style of running. Elliott tells us that this week’s Spring Break crowds are up 76 percent from 2006’s numbers. Also, Budweiser’s famed Clydesdales are back receiving visitors at the zoo through Sunday.
Bull-ish on morning
New country station 94.9 The Bull has hired a Nashville duo named Big D & Bubba to helm the morning show starting Monday.
The station’s definition of mornings is narrower than others: You’ll only hear them from 5 to 8 a.m. weekdays.
Despite being syndicated in more than 25 markets, they promise a “customized” product for Atlanta listeners, especially since this is by far their largest city. Big D (no real names for privacy reasons) told Buzz he believes most listeners want music first, personality second. Bubba, a huge Braves fan, said the pair will be in Atlanta a lot. He even married a Marietta gal.
Celebrity docket
Whitney Houston’s 14-year marriage to Bobby Brown will officially end this month, and she will get custody of their teenage daughter, a California judge has ruled.
The former Alpharetta resident dabbed her eyes with a tissue as Orange County Superior Court Judge Franz E. Miller ruled Wednesday that the divorce will become final April 24. Brown did not attend the hearing.
In court, Houston testified that she did not need spousal or child support and that the couple’s 14-year-old daughter, Bobbi Kristina, could not depend on Brown.
“He’s unreliable,” Houston told the judge. “If he says he’s going to come, sometimes he does. Usually he doesn’t.”
Houston declined to comment to reporters after the hearing.
Brown’s attorney, Ram Cogan, said he will seek to overturn the judge’s decision.
Houston filed for divorce in October, citing irreconcilable differences.
Quote of the day
“The Boondocks staff is thrilled to receive this award, despite the fact such a distinguished honor may hurt our street cred.”
— “Boondocks” creator Aaron McGruder on news that his Cartoon Network series had won a prestigious Peabody Award.
Celebrity birthdays
Country singer Merle Haggard is 70. Actor Billy Dee Williams is 70. Actor John Ratzenberger (“Cheers”) is 60. Actor Paul Rudd is 38. Actor Zach Braff (“Scrubs”) is 32.
Contributing: Rodney Ho, Sonia Murray, Jill Vejnoska and news services.
If you have a tip, call 404-526-2749. Or fax 404-526-5509. Or e-mail: buzz@ajc.com.
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