SYTYCDC.
Sebastian Mersch is one of the Top 18 dancers on CTV's, 'So You Think You Can Dance Canada'.
Photo/COURTESY
City centre residents Sebastian Mersch and Bree Wasylenko are trying their hardest to dance their way into Canadian's hearts in the hopes of becoming this country's favourite dancer.
Mersch, 21, and Wasylenko, 22, are among the Top 20 dancers in the third season of So You Think You Can Dance (SYTYCD) Canada.
A contemporary dancer with a background in tap and ballet, Mersch grew up in Leaside but now lives in the Moore Park area. He attended St. Anselm Catholic School near Bayview and Eglinton avenues followed by North York's Cardinal Carter Academy for the Arts.
Mersch's career in dance began when he started learning tap at the age of seven. But those lessons only last about a year as his parents decided to sign him up for hockey and competitive swimming.
By the age of 14, Mersch admitted the urge to dance was something he could no longer resist. "Hockey and swimming (were) fun. It was great, but I definitely needed dancing back in my life," he said in between rehearsals for a recent SYTYCD Canada taping.
From there, Mersch began studying contemporary and ballet dance at the Turning Pointe Academy of Dance in East York and hasn't looked back since.
His love of dance led him to pursue a bachelor's degree of fine arts in dance at Point Park University in Pittsburg, Penn. With just one more semester to go, Mersch said school is on hold as he follows what he calls a "once-in-a-lifetime opportunity" to participate in SYTYCD Canada.
Down the line, Mersch said he hopes to open his own dance school and company in Toronto with the goal of supporting and promoting Canadian dancers on a global scale.
"There's so much talent in Canada and so many people pass it over because we're above the U.S," he said.
In the meantime, Mersch said he's got his sights set on a career doing what he loves most: performing dance.
"I'm definitely going to pursue my career while I still have the body to perform," he said. "I'd like to try and do as much of a performance career as I can."
Mersch said being a part of SYTYCD Canada is his first major performance experience and that he's learned a lot in the last few weeks about what it to takes to memorize new routines and moves and make them performance ready with a few days.
Mersch's dance partner on the show is Danielle Gardner, a contemporary dancer from Surrey, B.C.
In competition Tuesday, Aug. 31, night, the pair advanced to the contest's Top 18.
n
SYTYCD Canada contestant Bree Wasylenko moved to Toronto three years ago from Calgary, Alta., to follow her dreams of having a career as a professional dancer.
"I came up to Toronto and have just danced all day every day since," said Wasylenko, who has always called the downtown core home, having lived at Bay and Dundas streets, Jarvis and Shuter streets and Yonge and Wellesley streets before recently moving to the King and Sherbourne streets area.
"I've been lucky to have done tons of music videos, television shows, stage productions and a film since moving here."
A student of jazz, tap and ballet dance as a child, Wasylenko started studying hip hop and contemporary dance when she relocated to Toronto.
She now enjoys taking a variety of dance classes at O.I.P. Dance Centre near Jarvis and Richmond streets.
Partnered with Edgar Gilbert-Reyes, a hip hop dancer from Calgary, Alta., for SYTYCD Canada, Wasylenko said being on the show is exhausting but well worth it.
"It's been everything I could have dreamed of and more," she said, adding she said she feels lucky to be able to quickly pick up new choreographies and dance routines.
In the future, Wasylenko said she'd love nothing more than to be a dancer for a major artist.
"Ever since I was young, I've dreamed about doing world tours with artists. Janet Jackson would be the ultimate," she said.
For now, though, Wasylenko's main goal is to become Canada's favorite dancer.
In last night's competition on Aug. 31, Wasylenko was eliminated.