After conquering America’s hearts on “So You Think You Can Dance,” Ryan & Ashleigh Di Lello took the West End by storm as part of the”Burn the Floor” cast. (Photo courtesy of Ryan & Ashleigh Di Lello)
By: Jacob Elyachar
Four years ago, ballroom dancer Ryan Di Lello was on pins and needles waiting to see if his wife, Ashleigh, was going to join him on the sixth season of So You Think You Can Dance.
They made it through the Salt Lake City auditions, deep into the show’s Vegas Week and made it to the Top 33 dancers.
For a brief moment, Ryan thought that Ashleigh was not going to join him in the Top 20…until the producers let her reveal that she made into the Top 20 as well!
After Ryan and Ashleigh danced their way into America’s hearts, the duo began to rock the theatrical world as they conquered the West End as part of the Burn the Floor ensemble and began to focus on getting people into shape with their new venture: Power20Fitness.
Jacob Elyachar: After you completed “So You Think You Can Dance,” Jason Gilkison invited both of you to join the cast of “Burn the Floor.” Could you please share your “Burn the Floor” experience with my readers?
Ryan Di Lello: It was fantastic! Jason asked us to be the headliners of the show and we did that for 10 months. We traveled with the show and performed in London’s West End with all the other Broadway transplants like Jersey Boys and Priscilla (Queen of the Desert). To be on that show and to see that picture with “Ryan and Ashleigh from So You Think You Can Dance headlines Burn the Floor” was a great reward for all of the years of hard work that we put in since we were three and four-years-old respectively in the dance studio and being critiqued all the time. It was definitely hard work and as Ashleigh could attest, she had to have hip surgery after it because there was lots of rigorous dancing and it was the most difficult level of dancing that we had ever done. We were in 17 of 21 numbers and on the stage for two hours, eight shows a week, so it was very intense!
Ashleigh Di Lello: The whole cast was handpicked by Jason and the Burn the Floor team. The cast was made up of dancers from around the world. Everyone was so incredible and it was a privilege to be a part of that cast.
JE: Another show that you worked on was Alec Mazo and Edyta Sliwnska’s “Dance Star.” Were there any similarities or differences that you found between the two shows?
RDL: Actually, there were similarities in the sense that both shows had ballroom dancers and live musicians in their casts. Dance Star’s singers were American Idol’s Anthony Fedorov and The Voice’s Angel Taylor. We loved performing with the live musicians. Dance Star was a little different that it had a storyline that you followed throughout the whole show. Dance Star follows a female dancer and how she progressed as a dancer and followed her successes in becoming a dance star. I really liked that angle as well and it was definitely different from Burn the Floor. Alec and Edyta are great friends of ours and we had a great time working with them on the show.
ADL: The biggest difference that we noticed was the time commitment. For Alec and Edyta’s show, we had 11 days with the show compared to 10 months with Burn the Floor. We were in San Francisco rehearsing eight hours a day for two weeks for Dance Star. Rather than do a show for a year, it was great for us to do a show for the short-term, work with the dancers and be able to come back to our life in L.A. rather than leaving for a long set of time.
JE: Speaking of shows…Ryan, I wanted to congratulate you on your win on the third season of “Mi Sueno Es Bailar!”
RDL: Thank You!
JE: How is that show different from the American version of “Dancing with the Stars”?
RDL: It is very much the same as the American version of Dancing with the Stars. Mi Sueno Es Bailar translates to “My Dream is to Dance” and obviously, it is these celebrities’ dreams to dance. But this show is a mix of Dancing with the Stars and the Make a Wish Foundation. Every week, the judges pick the best couple of the week and that couple is not only saved from elimination, but they also get to choose between three dreams that people submitted to the show’s production. These people are in need; they need a surgery or do not have the money to pay for it or insurance to pay for cancer treatments.
Last year, the show granted a dream to a woman who had not seen her granddaughter in 20 years. The granddaughter lived in Cuba and the producers flew her granddaughter in from Cuba and brought her to the show. The woman was in tears when the producers brought her granddaughter from backstage. There are those amazing tear-jerker moments that this show has and I feel like they are really giving back and fulfilling the dreams of people who are in need.
JE: In addition to your activities on the dance floor, both of you are passionate about the fitness industry. How did you get interested in fitness?
ADL: When I got better from my illness and the back injury, I was really weak from all those years of inactivity. I tried to go back to dancing, but I was too weak physically to endure the rigors of it. So I did strength training at first, and I started to extend my love of fitness. It was my avenue back to dancing. I saw how strength training got me back to full health and saw how my muscles were supporting my body in this experience. I saw what strength training and exercising had to offer, which is separate from just being active. Being at the gym just makes me happy.
RDL: People make fun of us because we live in the gym or in the dance studio. When we travel, at least one of our suitcases is full of supplements, protein powders and bars…
ADL: Do not forget the Magic Bullet! (Laughs) It is our way of life and it is really our addiction that we share together!
RDL: I started getting into fitness in high school. I played sports and I wanted to be a strong and masculine guy on the dance floor. I actually chose dance because it is a more challenging sport than anything I have ever tried and it challenged my body more than football, basketball or baseball. Ever since then, I just love being in the gym. We literally go every day together and workout.
While we were on So You Think You Can Dance, we got a ton of messages from fans asking about our workout routine and our diet plans. It made us want to share our passion of fitness with our fans. We can see ourselves doing something involved in both dance and fitness for the rest of our lives. We always post our fitness and health tips on social media. We are working on a website right now that we are going to be launching sometime this year and opening a personal gym in Utah. We are going to combine the gym with the dance studio and teach private lessons as well.
JE: How did you come up with the Power20Fitness concept?
RDL: Basically, there are two excuses that people use all the time on why they cannot lose weight. One, they do not have time to do it and two; they do not know how they can do it. Power20Fitness is made up of 20-minute workouts. Everyone has 20 minutes in a day that they can set aside and workout. We are going to have all of our favorite 20-minute workouts that are really easy to do and have them pick the exercises. The exercises will include Power20 Upper Body, Lower Body, Total Body and Power20 Yoga/Pilates. We even have Power20 versions of Zumba and a ballroom cardio workout. All of these items will be free!
In addition, we will also be offering personal training sessions in Utah. We will have multiple packages depending on what the client wants or needs. While they will not be 20-minutes, they will range from a half-hour to an hour and we will have packages available for our clients. If you cannot make it out to Utah, you should definitely go to power20fitness.com.
JE: What makes you stand out as personal trainers?
ADL: Our dance background separates us from a lot of trainers. I have also been training while in Los Angeles. Getting in shape has always been something that resonates in people. I heard people say that they want a lean dancer’s body. A lot of women aspire to have those bodies, but there are a lot of misconceptions still among women who are afraid of getting bulky. I lift heavy weights, but I am not bulky. We do not have the same level of testosterone that men have, which puts a lot of women’s minds at ease.
As far as a personal trainer goes, I had to start from zero multiple times due to my illness and injuries. I have clients that come from all walks of life, who experienced injuries and I understand that people want to become stronger and want to feel better about themselves.
RDL: One of the attributes that allow us to be successful in the fitness industry is that we do it as a couple and that is going to be another strong focus of what we will be doing. Power20Fitness will have a couples section on the website for couples who want to workout together. It is really hard when one person in the relationship wants to workout and eat healthy and the other does not, this causes friction. We realized that working out together helped our marriage and brought us closer together. We were noticed as a couple on So You Think You Can Dance and we want to be noticed as a couple in the fitness industry and we want to help couples get fit and lose weight together.
While ballroom dancers may have a tough time on “So You Think You Can Dance,” Ryan & Ashleigh persevered and made it to the “SYTYCD” finale. (Photo courtesy of Ryan & Ashleigh Di Lello)
JE: If you had the opportunity to meet with aspiring ballroom dancers who want to be a part of So You Think You Can Dance, what advice would you share with them?
RDL: I would say do not be afraid! First of all, ballroom dancers are more afraid of the show. While you are on So You Think You Can Dance, ballroom dancers are at a great disadvantage, because what you do is with a partner. You do not do solos as a ballroom dancer. Contemporary, jazz and hip-hop dancers do solos and they are more comfortable doing them.
When it came time for me to do my solos, I threw everything I could in there. But I feel like ballroom dancers get a bad rap from the judges to be honest. I felt like I got a bad rap from the judges. (JE: Even from Mary?) RDL: Even a little bit from Mary! But she is the most supportive of ballroom dancers out of all of the judges. The harshest critiques I received on the show were from Nigel. I remember him saying: “It was great, Ryan. But it is hard for me to watch you dance a Contemporary piece and then to watch your solo.” Yes, but what I do is with a partner, so give me a partner and let me do my thing!
Nigel’s comments are what scares ballroom dancers away from the show, which is unfortunate. But what I did get back from Nigel, Mary and all of the judges were “Ryan, you are one of the best partners we ever had on the show” and I appreciate that feedback and praise because I do feel like I brought that to the show. I made all the partners that I had the best that they could because that was how I was taught my whole life….”You are the frame and the woman is the art” and that is how male ballroom dancers think and they make the women look as beautiful and light as a feather as they can.
I would say to those ballroom dancers: “Do not be afraid!” because it was the best experience of my life and I grew as a dancer and as a person. Do not be afraid of the other styles. It was extremely difficult for me to learn them and I rehearsed until three or four in the morning in my kitchen in order to do as well as I did. If you go and do this, you will surprise yourself.
ADL: In order to be a great contestant for So You Think You Can Dance and work in the industry in Los Angeles, there is a lot of hard work involved. Obviously, natural talent is important and will get you very far, but I have seen people with less natural talent, and who worked their butts off and far exceeded those who were given natural dancing ability. Hard work and passion are the two keys for success and do it because you love it! You will be told “No!” a lot and this is an industry that judges you, so in order to succeed never lose that passion and love for the whole reason of why you put your dance shoes on in the first place.
To learn more about Ryan and Ashleigh, visit their website: http://ryanandashleigh.com/
You can also learn more about Power20Fitness on their Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/Power20Fitness
You can also watch Ryan and Ashleigh in action by clicking here: http://youtu.be/OEdI9Kiv84M
