Skip to main content

Stephen Tannos

Sep 13, 2026

6:52
You've got this incredible choreography that everyone connects with, and I think it's because it's rare to see the authenticity, uh, in the room, and I-
7:03
I love it.
7:03
No, can I actually just piggyback off what you just said too? Like, um, you know, the whole idea of like these days it feels like we're having to follow so many guidelines, and we're being forced to recreate things that have worked before.
7:19
You know, I think a big part of that is, you know, obviously social media exists now, and I think it's the, the TikTokification of dance, you know? I think we're, we're up against, as dancers now, 'cause...
7:28
And we're lucky because dance is being used a lot in like campaigns and advertising and stuff, but I have been in meetings and the conversation always shifts to, "We want this to go viral." And I, I think the pressure of that is just immediately like it's dead on arrival.
7:44
It's never gonna go viral if the expectation is for it to go viral, you know? So I definitely agree with what you said, like going into the room without expectation and just being in the moment, and then again, in turn, that's where that vir- v- if there's, if anything's gonna go viral, it'll be those moments, you know? It was like the most quick choreography I put together and I, I thought it was good, but I didn't think much of it, and then it's ended up, you know, it's got like 40 million views across Instagram.
8:11
It's just like you can never...
10:27
So looking back over your career, what would you say was your biggest turning point?
8:22
What time of your life was that next to So You Think You Can Dance and then what came out of that?
8:28
Yeah, so Cats was my first professional job.
8:31
Yeah.
8:31
So I booked Cats when I was sitting my final exams in year 12, so 2012.
8:38
Six.
8:39
So just before I sat my HSC, which is what we called it at the time, I'm sure you remember, high school certificate.
8:45
It's called something else now.

28 MINS LATER

36:44
But that's probably where I'm coming from.

We value your privacy

We use cookies to understand how you use our platform and to improve your experience. Click “Accept All” to consent, or “Decline non-essential” to opt out of non-essential cookies. Read our Privacy Policy.