Dancing With The BACKSTREET BOYS - BOP Fall 99
Which Backstreet Boy--Kevin, Nick, A.J., Howie or Brian--has the best moves?
Have you ever watched the Backstreet Boys in concert and wondered how these Orlando, Florida got to be such hot dancers? Or how can they hit all the high notes to songs like "I Want It That Way" from 1999's Millennium and dance at the same time? We don't know about you, Boppers, but we here at BOP HQ have actually tried to sing and dance--when we're not busy writing these stories, that is--and whew, it's totally impossible not to lose our breath while we do our happpy little jig.
But this does not happen to be the Backstreet Boys. The difference is that, unlike most of us, these talented guys have had tons of time to polish up their performing skills. "I've been dancing since I could walk," 27-year-old Kevin tells BOP. "When I was little, and the music would come on, I would always dance. And I would always go to my brother's high school dances when I was in junior high. I'd sneak into the high school dances because I always wanted to be around music and stuff. So, yeah, dancing comes very natural to me."
No matter how long they've been working at it, Kev tells us, when they put on their dancing shoes, one of his groupmates outshines them all. Who's that, you ask? "A.J." Kev replies without hesitating. "He took tap and ballet and jazz, and I think he catches on the quickest. I think he somehow loses himself in the performances. He just goes with it, and whatever comes out usually looks good. So he's probably the best."
Although 21-year-old A.J. appreciates the compliment, he says his Backstreet bud Kevin is no slouch, either. "Kevin used to teach dance," A.J. shares. "He taught ballroom and contemporary. He used to take dance, as well." As for A.J., he "took lessons since I was like seven years old. I took ballet, jazz, tap, hip-hop, acrobatics, contemporary, swing, ballroom--everything!"
Learning to Love It
Although A.J. may be the Backstreet Boy with the twinkliest of toes, all the guys are good dancers because they are dedicated to constantly improving their moves. Nick tells us he has to work hard at improving his dance skills because he, like most guys, is not totally comfy in his dancing shoes. "I am not really a good dancer," the 19-year-old says. "I don't like to dance." But who can blame the blonde? After all, can you imagine trying to move your feet with thousands of people staring at you?
Performance time is on the only time these guys get to strut their stuff. These super-fine songsters are known to hit popular nightclubs and get jiggy just for the fun of it. "I like to go to clubs," Howie, 26, declares. What about Nick, you ask? Any chance you'll catch him dancing at a club? Uh, not likely. "Dancing onstage is a little bit different than going into a club and dancing, I guess, but..." Nick says, struggling for words, "it's kind of hard for me becasuse, to be honest, I don't like it."
Although, unlike A.J. and Kevin, 24-year-old Brian did not have formal dance training before joining the Backstreet Boys, he doesn't mind the choreographed dancing involved in their concerts. "I've never considered myself a dance but I've always been athletic and physical in some sort of way," B-Rok says, giving A.J. credit for helping the guys get their act together. "A.J. is the best when it comes to dancing 'cause he gets it the fastest and he helps us with it." Still, blue-eyed Brian shares with us that sometimes he'd rather not have to keep up with their demanding dance routines. "I am lazy when it comes to dancing," Brian admits. "I would rather have the microphone in front of me and just be singing the songs."
Macho, Macho Man
Although Kevin has a penchant for performing, he's not into all kinds of dancing. "When I first moved down here to Orlando, I was trying to get a job in musical theater to be more versatile. So I took some dance classes. But it was like, 'You know what? This is not me!'" he remembers of his pre-BSB days in the early '90s. "I liked tap-dancing, but I couldn't get into jazz. I'm a street dancer, but the jazz stuff--I couldn't get into that. It was too graceful. I'm more hard, you know?" Yes, we know. It's probably a guy thing!
Even though the Backstreet Boys have different training and preferences when it comes to dancing, they are all super-supportive of each other. That's why when we ask sweetie-pie Howie if there is any jealousy among them, he quickly replies, "No, never! We're really cool with each other. We're like family." And although their dance moves make their performances better and brighter, A.J. tells us dancing is not their main focus. "Dancing is kind of like an added thing," he says. "It's kind of like the accessories. But without it, we would just stand up there, and it would be boring." (Yeah, right!)
Oh, and one more thing. How do the Backstreet Boys bust a move without losing their breath? "Our choreographer, Fatima, doesn't allow us to get too dancey, where we can't focus on the singing," A.J. explains. "We are a vocal group, and that is our main thing." But even though they try to keep their pace within reason and help each other out along the way, the Backstreet Boys admit their dance routines are not mistake-proof. In fact, they usually make a couple of boo-boos in any given performance. "Messing up is part of it," Nick admits. "You gotta play it off so nobody recognizes it. That's the whole thing!" Oh-so-smooth!