The new reality series All the Right Moves follows the dancers of the Shaping Sound dance company -Travis Wall, Nick Lazzarini (So You Think You Can Dance), Teddy Forance, and Kyle Robinson (Dancing with the Stars) - as they take the dance world by storm. The show follows the four friends as they launch Shaping Sound, while giving viewers insight into the friendship between the two gay and two straight men. Travis Wall took the time to talk with GLAAD and share his excitement about the show with GLAAD blog readers. All the Right Moves airs on Oxygen on Tuesdays at 9/8c.
GLAAD: How did the four of you become friends, and what made you want to do this show together?
Travis Wall: Well Nick and I have known each other since we were 9 years old. I was 9 and Nick was 12 so we used to compete against each other at dance competitions and we all kind of grew up at dance competitions and dance conventions. And we knew of each other because the four of us were at the top of our game growing up as children. I booked a Dancing with the Stars job two years ago [with Teddy.] I was a choreographer, and I was there with my dancers, and the piece turned out so amazing. We loved the entire process of working together and we were just like "You know what? We need to dance with our best friends for the rest of our life." And we started talking about putting a dance company together [so] that all three of us were not just working alone but working together. And then Kyle got off tour with West Side Story and ended up moving into the extra room we had at our house, and then Teddy was like "Would you want to be part of our reality show and our dance company?" It kind of all just happened from there.
GLAAD: What can viewers expect to see over the first season, and are there any episodes you’re particularly looking forward to people seeing?
TW: I haven’t seen many episodes. I’ve seen a couple, but you’re going to see a lot of dancing. And you definitely get to take a look into my life. You get to see my boyfriend, you get to see my mom, you get to see the people I surround myself with on a daily basis. And you get to see who I am and what I do and what it takes to do what I do. And, I’m sure the season finale is going to be really good. I think every episode has amazing dance performances, so every episode I’m looking forward to seeing how the audience sees it. They introduce my boyfriend in episode one, but we’re in a long distance relationship, (we’re not anymore, because he just moved to LA for me), but you see him a lot in episode five. I’m excited to see that.
GLAAD: How much of your personal lives can viewers expect to see on the show?
TW: I’m definitely an open book, and I’m not leaving anything behind. But it definitely does focus on my work a lot. There’s very little time for [my personal life.] When there is time, it’s definitely there. But it’s about getting the [company] started.
GLAAD: Travis, you’re openly gay, though you didn’t so much “come out” as simply not avoid the topic on twitter or in interviews, and it’s something you have in common with a number of other performers of your generation. Did you ever make a conscious decision to live openly, or was being out something you just took for granted?
TW: I never thought I was in the public eye enough to ever make a statement that "Oh, Travis Wall’s gay." I live my life the way I live it, and everyone who’s known me knows I’ve never been in. There’s never been a moment where I have been pretending to be straight or anything like that. I just didn’t know that I was that big of a draw or that I should have made a statement. So, when I unconsciously was like, "Oh, I have a boyfriend, and I’m so excited," and I started tweeting it, everyone was like, "Oh, Travis Wall just came out," and I’m like, "Oh wait, I came out? When was I in?" I never knew that, you know, that was the situation.
GLAAD: And speaking of your generation, your show actually reflects many other young peer groups in that you’re a group comprised of both gay and straight friends. Has that ever been an issue?
TW: Never. And that’s what’s so cool about the TV show is it’s never an issue. I mean, yes, Nick makes plenty of comments towards Kyle because Kyle’s so hot. It’s just funny, you know, it’s all fun. And we’re put into a house because of our talent and our craft, and it has nothing to do with our sexuality.
GLAAD: What do you hope viewers will ultimately take away from the show?
TW: That they’re inspired. I hope that they’re inspired not only by our dancing, but to see how hard we work - the challenges that arise as we start this dance company. We literally make this world to be ours and we make our own way on this path and no one handed us anything. We worked from the ground up. So, I hope they’re inspired.