SHE CAN DANCE!

Astoria girl makes finals of Fox’s dance show

BY JESSICA LYONS

Wednesday, October 28, 2009 11:17 AM EDT

Astoria resident Karen Hauer thinks she can dance. And so do the judges of the hit show “So You Think You Can Dance.”

During an episode that aired October 21 on FOX, it was announced that Hauer, 27, was one of the top 20 finalists for this year’s season six of the show.

Originally from Venezuela, Hauer came to New York when she was eight years old. At that age, she became interested in dance and began taking lessons, soon falling in love with it.

“I didn’t really know what I wanted to be,” Hauer said. “That would change in less than one week.”

A professional dancer and personal trainer, Hauer said she loves to do the mambo and rumba. While she was renting space from a dance studio, the owner told her about the auditions for “So You Think You Can Dance” two weeks before they were to take place in June. She decided to drive to Boston and give it a chance.

Upon hearing the news that she made it to the top 20, Hauer said that she almost “peed in my pants” and cried.

“It was very fulfilling. Every dancer out there would die to be in my place right now,” she said. “I’m just happy that I can share my talent with pretty much the world.”

Hauer said that having cameras around her while she’s dancing has been a brand new experience. She also said that she always has to be on her game and can’t waste a second of her time, adding that even while she’s sleeping she’s dreaming about dancing.

“There’s not a minute you’re not dancing and on you’re feet,” she said of the rehearsals the contestants have every day.

Hauer said she thinks all of her competitors are amazing, and that it is going to be tough for the judges and America to select a winner.

During the season, Hauer said she is most looking forward to “just really working with these amazing choreographers.” She has also been learning a lot just by watching the other top 20 finalists.

“It’s all a learning experience and I’m loving it,” she said.

As she competes on “So You Think You Can Dance,” Hauer said she wants to bring viewers into her world and help them feel what she feels when she dances.

“I want America to be with me on that dance floor,” Hauer said.

Beyond the show, Hauer’s goal is to one day own her own dance school. She said that as a child, dance pulled her through good and bad times, and that she wants to reach out to children and adults to show them how they can enjoy and be healed by dance.