‘Dance’ winner Gaby Diaz claims ‘a victory for all tappers’

No one will argue with locals who may subtitle the Las Vegas stop of the "So You Think You Can Dance" tour "Better late than never."

Las Vegas fans of the Fox dance competition will remember its live tour of season winners wasn't booked for a local date the year two hometown guys scored a 1-2 finish. DuShaunt "Fik-Shun" Stegall eclipsed Aaron Turner in viewer voting to become the 10th-season champion in 2013.

Their contrasting styles anticipated the "Street versus Show" that became this year's format on the dance competition that wrapped in September. But tap dancer Turner can share a symbolic piece of this year's victory with Gaby Diaz, who became the first tap specialist to win the show in its 12-year run.

"I felt like I had to represent this season and bring home a victory for all the tappers," says Diaz, a 19-year-old Miami native, now featured on the tour of 10 finalists performing Friday at the Palms.

"I think in previous seasons the tap dancers ... did an incredible job of proving to people it is a dance style of it's own and it's cool," she adds. "They kind of paved the way for me."

She talked to Turner "a lot" during the season, she says, and "he was very supportive."

Diaz graduated from a performing arts magnet high school in Miami last year but put college plans aside to focus on auditioning. Her solo dance didn't make the cut the first time in Dallas, so she flew to the next audition city, Detroit, this time with a tap routine.

"It was my favorite style growing up," she says. "I had a lot of energy as a kid and my family's very musical. My dad was a percussionist. So I grew up with music playing in the house all the time and I had a very good ear for music. It didn't translate through my hands because I couldn't play any instruments, but it translated through to my feet.

"I loved making noise when I was little in tap class. I think I liked that it was such an underrated style but one of the more difficult styles to pick up. The few of us who can do it kind of stick together."

Though it has always been lower-profile than "American Idol" or "Dancing With the Stars," "Think You Can Dance" has sustained itself long enough to share the "Idol" phenomenon of current contestants being inspired by the early years of the show.

For Diaz, it was watching Travis Wall compete in the second season in 2006, before he went on to be one of the show's choreographers. "I would always joke with him this season about how I was 10 years old when he was on the show and dreamed of meeting with him," she says. "The relationship we have now was, like, so cool for my 10-year-old self."

Diaz's win will lead her back to Las Vegas in a manner yet to be clarified. Along with a $250,000 first prize, she is promised a job dancing behind Jennifer Lopez at Planet Hollywood.

What someone didn't think through is that Lopez debuts "All I Have" on Jan. 20, and the "Dance" tour doesn't end until Jan. 28. "You know as much as I know," about how that will be resolved, Diaz says with a laugh.

Beyond whatever work J. Lo can give her, Diaz plans to move to Los Angeles and "just live the life of an auditioning dancer," preparing for a possible acting career beyond her dance career. "I wouldn't trust myself to sing on my own right now," she says, "but I can can carry a tune ... and dancers have to be actors."

For now, though, "I'm only halfway through this tour. I'm trying to enjoy this chapter of my life before it ends, because it's going by quickly."

After all, Lopez or any other big arena star would put her in the background where we are used to seeing dancers. "Think You Can Dance" remains the biggest pop culture spotlight for dancers as the whole focus.

"We're not behind an artist, we're not dancing behind anyone," Diaz says. "This is our show and all these people are coming to see just the dance."

In the heat of competition, it was easy to tune out how many people were watching at home. "But being on tour now and seeing how many people come out and see our show ... it's really incredible, and it was overwhelming at first," she says. "I was very emotional the first few cities, because I didn't realize how many people watch the show and let us into their homes."

— Read more from Mike Weatherford at reviewjournal.com. Contact him at mweatherford@reviewjournal.com and follow @Mikeweatherford on Twitter.