By: Alexandria McLean | @itbalexandria
The Next Step fans get ready because today marks the premiere of the second half of Season 2! The first half of Season 2 left off on a serious cliffhanger! With A-Troupe dancers having quit the team, and Elite trying to take The Next Step down from the inside, the dancers need to come together with nationals fast approaching. The rest of Season 2 will be sure to have even more drama and great dancing!
The cast of The Next Step showed off some of those dancing skills at this year’s Big Ticket Summer Concert, and fans could not have been more excited! Screams filled Toronto’s Molson Canadian Amphitheatre as the cast showcased their skills on stage.
Before all the screaming and cheering, The Magazine got the chance to sit down with Trevor Tordjman, Brittany Raymond and Jordan Clark, who play James, Riley and Giselle respectfully. These A-Troupe dancers told us all about what to expect from the second half of Season 2, and even gave some advice on what it takes to reach your dreams.
The Magazine: What can we expect to see in the second half of season two?
Trevor: Oooh!
Jordan: The most drama! The most drama possible!
Trevor: Oh, yeah!
Jordan: That’s about it. Can’t give too much away. More fantastic dancing!
Brittany: Yes, a lot more dancing in the second half, and I think the drama is more intense and I think it does get a little lighter.
Trevor: Yeah, there is some relief though. There is some comedic relief for sure in the second season. No matter what though, I think the fans will love it. The second half of season two, for me at least, some of my favourite episodes are right in there.
The Magazine: What has been your favourite episode to shoot so far?
Brittany: I liked the beach episode, because we were outside for once. Since we are usually inside all summer long. I also liked the fashion episode from Season 2.
Jordan: Oh, that one was so much fun just because we got to be so fierce in it.
Trevor: It is really hard to choose now that I am thinking about all of them. There are so many good ones. Anytime she names one, I am like “Ooooh, that one!” I really liked the Battle of the Seeds, also all the regional episodes are amazing as well.
Jordan: One of my favourites is the episode with Lamar, West and I, and it is just a very competitive scenario, and the popcorn scene is probably my favourite.
Trevor: Oh, that scene was hilarious!
Jordan: The fashion show is right up there with it.
Trevor: The fashion show was pretty sweet!
The Magazine: Season three is currently in the works, is there anything you hope to see happen?
Trevor: I think it would be cool to collaborate with some other artists in some way.
Jordan: It would be cool to have two shows come together.
Trevor: Yeah, maybe have another show. I think that would be really cool.
The Magazine: Is there any particular show you have in mind?
Trevor: Oh, definitely Phineas and Ferb! Haha, kidding! Honestly anybody to work with. It is so nice to meet new people.
Brittany: Even when we come to do stuff like this at Big Ticket Summer, it’s nice to meet all these other Family stars. They are all so amazing and cool and down to earth. It’s really nice.
Jordan: It’s really nice to see the other people that are on the channel as well. It’s really fun finding out who they really are as people.
The Magazine: You will be shooting an episode with a live fan audience. What are you most excited for about that?
Trevor: That’s what we are excited for. I am really excited to see the fans. Normally it is just extras.
Jordan: The nerves are there already.
Brittany: Just thinking about it, I get butterflies.
Trevor: I am excited; I don’t know what you guys are talking about. They will give us the best reaction. Since they want to be there, I think it will really show. That helps us while we are dancing. When the audience is crazy, we are crazy.
The Magazine: How much time goes into rehearsals before filming an episode?
Brittany: We actually do a month of rehearsals before we film and we learn as many dances as we can. Throughout filming, whenever we are not filming a scene, we are in rehearsals.
Trevor: It gets hard because not everyone is together all the time. A lot of it for us is like crunch time. We are just getting it together before we go on stage. I think we have gotten good at that, we have gotten used to it. We work really well with each other.
Jordan: We know what each other’s strengths are so we can get it done (or down?) as fast as possible so we can learn more. On Wednesday we just finished a dance that is getting filmed next week. You know what I mean? It’s like let’s go, let’s go, let’s go! So this week coming up is crunch time and we are going to have to rehearse, rehearse, rehearse.
The Magazine: You have fans all over the world! Did you ever think the show would be this big?
Jordan: Not at all!
Brittany: I remember filming Season 1 and thinking that this was such a cool show and I hope it does well, it will just be in Canada but still that is so awesome. Now it’s worldwide!
Trevor: It’s crazy! It’s insane to interact with fans across the world.
Jordan: It is just strange that people write to us on Instagram in different languages. It is quite amazing. We are very fortunate to know that everybody is watching the show and we are just happy. Just really happy about it!
The Magazine: A fan favourite is definitely Jiley! If you got to ship yourself with anyone, who would it be?
Trevor: We talked about this the other day!
Brittany: We did! I think my pick would be Ryan Gosling. Just because you know, it’s Ryan Gosling.
Jordan: Mine was Chris Hemsworth.
Trevor: I have so many! Let me just choose. This week’s…I think I said Blake Lively. Ooh, or what is that girl from Modern Family?
Jordan: Sophia Vergara?
Trevor: Yes! Her!
Jordan: Don’t kill me!
Brittany: She is so funny!
The Magazine: This is your third year doing Big Ticket Summer, and you went out east to Halifax for the first time. How was that?
Brittany: That was so much fun!
Trevor: Halifax was so crazy.
Jordan: I think I just exploded with excitement. I was on the speaker dancing! We just all went crazy!
Brittany: We just all didn’t have much sleep the night before, so I was pretty tired during the day. As soon as the show came, we got so pumped and I got so much energy from the fans. Literally right after we performed we were so pumped, and then got on the plane and just knocked out.
Trevor: Also, Brittany and I got to go to Calgary last year and it was crazy. Also, I don’t think I expected Halifax to be as big as it was! It was massive. It was sold out crazy, so many people there! We loved that.
Jordan: The fans were extraordinary. Amazing!
The Magazine: You are all from Toronto, or around Toronto. What are your favourite things to do in the city?
Brittany: Starbucks! I like Starbucks.
Jordan: She loves the Starbucks.
Brittany: Sushi! Sushi! As well as shopping!
Trevor: I went to a restaurant the other day in Yorkville that was amazing! It was called Sassafraz. Oh, and in Mississauga, I went to this trampoline place, I forgot what it was called, but it was crazy!
The Magazine: What advice do you have for children to go into this field?
Brittany: I think the biggest thing would be confidence in what you bring to the table. Especially with dance, I know that if you train and have great technique, even if you are not as strong in one area, just focus on the areas you are strong in and show what you can do. Just be confident in that.
Jordan: If you have the drive and the passion to do it, I think it is totally achievable. I think if you know, some people say “Oh I want to do this” and kind of relax and not really take it seriously. If you truly want to do something, and really put the effort in I think that it is absolutely possible.
Trevor: It takes a lot of hard work for sure, but if you have enough passion, nothing is impossible.
The Magazine: Anything you would like to say to The Magazine readers?
Trevor: Oh we love them!
Brittany: We love you guys! Thank you so much. None of this would be possible without any of you, so thank you all.
Jordan: Thank you for the support!
Trevor: (blows a kiss) I blew a kiss!
Jordan: All of us just kisses!
Thanks Jordan, Trevor and Brittany!
Tune into Family Channel tonight at 7:30PM for the premiere of the second half of Season 2! We know we’ll be watching!
ALEXANDRIA MCLEAN 