Clutching to the coattails of the American Idol formula, FOX teamed up last summer with the show’s creators and the producers of American Bandstand (a.k.a. the people keeping Dick Clark alive) to bring us So You Think You Can Dance. It follows Idol’s format, except viewers are spared listening to Simon Cowell. And in Idol fashion, it won the summer reality TV ratings battle, drawing 21 million viewers during the series premiere.

The show will be back this summer. Out of the four auditions – held in New York, Chicago, Los Angeles and Charleston, S.C. – 50 dancers were given the “golden ticket” to Hollywood to have their shot at the prize of $100,000 and a boatload of contacts in the industry. One of the 50 was Communication senior Aleksandra Wojda, who leaves later this month for Hollywood. She sat down with PLAY to talk about auditions, nerves and her future in the dance world.

PLAY: Casting in Chicago was March 24. How did you prepare?

Aleksandra Wojda: There were probably 500 people who went to the Chicago audition. Me and a few people from Graffiti (Dancers) went. We got there Friday morning at 7 a.m. and there was already a line around the block. They started taking groups of 70, and from that group of 70 they took about 10 at a time to do a freestyle in front of the executive producers. If they liked you, you had to come back either Saturday or Sunday for the real audition.

PLAY: I’ve heard it’s tougher than American Idol.

AW: You can’t say that dancing is harder. I don’t know a lot about singing, but I’m sure the training takes a lot out of you, too.

PLAY: So you got to pick whatever dance you wanted to do?

AW: Yeah, it’s improv. You show them your best tricks or what you’re best at – whatever you want.

PLAY: Personality was what they wanted?

AW: On the second day of auditions a lot of people were doing tricks and not performing. Halfway through the auditions, the three judges from the show said they were tired of seeing people doing tricks because everybody can do tricks. Not everybody can perform and grab somebody’s attention.

PLAY: There had to have been a lot of pressure, though.

AW: I went into the audition because I really enjoyed watching the show last year. I audition a lot, but I had never done anything like a reality TV show. I just went with the hopes of making it past a few cuts. I never imagined they’d say, “Here’s your golden ticket.”

PLAY: Did your Graffiti experience help you out?

AW: I’ve always been active – taking dance classes through Northwestern, and Giordano Dance Center (in Evanston). I found out about the audition because it was posted throughout Chicagoland. Any type of training is going to prepare you.

PLAY: So what’s next?

AW: I haven’t found out exactly when I’ll be leaving. They filmed all of the auditions, and after I did mine they had me redo my solo so they could have a camera crew follow me on stage.

PLAY: Well, the show is live, right?

AW: I don’t even know if I’ll make it to that, because in Hollywood week they’re having more cuts. At any point you can get cut. You’re taking classes with the choreographer and they’re seeing how you work with them and how you fit their style. From that I think they go to the top 20.

PLAY: So if you get there, will the nerves hit?

AW: Oh, yeah, definitely. When you perform, you try to calm yourself as best you can, but there’s always that nervous energy. Once you get on that stage, you just zone out and try to channel that nervousness into your performance. You try to engage your audience.

PLAY: And you get $100,000 if you win.

AW: That would help me so much. My parents wanted me to go to grad school and get a “real” career. But really for me it’s not just winning the money. It’s getting to meet all these wonderful choreographers that I’ve always wanted to work with. That will get you into the industry and get you the jobs.

PLAY: So grad school isn’t in your future?

AW: It’s in my future, even if I don’t make it with the show. It’s just not right now. I’m going to audition and see if I can make any companies in Chicago.

PLAY: So it would be a Master of Arts?

AW: Actually my major doesn’t have anything to do with dance – it’s communication sciences and disorders and speech pathology. But who’s to say? I don’t know where dance will take me.