Christchurch tap dancer Bayley Graham says it’s been “a crazy few days” since his winning performance on America’s Got Talent, which aired on July 27.
The 22-year-old, who has been tapping since he was six, was wanted for the show by American producers who saw his dancing prowess on social media.
About a month ago, he was brought to the United States to perform for famous judges Simon Cowell, Heidi Klum, Sofia Vergara and Howie Mandel. The result was four votes from the stunned judges, who could push him through to the semifinals later in the year.
“I definitely didn’t expect that,” says Graham, who is now back in New Zealand. “I was hoping for the best, but you never know with those shows, anything can happen. I was lucky enough to have that outcome.”
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Graham danced to Panic at The Disco’s The Greatest Show, performing his tap set once at normal speed and then again at top speed, while jokingly with Mandel.
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Bayley Graham appears on America’s Got Talent.
His easygoing demeanor and talent won over audiences, even thawing the famously cold heart of showrunner Simon Cowell, who said Graham had “really undervalued” his talent and the effort he’d put into getting there.
Vergara was most effusive with her praise for his achievements, saying she was confident he would turn pro and end up exactly where he wants his career to be.
While it wasn’t the biggest audience he performed for, it was “really full,” and the energy coming from them energized him.
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A standing ovation for Bayley Graham’s toe-ticking performance.
“It was huge! You don’t really see it until you go out. You do all your rehearsals backstage, and then you get put in front of this big audience. It was definitely a very, very excited audience.”
As he took to the America’s Got Talent stage, his biggest supporter at home looked on.
Dance teacher Jan Ruardy, van de Diamond dance studio in Brighton Beach, Christchurch, has been teaching and working with the 22-year-old tap talent since he was about 6 years old, when he was first taken to her garage dance studio by his mother.
He had become obsessed with the dance style after seeing it on TV and wouldn’t rest until he had a pair of shoes.
Warwick Smith / Stuff
American tap judge Lainie Monroe, with Kiwi dancer Bayley Graham and his teacher, Jan Ruardy from dance studio Diamonz.
“His mother said, ‘Well, you have to learn it. You can’t do it alone’. But he said, ‘I don’t want to’, he just wanted the shoes,” says Ruardy.
She was able to talk him out of it and now he teaches lessons himself.
“He was very shy, but very good. He always came out thoroughly trained and knew exactly what he was doing.”
Ruardy, who has been teaching for 40 years, says Bayley Graham “has two sides”.
“He’s definitely an entertainer – when he has to entertain it’s like walking into a room and turning on a spotlight. But when the light isn’t on, he’s just a hard worker. He can joke around a bit, but he’s very professional, and very humble.”
The next step for Graham’s performance is for the judges to decide who will advance to the semifinals, something the public won’t find out until sometime in August. He can’t say much more.
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Tap dancer Bayley Graham.
Looking ahead, he’s not sure what the show will mean for his career, but he hopes it will open doors for him to perform more abroad.
“Just know that what I’m doing is kind of going in the right direction” [was good]’ says Brad.
“There are a lot of sleepless nights in the studio trying to figure out what you think is going to work, so it was so nice to get out there and see that they liked it and the American audience liked it.
“Every country is different, so to go out and for them to like me, it felt really good.”