Shakti Mohan is Tara Jean Popowich's biggest threat

Winner of So You Think You Can Dance, Canada, Tara Jean Popowich seems to have impressed the judges of Jhalak Dikhla Jaa. The artiste has managed to secure a place for herself as the show’s latest wild card entry. “I think it’s my ability to adapt to new situations and dance forms that has helped me stay in the show,” she says.

So, how did JDJ happen? She reveals, “I was in Los Angeles when I got the offer and had a lot of work to complete before I could take a call. But I managed. I love travelling and loved the idea of experiencing India. Even my family is very excited about me being on the show. They are a little technologically challenged, but I hope they vote!”

Despite being a seasoned dancer, Tara admits that she had jitters on the first day of the show. She says, “I watched the other wild cards perform and that made me nervous. My choreographer Jack had to calm me down. I may have a dance background, but the language is new and that’s scary. I have to understand each line of the song before rehearsing because expressions are also very important to me.”

TJ, as she is known on the show, tells us that getting to where she is today wasn’t a cakewalk. She says, “I started dancing when I was three. I wasn’t naturally talented though. My teachers would say, ‘TJ has to work hard’.” Who’s her biggest competition? We aren’t surprised she said, “Shakti Mohan, for sure.”