Peyton Albrecht is a living testament to the famous Alexander Graham Bell quote, "When one door closes, another one opens." The last year for the dancer has been a roller coaster that few will ever see in their lives.
Peyton made it to the Top 20 on So You Think You Can Dance last year. He had an incredible run at the Academy, and many fans thought he was a lock for the Top 10. He didn't stay down for long, though, because he was cast by NappyTabs in Britney: Domination late last year as a part of Britney Spears' new residency in Las Vegas.
Unfortunately, Britney postponed the show to deal with her father's illness. That left an opening in Peyton's schedule — enter the Derek Hough Live! Tour.
Peyton spoke with Dance Dish about the disappointment, staying positive and how the tour has impacted his career.
Dance Dish: There have been a lot of highs and a lot of lows for you in your career this year. Can you share what it's been like from your perspective?
Peyton Albrecht: You are certainly right. It has been quite the roller coaster on top of a personal family matter that happened within the past year. It's been a crazy six months, especially with booking Britney because that was the biggest dream I've ever had in my entire life. For the cancellation to have happened, it was devastating.
NappyTabs, who put together the Britney show, also put together the Derek Hough show. So it was a little blessing in disguise because of the unfortunate situation that happened, it allowed this beautiful new adventure to come about.
DD: How did you keep moving forward in those low moments over the past year?
Peyton: For me, I just kept pushing that I wanted to dance for Britney and who would've known that I would book that at such a young age? It happened so soon and so quick and then it was all just taken away from me. It made me step back and reevaluate my path, what exactly I want to accomplish and where I see myself in the next five or 10 years. I still have hope that the Britney show will eventually happen even though it's on indefinite hold.
I'm glad that I have this opportunity [with Derek] because it's giving me the experience to travel, tour and be in the theater every night with a new crowd. Everything happens for a reason and you're supposed to go through certain things and those things are supposed to teach you a lesson. I feel like I wasn't quite ready for what could have happened, so life was telling me — hold on Peyton, let's take a step back. I want to teach you some things you need to know before your big dreams come true.
DD: I think it also is a good lesson about the way you rehearsed for the Britney show. NappyTabs recognized your hard work and knew they wanted to work with you again. How did your audition for Derek's tour happen?
Peyton: That first impression means everything. You never know what opportunities lie ahead, so always being on and always putting your best foot forward is important because one job can lead to another.
It was an invite-only audition. There were four or five of us in a little room, it was intimate and Derek was there. We all did a solo and he watched them. I got a callback about a month later, [fellow tour dancer] Chase [Haley Bowden] was there and two other boys.
A couple of hours after the audition, we received our phone calls telling us that we booked the tour. When I got the phone call, it was one of those moments of reassurance where I understood that we have good days and bad days, but everything works out in the end.
DD: What have you learned from Derek as an artist and as a leader?
Peyton: It's cool to see him up on stage every night. He has a script, but every night, it's something completely different. He knows how to engage and feel the audience's energy. I respect that because he has something special about him that he's able to pull from a crowd. The minute you talk to him, he makes you feel like you've been best friends with him for your entire life. It's crazy the way he can connect with people.
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