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Andrea Lynn was ready for a big break.
The 20-year-old University at Buffalo senior has been dancing since she was 5. While attending Rush-Henrietta High School near Rochester, she visited Austria, Slovakia and the Czech Republic for a concert tour, and sheยs used to hustling across New York State year-round for shows and competitions. Sheยs mastered everything from tap to jazz to ballet to ballroom, all of which she teaches at the Fred Astaire Dance Studio in Williamsville. Sheยs trained with Broadway stars, and unsurprisingly, she would like to join them one day.
ยI could see her on ยDancing with the Stars,ยโย said Thomas Ralabate, chair of UBยs Theatre and Dance department. ยShe has that ability to do that, and to be an elite ballroom dancer.ย
But on the last day of February, someone from World Wrestling Entertainment called the Fred Astaire studio in the afternoon. The WWE was coming to Buffalo for a show, and the company needed a young, attractive, proficient ballroom dancer, as soon as possible, no auditions necessary.
Four days later, Lynn was at the sold-out show at the First Niagara Center, ballroom dancing with Fandango, a wrestler who would soon be one of the WWEยs most popular and unlikely superstars. For Lynn, it was the start of what turned into a two-month run of traveling shows and televised appearances with the worldยs leading wrestling company, which coincided with Fandango becoming the biggest social media sensation the WWE ever had.
She had not prepared for that.
ยUsually for ballroom stuff, everyone is in glitter and sparkles and fancy costumes,ย said Lynn, who uses only her first and middle name professionally. ยEveryone, when you go to a ballroom event, is in some sort of formal attire. Backstage at Wrestlemania, however, the guys are in sweats and T-shirts ย it wasnยt the same type of show that I was used to.ย
So how did the WWE end up scouting a suburban studio for talent? ยI have no idea,ย Lynn said. ยI think they just Googled it and tried the first place they could find. It was just dumb luck.ย
Even if Lynn had less than five days to prepare for it, her sudden WWE stardom is as improbable as it sounds. For one thing, Lynnยs petite figure and perky manner donยt seem like an ideal fit for the body-slamming, table-smashing world of sports entertainment.
She wasnยt exactly a wrestling fan, either.
ยI actually had no idea who anyone was,ย she said. ยI mean, I was aware of it. Like, I know who Hulk Hogan is and Andre the Giant is and stuff like that. But my family was never really into that. We were more of a theater, music, dance-type family.ย
Fortunately for Lynn, the WWE was looking to inject a little more theater and dance into its brand with Fandango, a character who was planned and promoted for months before debuting in March. Although Fandango is portrayed by Curtis Hussey, a wrestler with almost 15 years of experience, the character is a strange bedfellow in the WWE roster: a fussy, flamboyant, sultry-voiced dancer who seems more interested in ballet than brawling, and works up his fiercest rage when his name is constantly mispronounced. (Itยs Fahn-Dahn-Go ย ยbreathe in the Aยs,ย as he told one interviewer.)
Presumably, Fandango is intended to help the WWE ride the wave of shows such as ยDancing with the Stars.ย But the veteran wrestler needed a star dancer of his own to look like a ballroom pro. Thatยs where Lynn came in.
At the March 4 show in Buffalo, Lynn danced with Fandango as he entered the ring to his theme song ยChaChaLaLa,ย a ringtone-ready tune of Latin-infused elevator music. They had little time beforehand to practice the dance, and their bit of ballroom barely lasted three minutes.
ยIt was just kind of ยgo with the flow,ยโย Lynn said. ยI guess that adds to the magic. You donยt plan too much.ย
The dance was supposed to be a one-time event for Lynn. But about two weeks later, the WWE called back. After scrambling to find a different local dancer for every show, the company wanted a consistent companion for Fandango. Lynn made a good impression in Buffalo. Was she available for more shows?
Lynn rearranged her school schedule accordingly, and asked Anastasia Abrashin, owner of the Fred Astaire studio, for some time off. Although Abrashin was unfamiliar with the WWE and said that it was ยa little bit differentย from what her dancers typically do, she was happy to oblige.
ยIt doesnยt matter if itยs WW ย you know, whatever itยs called,ย Abrashin said. ยNot everyone gets an opportunity like this.ย
For the next two months, Lynn was a fixture for Fandango, accompanying him before and after matches and sometimes joining him in the ring. She took on a new look to mirror the characterยs prim-and-proper pompousness, with her brunette hair pulled back, her freckles hidden under makeup. She danced with Fandango in televised appearances across the country, including the pay-per-view Wrestlemania 29, which drew 80,000 fans to East Rutherford, N.J. ย one of the largest crowds in WWE history.
Along the way, the Fandango craze took on a life of its own, when ยFandangoingย ย a Hokey Pokey-esque dance inspired by Fandangoยs painfully catchy theme song ย somehow became an online sensation. Within weeks of Fandangoยs debut, a #FandangoRevolution hashtag started, ยChaChaLaLaย charted on iTunes and YouTube videos of WWE fans, Houston Texans cheerleaders and PETA representatives ยFandangoingย went viral. It was the ยGangnam Styleย of pro wrestling, and even though Fandango is supposed to be a villain ย or ยheel,ย in industry terms ย he became the WWEยs biggest crossover sensation in years. As an unknowing cohort in the Fandango Revolution, Lynn had mixed feelings about it.
ยThatยs not dancing, not at all,ย she said, shaking her head. ยThatยs not giving the ballroom world justice. I can teach people how to dance if they want to learn.ย
Lynnยs schedule remained as frenzied as her first appearance ย she usually worked two shows a week, always learning her travel arrangements at the last minute and always on call for another appearance. But contrary to the stories of pressure and burnout that are common to the wrestling world, Lynn considered her two months in the WWE a pleasant experience ย like being in ยone big family,ย she said. She taught some moves to Fandango backstage. She chatted with WWE CEO Vince McMahon, met the Dwayne ยThe Rockย Johnson and John Cena, shared a locker room with the divas and ran into Diddy and Snooki at Wrestlemania. She was given time, space and a company iPad to do homework and study for finals. She was ready to stay with the WWE through the summer, but in early May, the creative team opted for Summer Rae ย an established star, and a rare wrestler with some dancing chops. She became Fandangoยs new partner, and for the time being, Lynn was out of the show.
Since then, Lynnยs life has settled back to a simpler schedule: teaching full-time again at Fred Astaire, completing her dance major at UB and not having to hear ยChaChaLaLaย anymore. But that doesnยt mean that her Fandango Revolution is over. Lynn said that her departure from the WWE was good-natured and ยopen-ended,ย and the company still has her in mind as a potential dancer. Even now, sheยs never sure when another call could come to the studio. But next time, sheยll be ready.
ยThey didnยt cut me off like, ยWe donยt want you anymore,ยโย she said. ยThey could call me next week, they could call me next year.ย
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