Preparing for Andrew's Departure

We're getting ever closer to Andrew's departure for American Idol Camp. He and I appeared on the Fox Morning Show this morning. His voice was hoarse , and he was a little cranky. That's something we'll have to work on. He didn't have to sing much except for a teaser.

I think he's featured this week in The Indianapolis Recorder and also was supposed to be interviewed by the Hendricks County Flyer. That fell through when the reporter went on vacation. All the way around, though, the media experience is good for someone who professes a desire to entertain.

Andrew and I had a heart-to-heart the other night about the trip. He's a little nervous about The Dance Theatre of Harlem. Though there will be a chaperone at the hostel where he'll live, he's nervous about being somewhat on his own. But he'll be fine. He knows how to cook, do his laundry and handle emergencies. I'm sure he'll also make friends who will invite him home for the occasional home-cooked meal.

Start Spreadin' the News

I sent out a news release on Wednesday about Andrew's attendance at American Idol Camp starting July 7. I blanketed local, Chicago and national print and broadcast media. I'm confident the local print outlets will pick up the story. We thought the NBC affiliate here would since Andrew has been featured twice and will be again on The Today Show July 10th. I have a contact, but she's on medical leave.

However,the Fox affiliate, as expected called about 10 minutes after I sent the release to ask whether I minded if they followed Andrew to camp. I put them in touch with the Idol Camp public relations person. They also asked him to appear on their morning show July 5. The rub: they want him to sing. I am musically challenged, so I'm hardly the person to coach Andrew.

Jeff, a closet Broadway wannabe, stepped right in. We allowed Andrew to select a song, and after much hemming and hawing, he settled on some way too adult song that involved sticking one's tongue down a loved one's throat. Needless to say, we nixed that! I hardly think that's appropriate coming out of a 12-year-old on a light morning news program.

Jeff's suggestion: "New York, New York." Turns out, that perfect, both in terms of the news but also for Andrew' voice. We're working out the kinks, but it should be great.

The Truths of "The Secret"

I just finished reading an article on the CNN web site about the the phenomenon of The Secret DVD and book series. The complaint by some therapists and other experts was that the book promoted a "blame the victim" mentality and does not look at the roles of free will and action on the part of the individual.

I was at my friend Shari's house a couple of months ago and watched the DVD with a couple of her other girlfriends. I'm not a big self-help kind of person or one who by most standards would be considered mystical or spiritual. But I actually saw a great deal of truth that I do apply to my own life in "The Secret."

As many of you already have read, my nephew Andrew will attend American Idol Camp and the Dance Theatre of Harlem Summer Intensive in July and August. The Idol Camp was a very competitive situation in that only 700 kids out of thousands of applicants have been accepted. In Andrew' case, there was the additional need for a scholarship to cover the $3,000 cost.

An interesting -- and to me, puzzling -- question kept coming up, especially by the producers of The Today Show: Did Andrew and I really believe that he could rise to the top and be accepted to the camp? This, to me, said more about the mindset of the producers than it did about the reality of getting into the camp. I think part of what made Andrew and me successful in this venture was our unwavering belief that there was no reason why he couldn't be the 700th camper -- if not No. 1. The success was two-fold. It rested on Andrew's talent and experience, of which we already had proof, and my abilities as a writing coach who has been extremely successful in obtaining grants, fellowships and awards for myself and others. In other words, our success was, indeed, a combination of belief and action.

When I told my friend Leslie about the camp, she remarked that everything I touch turns to gold. My mother and others have made similar remarks. It's funny, but I know it's not really that way. Though I may have a high success rate, the law of averages dictates that some of my quests will be unsuccessful. And in most instances, I, like most people, don't broadcast my failures. I also don't dwell on them long enough to remember what most of them are. I just move on to the next goal.

The most important part of The Secret is understanding that we all have some extraordinary, marketable abilities. The vision, of which The Secret speaks, is in my opinion should be coupled with perseverance. If people can't envision freedom or wealth or happiness, they hardly will be able to take the steps to achieve these goals.

I didn't really see how The Secret blames the victim, but I do believe that our ability to achieve our desires rests only with ourselves. For many "victims" their worst enemies often are themselves, and shifting to a positive outlook can change not only how they feel but also their rate of personal success.

So You Think You Run the Show

Tonight I watched auditions for the competition program So You Think You Can Dance. As with all these programs, there are people who for some inexplicable reason believe that even though they have no formal training, they can compete with people who do. There also are some people who have formal training but no talent. What's worse is that many of these wannabes waste time quibbling with the judges. These "dancers" can't understand why Lythgoe gets the last word. Well, let me explain: He's the one with the money for the show, and he's the one who gets to decide how it's spent.

Nigel Lythgoe, judge and co-producer for the show, vowed he wouldn't be cruel to contestants this year. In the past, he's told some who auditioned that they had no future in dance, and to some who claimed to be teachers, he said it was a disservice to the students. As much as it hurts, he's right. If no one has the courage to stand up and tell these poor deluded souls the truth, they will continue to spend time, energy and money on a fruitless effort. And as the mother of several ballet students, I must say it is unfair for parents who don't know better to continue seeking the services of people without an ability to teach.

Lythgoe and American Idol's Simon Cowell, both of whom are British, serve the same function on their respective programs. Neither likely intends to be mean, just practical. What one must understand, is in other parts of the world, it's perfectly OK, and in fact expected to mete out and receive constructive criticism. This is how people can become better at what they do. In the United States, however, we're afraid to correct one another and say it's rude. We'd rather allow someone to spin his wheels unnecessarily. As a judge, however, Lythgoe is expected to give -- and should be respected for -- his opinions.

During last season's American Idol auditions, at least one, if not more, contestants lamented that Cowell wasn't qualified to judge what was acceptable to Americans because he wasn't and should return to England. They questioned his credentials, as some have done in the past, and no doubt this season, with Lythgoe. Without going into their backgrounds here, suffice it to say that both men are fully qualified to pass judgment in their respective fields.

In Lythgoe's case, there's another reason he's qualified: he's one of the men with the money. As a co-producer, he's responsible to either chipping in himself or finding investors for the television program. Either way, this is a business, and it's expected to deliver a decent return to the investors. So when Lythgoe says that someone won't make it as a dancer, what he's saying is that this person has little to no possibility of developing marketable skills in the area of dance. What he isn't saying in so many words, is that he has a sense both of what he finds marketable and what other producers will find marketable. And as long as they are putting up the money and taking the risk, they have every right to decide who has the skills to move on.

Of course, there's the outside possibility that one could become a William Hung. But Cowell and Lythgoe aren't in the business of ferreting out potentially successful novelty acts. Yes, there can be a breakout performer, but the financial risk here would be even greater than with a competent entertainer. I assume, however, that most of these contestants want to be take seriously and really aren't keen on building careers through buffoonery.

The beauty of being in America is that if we don't agree, we can become producers ourselves. We always have the option of putting our money where our mouths are and developing an act. We can pay for the venue, staff and marketing. And it's even possible that if we can prove there is an audience and earning potential, Lythgoe might back the show.

Thanks to G-Unity

I received a phone call from Nina Biggars at American Idol Camp delivering the news that G-Unity, the foundation established by rapper 50 Cent, will cover the costs for Andrew's stay in New York while he attends the Dance Theatre of Harlem's Summer Intensive. The original offer from DTH was for the tuition only. There was about $1,800 in housing and other costs that needed to be covered.

I'd like to extend a special thank you to Nina for going far above and beyond the call of duty. Everything having to do with DTH is beyond the scope of her work with Idol Camp. I also want to note the generosity of the Idol Camp officials as a whole. Last, but not least, I'd like to thank G-Unity for giving a leg up to a special boy as he reaches for the stars.

I also just received word that the great news about DTH and G-Unity will be announced Monday about 9:20 a.m. on The Today Show.

Andrew and the Dance Theatre of Harlem

We received an incredible phone call today from the folks at American Idol Camp. I told Andrew that when he appeared on The Today Show, things would start to happen. My prediction came true.

One of the people watching that day was Arthur Mitchell. For those who are unfamiliar with dance history, he is the first African-American man to join a major U.S. dance company. He's also the founder and director of the Dance Theatre of Harlem. Mr. Mitchell offered Andrew a full scholarship to attend the company's summer intensive. He will first spend 10 days at American Idol Camp then be take to New York City for six weeks. That's a long time for someone so young to be away from home, but it will be an extraordinary opportunity.

Andy's Road to Idoldom

This has been an incredibly busy -- and exciting -- time. We learned late last month that my nephew Andrew was accepted to American Idol Camp. Andrew is a Level 3 student at the Russian Ballet Academy of Indiana. He's been sort of a standout since starting at the former Ballet Internationale's Clara Noyes Academy. Within his first month there, I was told by the principal that he could have a career in dance if he kept up with the training. That first year, he managed to earn the lead role of Sancho in the school's production of Don Quixote.

The whole thing with Andrew has been really wild! I was just signing up my kid to go to summer camp, but all this has really snowballed. I happened to be trolling about on the Idol web site, looking at bios, when I saw a banner ad for the camp. I opened it and was taken to an awesome web site. Because Andrew wants to be a triple threat (singer, actor, dancer) on Broadway, I thought this would be an ideal opportunity.

I called Andrew to help write the application -- after all, I didn't know what his favorite song, movie or musical was. Of course, he was going to answer with just West Side Story. I've been trying to teach the boys to write things in threes, so I told him he had to share three reasons why it was his favorite musical.

The extra work paid off. A couple of weeks later, I received a call from an American Idol producer who said the admissions folks were really impressed with Andrew's application and wondered whether we'd mind if he were featured on The Today Show. WOULD WE MIND??? A week later, the Today crew descended on our home, and the segment aired on April 4. I hear scenes from Andrew's segment also were included in another segment where other children were featured. Today also plans to follow up when Andrew goes to camp in July.