Mark Kanemura: Lady GaGa Gave MeThe Courage To Be Myself

If you watched "Lady Gaga Presents the Monster Ball Tour: At Madison Square Garden" on HBO last weekend you may have noticed this gorgeous fellow right here >>>>>>>>>>>>

His name is Mark Kanemura; Most recognize him from Season 4's So You Think You Can Dance.  I totally loved him during that season and felt he deserved the win, more-so than Joshua or Twitch.  I mean look at him, he's absolutely beautiful.

And for those who never knew, Mark was a part of Lady Gaga's entourage during the Monster Ball Tour.  I knew it was him dancing up there, but of course I had my skeptics. Well in June of last year, Mark had an interview with PopWatch from The New York Post, where he stated that Lady Gaga gave him the courage to be himself.  Here is part of that awesome interview...

PW: It kind of foreshadowed your work on the Lady GaGa tour. What has that been like?
Mark: It’s been a dream come true. It sounds so generic to say that, but at the same time, people who know me know that working with her was so specific to me. That was the one job I put out into the universe. I just had to, had to, had to dance with this amazing artist. There’s just something about her that I need to be around and experience. 

PW: I'd imagine it's a very surreal existence on tour with GaGa.
Mark: It is. You wake up, go throughout your day and end up on stage with this incredible freak. I could not believe that I was doing that. I was so drawn to her was because I felt the way that she viewed art was relatable to me. She gave me courage to be who I was, and who I wanted to be and sometimes it’s hard to wear that freaky self that I am. She’s really inspirational. The journey itself has been incredible. 

PW: How has working with her changed your dancing?
Mark: They way that she is with her music and her fashion is the way that she is with her dance. When she’s performing, she holds nothing back. She lays it out there for you. To be around someone like that, who encourages you to go there, is incredible. Plus the choreographers – Laurie Ann Gibson and Richie Jackson – do an incredible job of not only choreographing, but encouraging the dancers to put ourselves in the dance. And that’s rare in the industry. They don’t want robots on there. 

PW: How did you get hired, an open call?
Mark: The story itself is crazy because I couldn’t go to the audition. I was in Nebraska teaching, so it was a huge gamble not going to the audition for an artist I really wanted to work with. But I had worked with the choreographers before somehow they remembered me from this past job, so they hired me.

PW: So you got the news in Nebraska?
Mark: When my agent told me I literally started crying my eyes out. I was running around with crazy eyes and people were scared. And on top of that I had just had this large cup of extremely large coffee, so those two together weren’t a great combination. I was bouncing off the walls, crying, screaming. It was the most ridiculous thing. I lost my marbles.

PW: Can you pinpoint a most memorable moment with her?
Mark: [laughs] It would have to be my first [performance with GaGa], the VMA’s doing "Paparazzi." Although, when I first met her, that was crazy too. She came in and we showed her the routine and I was like, “ok Mark, this is your opportunity” so danced harder than I ever had before. And I almost had an asthma attack [laughs].

And for those who question his homosexuality, I'll let the following pictures answer that for you.  The pictures feature another Lady Gaga dancer, Jeremy Hudson, who's appeared in her music videos, Telephone, Alejandro, and Born This Way.

More pics, and a very hot video after the jump...