Dance guru Cris Judd will be juggling fatherhood commitments as well as critiquing Kiwi talent when he heads to Aotearoa as part of the New Zealand’s Got Talent judging panel.
Judd – who has worked with Michael Jackson, Celine Dion, Julio Iglesias, Jennifer Lopez (to whom he was briefly married) and Queen Latifah – is the first overseas judge confirmed for the talent show’s three-strong panel.
He will spend about four months in New Zealand working on the show, including a three-month block from October to December when his wife, Kelly A. Wolfe, and their newborn child, join him.
“We are expecting our first child in September,” Judd said from his base in Los Angeles. “It’s a good year, I am very happy. I grew up abroad, so I would love to have my child grow up the same way and experience the world.”
His parents were in the military and he spent time in the Philippines.
Judd, 43, said he was “over the moon” about signing with New Zealand’s Got Talent.
After travelling the world with some of the greatest performers – including on Jackson’s Dangerous and HIStory world tours – he said he was stoked to add New Zealand to his bulging passport.
“I am on cloud nine . . . I would like to take in everything that is possible and do anything that I can,” Judd said.
“I hear New Zealand is the extreme sports capital of the world, so I am excited. I like riding motorcycles, playing golf and surfing . . . I would like to take it in and experience it all at once. I will be like this exuberant person.”
Judd has worked on US reality TV shows including Made, Your Mama Don’t Dance, Bust A Move, Keeping Up With The Kardashians and I’m A Celebrity Get Me Out of Here.
Talent shows such as New Zealand’s Got Talent were an exciting format which often unearthed entertainment gold, he said.
“You get to see talents from all over that are just coming out of the woodwork . . . when they come out it is just refreshing to see something you have never seen before, amazing talent that is cooped up and they [previously] didn’t have an avenue to express themselves,” he said.
He said his many years as a dancer, choreographer and director would ensure his judging had a “professional outlook and perspective”.
“Those that are dancers, they will be judged and critiqued by a professional dancer to then have a chance to do very well in the show and perhaps win,” he said.
But he would not be typecast as the villain of the judging panel.
“I don’t think I am going to be nasty . . . but I am pretty honest and I like to be constructive.
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“If someone is going to come on to the show and I see potential, I am going to offer advice so the next time they come on stage you can see them grow as artists. You want to see if they can take direction . . . you want to see them prosper and do well.”
In preparation to flying to New Zealand he has been watching clips from last year’s show, won by Blenheim teenager Clara Van Wel.
“I saw last year’s episodes . . . it was fantastic,” he said.
“The talent was amazing, and especially with the winner, Clara. She by far seemed like the most seasoned and had this old soul about her that was very endearing. She deserved to win.”
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