Simone Recasner is ready to take a leap.
SIMONE RECASNER:My dad is an actor, as well as my sister.
I was super-immersed in the world.
Simone Recasner on ‘The Big Leap’.Sandy Morris/FOX
Everybody was always in some way or another associated with the business.
I was at this young age where I was feeling things I didn’t know how to word.
Then also the amazing performances.
What was your first professional gig?
There’s not really a fine pinpoint on that.
It was a literal dream come true.
This is definitely my first job in this key in of a position on a TV and film set.
Dance means so much in Gabby’s life.
Do you also have a deep dance background?
Is it as meaningful to you as it is to her?
It is meaningful in a very different way; it’s meaningful as an observer.
This is my first time dancing professionally.
So it’s certainly been a big jump or a big leap.
It’s not just a cerebral experience.
I think in the pilot alone I had six dance numbers I had to learn.
What was your dance training like?
We’ve had days that are 10-hour-long days of dancing.
Lots and lots of hip-hop and learning about weight shifts.
A lot of our choreographers are from that world, so getting to dance with them was pretty incredible.
What is your favorite thing about Gabby?
My favorite thing is her bravery.
She’s so brave, even in moments she falters.
She’s somebody who can be incredibly self-conscious but doesn’t let that stop her.
Even if her brain is telling her that people are judging her, she keeps going forward.
That is a quality I admire so much.
It’s amazing to get to embody that, and hopefully it’ll seep into my actual personal life.
What do you find most challenging about her?
Maybe the physical, dancing aspect?
I don’t know.
Yes it is challenging, but also the choreography team has provided so much support.
I’ve never experienced playing a character and going through a similar experience that they’re going through.
But also ultimately then learns that she’s able to lean on herself.
I’m going through that experience actively.
Part of Gabby’s journey is her relationship with her weight.
Is the prospect of representing that a burden or a gift?
All of the above.
In a lot of ways, I didn’t even believe I could be on TV.
I didn’t see myself being on TV, definitely not connection TV.
And it’s because I literally never saw myself reflected on TV.
So I am excited beyond belief.
That fact exists of her being a big dancer in a world that still worships smaller bodies.
I hope that there can be a million more plus-size people on TV and in people’s living rooms.
The pilot ends with this amazingDirty Dancing-worthy lift.
Can you tell us more about bringing that to life?
Being lifted was 100 percent a fear of mine.
I just had to first of all trust the people around me, trust Ser’Darius [Blain].
But ultimately, it was so thrilling to be living my dream.
She doesn’t necessarily see herself as the center of it and core itself.
How weirdly meta has this whole experience been?
It’s so meta.
The goal is to put on a performance.
It means more than I can say it.
I did not envision internet TV embracing me in this way.
I’m actively learning what it means as I’m going.
It feels so monumental, and on a deeply personal level.
I hope it makes people feel vindicated or good or empowered.
She was always a healthy kid but the world was telling her she was too big.
I wish that I could go back and show this to that kid.
Then imagining that there are other kids out there like me really hits a part of me.
