By Jae-Ha Kim
Tribune Media Services
April 12, 2011
Born in Puerto Limon, Costa Rica, to Chinese parents, Harry Shum Jr. was once best known for his dancing in films such as “You Got Served,” “Stomp the Yard” and the “Step Up” films. But, today, “gleeks” worldwide know him as dreamy high school student Mike Chang on Fox TV’s hit show “Glee.”
Shum also stars in “The LXD: The Legion of Extraordinary Dancers,” which has just been released on DVD. “LXD” combines superheroes and villains with dance and Shum is also one of the choreographers on the project. Currently living in Los Angeles, the 28-year-old actor-dancer says he’s looking forward to this summer’s “Glee” concert tour.
Q. What cities have the best dance clubs?
A. There are so many, actually. New York has a blend of all kinds of things. But the best underground dance clubs that no one really thinks about are in San Francisco. I’m talking especially hip-hop-wise. San Francisco is so low-key about it that you would never know about them unless you actually go. Sometimes they’re in places that are like people’s homes with maybe 100 dancers showing off their best moves, and the music is always on point. I love to watch people dance. That’s how I learned. But I do go out and dance, too. When you see all the fun, you want to join the party.
Q. What is your favorite vacation destination?
A. Hawaii never lets me down. The clean air, the laid-back presence of everyone there and the fact that you can just sit there and be in paradise makes it an ideal vacation spot. We drove a scooter all around the island of Oahu and I remember a moment right before sunset when we were right by the ocean. You could see the gorgeous mountains and feel the wind against your face. It felt like a piece of heaven. It’s really difficult to describe how wonderful it was.
Q. What is your favorite weekend getaway?
A. I enjoy traveling by train to Santa Barbara, Calif. It’s a really short ride and I get to rest and not have to worry about driving and being stuck in traffic. It’s such a beautiful area with so many things to do, regardless of whether you want to be active or just kind of sit back and relax. You can just spend a day there and head back home to Los Angeles in no time, or you can spend the weekend at one of the nice hotels there.
Q. When you go away, what is the one thing you can’t live without?
A. My iPad. I feel connected to the world when I have it with me. When you travel you sometimes get a little homesick. Somehow having my iPad with me makes me feel like I’m at home. I know that probably sounds odd, but it’s true!
Q. What are your favorite cities?
A. New York, San Francisco, Miami and Philadelphia. There’s something about Philly that I really like. I think part of it is that it reminds me of San Francisco, where I grew up. I love their downtown area. I feel like I can feel the history when I’m there. I definitely want to spend more time getting to know Philly better.
Q. What is your worst vacation memory?
A. I can’t think of one. Wait, I do have one and it was actually a trip to Hawaii. I had forgotten about it because that’s how great Hawaii is — it makes you forget any of the bad things that may have happened. (Laughs.)
I went there with two friends and used buddy passes that my brother-in-law gave me. We flew there and on our way home decided to fly out of Maui instead of going back to Oahu to fly back home. Long story short, we couldn’t get on a flight. We were hoping to sleep at the airport ‘cause our flight was so early in the morning, but we were kicked out when the airport shut down for the night. Maui’s hotels were all booked, but we finally found a motel near the airport that had a room, but it was pretty bad. It was a really uncomfortable spot that had black water coming out of the faucet. We laugh about it now, but it was not funny back then. I remember the feeling of not sleeping much that night.
© 2011 JAE-HA KIM
DISTRIBUTED BY TRIBUNE MEDIA SERVICES, INC.
