Do you have a favorite dance performance from Bunheads?

Julia: I think my favorite one, just because it was so impulsive and fun, was the ‘Istanbul (Not Constantinople)’ one because we learned it in three hours, and then we shot it the next day and none of us knew if it was going to be good or not and people like that. That was fun.

What’s it like dancing to a camera rather than an audience?

Julia: On this show it’s not so different in that Amy, our executive producer, really likes to do things in one shot. That dance number was done in one shot so it was like it was live. If we messed one thing up it ruined the whole thing and we had to start over so there were no cuts. When we do dance numbers that cut to different sections it does make it easier to make mistakes because we know we can just do it again.

How much time do you have to practice every week dancing?

Julia: We take private lessons so we get about 2.5 hours of dance classes per week, and that’s on top of our rehearsals for the weekly numbers. We just work really, really hard for like three to five hours on the weekend, and then we shoot during the week.

How are you similar and how are you different to Sasha other than the ballet obviously and the dancing?

Julia: We’re similar in that I think we share sort of similar dry humor and sarcasm, and also in the last episode of the season you see that Sasha’s really a planner and an over-analyzer. I compulsively research everything before I do anything. I’m not impulsive at all, and she’s like that in that she’s thinking about having sex so she buys every book about sex ever written, and she’s on every website, and she’s asking everyone to talk to her about it. Whenever I make decisions about anything I do research like that. We’re different in that she has terrible parents, and I have great parents. I think she’s a little bit more blunt than I am, although I’ve started noticing that if I play her for too long I start saying things that I wouldn’t otherwise, like I start losing my filter.

Seeing how Sasha is so different from you in certain ways, how do you relate to her?

Julia: I find her honesty very relatable, she has her façade of just being cool and not caring but she really feels things deeply. She’s very sensitive, and I think the people who are closest to her can sort of see through her façade, and see that she’s sort of just really, really hurting. I think that’s what I admire about her is that there’s really no intended pretension. She’s just trying to figure out who she is and she’s really, really alone.

I think that she does a great job of taking care of herself in a situation where a lot of people would crack and turn to hardcore drugs and she’s not. She’s doing well for herself, and I admire that she’s maturing, and I really love that she’s honest with her friends. She genuinely cares for people. She’s bonded with Michelle. They take care of each other. I remember in Episode 4 she bought new pointe shoes when Boo couldn’t get new ones because she couldn’t afford them. It’s just the little things that Sasha does that make me love her.

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