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Holmes’s "SYTYCD" Performance Called ‘Oscar Winning!'

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PEOPLE
7/10/09

Katie Holmes’s choreographer Tyce Diorio is so confident in her performance on July 23 for the 100th episode of "So You Think You Can Dance" that he says “it’s Oscar winning!”

Diorio then went further after Thursday’s elimination show, adding, “She’s amazing!” and promising that when viewers see Holmes in a top hat and coat singing and dancing an homage to Judy Garland “it’ll come out of nowhere.”

“The thing that is so awesome is that you won’t know, you don’t know what to expect … but then when you sit and watch it, it’s amazing. Amazing! And it’s not something in my opinion that’s just going to be like ‘oh, how nice.’ It’s not going to be that … ‘oh, look how sweet that is.’ No, it’s real. It’s as real as what you’re seeing now. I’m very proud of it, so I talk really highly of Katie.”

Longtime friend and dance coach of Holmes, Diorio explained that he and his star pupil have spent a lot of time working together for the non-profit Dizzy Feet Foundation performance so he knew she was ready to take on a challenge as big as this one.

“You get to know someone and their talents and their personality,” he says, “being in my position that’s my job to see and figure out who is ready and how to do it and how to get there. And I have been with Katie for so long now and I was like, ‘yeah, you’re ready, let’s do it.’ I could see the magic. I could see the truth in her talent, and she believes in herself too, so it was all coupled together.”

Diorio also said that after sitting with Holmes and listening to music together Garland’s “Get Happy” just felt right her because, as he puts it, “Katie reminds me of that MGM Hollywood movie star. Her looks and her essence … she stands there and you’re like ‘what?’ and when you see the way she looks … she looks like she could be on the stage at the Oscars.”

He added jokingly: “Call me after you see it and tell me your real feelings and we’ll meet up. It’ll match up.” – Jed Dreben