Where Are They Now?: SYTYCD Alumni's Current Projects

[vast wasteland]

More of Mark and his wigs, love him.

Carly Rae Jepsen's Dancer Mark Kanemura Literally Snatched All The Wigs at Outside Lands: Watch

I will never forget his Bohemian Rhapsody, amazing.

Here's a little piece of it

 

And Jenna and Val Chermkovskiy are getting married.

Edited August 23, 2018 by vast wasteland

[Silver Raven]

Alex Wong sings.

[ElectricBoogaloo]

10 hours ago, Silver Raven said:

Alex Wong sings.

Awwww, a Newsies reunion!

[Electruck]

I saw Ballroom with a Twist last night, which has DWTS pros as headliners, with an Idol or two, plus some SYTYCDers. 

We were VERY surprised and pleased to see in the troupe the freshest SYT alum: Magda! 5 days after her exit. Alan Jenkins, who auditioned with her and just missed top 20 was also in the troupe, as was Randi Strong from S5.

The troupe danced A LOT, more than the DWTS pros. Magda really stood out, as did Alan. Both in a good way.

Chelsie Hightower and Lacey Schwimmer were two of the DWTS pros. Both were great, but I wish all of the pros had performed more.

 

(DWTS pros were Chelsie, Lacey, Anna T, Tony, Tristan, Damian. Idol singers were Von Smith (S8) and Vonzell Solomon (S4).)

[Silver Raven]

Alison Holker is listed in the credits as the choreographer for the film The Happytime Murders.  Considering all of the dancing was done by muppets I have to wonder what choreography she did.

[luvthepros]

My all time favorite contestant, Jess LeProtto......

Jess LeProtto interview

Jess LeProtto - Dancing Through His Resume' (You gotta see this if you love Jess like I do)

Edited September 7, 2018 by luvthepros

[ElectricBoogaloo]

Travis Wall was a guest choreographer on this week’s episode of Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders: Making the Team (S13.E7 - Big Time Dance). He taught the training camp candidates a contemporary dance which was used for show group auditions. He then discussed with Kelli (the DCC director) which dancers stood out to him. 

[TVbitch]

I think I saw Allstar Robert in the troupe on DWTS Monday night. 

[crowceilidh]

You did.

[Mason]

Randi (S5, of butt dance fame) has her own production company: http://strongproductions.com/

[Maya S]

Season 6 alum and Tony Award nominee Ariana DeBose will be stepping into Rita Moreno's shoes as Anita in Steven Spielberg's West Side Story remake!

Cast of Spielberg's West Side Story remake

[Anothermi]

On 2019-01-14 at 1:42 PM, Maya S said:

Season 6 alum and Tony Award nominee Ariana DeBose will be stepping into Rita Moreno's shoes as Anita in Steven Spielberg's West Side Story remake!

Cast of Spielberg's West Side Story remake

I am so happy for Ariana!

[ElectricBoogaloo]

Robert Roldan and Hannalei were both in last night's production of Rent Live on Fox.

[realdancemom]

On 1/28/2019 at 1:55 PM, ElectricBoogaloo said:

Robert Roldan and Hannalei were both in last night's production of Rent Live on Fox.

Don't know if there's a judges thread but Vanessa did a really good job in Rent.  Saw Robert but I'm not sure if I saw Hannalei in it.  Still not impressed with Vanessa as a judge but she did impress me in Rent. 

[ElectricBoogaloo]

On 2/4/2019 at 10:02 AM, realdancemom said:

Don't know if there's a judges thread but Vanessa did a really good job in Rent.  Saw Robert but I'm not sure if I saw Hannalei in it.  Still not impressed with Vanessa as a judge but she did impress me in Rent. 

Yes, there is a separate thread for the judges here.

[ElectricBoogaloo]

Travis Wall's documentary I Dream of Dance is now available on Netflix (you will see several other SYTYCD alumni!)

Interview with Travis and Denise Wall about I Dream of Dance

Trailer for I Dream of Dance:

Edited February 6, 2019 by ElectricBoogaloo

[ElectricBoogaloo]

I saw the And Peggy national tour of Hamilton and Ryan Kasprzak is listed as the dance supervisor. I'm going to have to dig out my other Hamilton programs from the Angelica and Philip tours to see if he was the dance supervisor for those too. While I was googling Ryan to see what else he'd been up to since SYTYCD, I found this old interview with Evan and Ryan where they talked about auditioning for the show, working together, coming up with their Broadway Brothers schtick for the show, etc.

One thing that I thought would interest people is Evan breaking down the basic schedule for the show:

Our week started Friday, basically. The show aired Wednesday and Thursday. Thursday was the results show, someone goes home, everyone’s sad—that’s a real thing; everyone always asks if it was really cutthroat or if there was a lot of back-stabbing, but there was none of that on our season; we were really like a family. Because it’s such a unique experience the only people who know what it’s like are the other contestants.

Then on Friday you start for the next week. You go into the studio and have an hour and a half per number to prepare. So, assuming it’s a single-dance week, which the early weeks are because there are so many people, you get an hour and a half in front of the camera with the choreographer. The packages they always show before the number, those were filmed in the first hour and a half, when we don’t know the routine, which is why we’re always falling on our faces or kicking each other, all that good TV. There’s a pre- and post-interview that you also do on Friday.

On Saturday you have three hours with no cameras, which is when the real nitty-gritty work gets done. A lot of choreographers will try to teach the whole routine in the first hour and a half, so even if it’s sloppy you have it in your head so you can try and digest it. But on Saturday you put your nose to the grindstone. Sunday was our day off, which usually consisted of sleeping and practicing in the hallways with your partner.

Occasionally you would walk down the street and go shopping, but I would mainly sleep.

Monday you’d get one more hour, your final hour, with the choreographer. You get 30 minutes onstage to block and set up spacing—because obviously the stage is different than the studio—then another 30 minutes in a studio at the sound stage. That’s it. We’d do a dress rehearsal Tuesday then shoot Tuesday night. Our show was taped “as live,” so it might as well have been live, but airing it the next day gave them extra time to edit in case the judging went long. Because we were “as live,” any of our mistakes would make it to air, unfortunately for us.

Wednesday, we would usually start around 6 or 7 in the morning. We’d learn the entire group number in one day and shoot it first thing Thursday morning. Then, the results show that night.

...

In the finale we’re doing three dances each. If you remember the schedule I talked about before, on Friday you’re not just doing an hour and a half, you’re doing three times that, which is four and a half hours of dancing, which doesn’t include the pre- and post-interviews, which are about a half-hour each. That’s a six-hour day. Saturday is now a nine-hour day of dancing, and by the end of it your brain is just mush. And this is week 10, so I had bruises just everywhere.

[Silver Raven]

Alex Wong's name is in the credits for Isn't it Romantic, though I admit to not seeing him, but there are large dance scenes in the movie.

[ElectricBoogaloo]

Jess LeProtto is playing Barnaby Tucker in the national tour of Hello, Dolly! I am going to see it next week so I will report back afterward!

[ElectricBoogaloo]

Several SYTYCD alumni will be in the upcoming West Side Story movie

Ariana DeBose was already announced as Anita (see post above) but Gaby Diaz, Ricky Ubeda, and Jess LeProtto have been added to the cast (as has judge Maddy Ziegler).

[ElectricBoogaloo]

Arcadian Broad (who auditioned last year) is leaving Orlando Ballet at the end of this season. They are performing an Alice in Wonderland ballet that he choreographed this season. I remember there were a few things he said during SYTYCD that were unclear or that were questioned. According to this article:

Quote

After a short trainee stint at Orlando Ballet School, he spent six months in the second company before joining Orlando Ballet—at age 16, he was the youngest dancer ever to receive a contract there. For many he has since become the face of Orlando Ballet, a status reinforced by his promotion to artist in residence at the end of 2017.

And according to this article from last year, he withdrew from SYTYCD because the Academy conflicted with his production of Alice in Wonderland.

[ElectricBoogaloo]

Twitch will be a guest mentor on this week's episode of World of Dance (S3.E10: Divisional Finals)!

[realdancemom]

On 4/27/2019 at 6:04 AM, ElectricBoogaloo said:

Twitch will be a guest mentor on this week's episode of World of Dance (S3.E10: Divisional Finals)!

Great guest mentor.  I hope this doesn't mean that he can't help on SYTYCD.  I know he's not a judge this season but it would be nice to see him do something else.

[ElectricBoogaloo]

A short article in Dance Spirit about SYTYCD couples

[displayname]

On 5/11/2019 at 9:24 AM, ElectricBoogaloo said:

A short article in Dance Spirit about SYTYCD couples

I thought it would be about couples on the show and the routines they did lol

[rlc]

Alex Wong was on Fosse/Verdon, episode 6. He was one of the dancers in the rehearsal for Chicago. I hope we see more of him!

[ElectricBoogaloo]

This is from a few months ago, but Hannalei on the set of Rent:

[realdancemom]

Please delete if not appropriate.  This is a Go Fund Me page for Ashleigh of Season 6.  It's organized by her SIL, Charity from WOD Season 2.

https://www.gofundme.com/helpashleightoday?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=fb_dn_cpgnstaticxlarge_r&fbclid=IwAR013sFyjADj6ojSQj9IZWqn7juKMiFThIdMroESR_aNb8FuAPcPugXURYw

[cali1981]

Ariana DeBose, fresh off last year's Tony nomination for her performance in the Donna Summer Musical on Broadway, will play Anita in Steven Spielberg's remake of  West Side Story. Other SYTYCD alumni in the movie are Rickey Obeda, Gabby Diaz and Jess Leprotto.  Not too shabby is it? For Dance Mom fans, Maddie Ziegler will also be in the film.

[ElectricBoogaloo]

9 hours ago, cali1981 said:

Ariana DeBose, fresh off last year's Tony nomination for her performance in the Donna Summer Musical on Broadway, will play Anita in Steven Spielberg's remake of  West Side Story. Other SYTYCD alumni in the movie are Rickey Obeda, Gabby Diaz and Jess Leprotto.  Not too shabby is it? For Dance Mom fans, Maddie Ziegler will also be in the film.

There's a link above with a list of everyone from SYTYCD who will be in West Side Story (as well as all of the Sharks/Jets dancers).

[crowceilidh]

Well, I[m not sure whether it qualifies as a project but Pasha's got married:

https://www.digitalspy.com/showbiz/a28238674/strictly-come-dancing-rachel-riley-pasha-kovalev-marry-las-vegas/

[Maya S]

17 hours ago, crowceilidh said:

Well, I[m not sure whether it qualifies as a project but Pasha's got married:

https://www.digitalspy.com/showbiz/a28238674/strictly-come-dancing-rachel-riley-pasha-kovalev-marry-las-vegas/

Their upcoming baby could also be considered a project 😊

[ElectricBoogaloo]

Paul Karmiryan from S10 (and later an all star for S12-S14) has a role in the new season of Veronica Mars. He plays a character named Alex Maloof.

[Electruck]

Saw Wicked (Munchkin cast), and Amy Yakima and Jordan Cassanova were in the ensemble. Amy also played Elphaba’s mother. 

[ElectricBoogaloo]

Good Morning America mocked the future king for taking ballet:

Travis Wall’s response:

[realdancemom]

27 minutes ago, ElectricBoogaloo said:

Good Morning America mocked the future king for taking ballet:

Travis Wall’s response:

Alex Wong also wrote something on his Instagram.  His comment:

WOW 😱😱😱PLEASE WATCH‼️ PLEASE CHIME IN!!! 🙌🏼🙌🏼 I would really love to hear your thoughts on whether or not you not thought this was in good fun - or not appropriate. As a male dancer myself, I find it a little tough that @lara.spencer allowed this to happen. It’s already hard enough for so many male dancers being made fun of growing up. Thoughts? 🌟PLEASE TAG YOUR FRIENDS and “like” so a bigger audience can chime and see this footage🌟

[Jynnan tonnix]

3 hours ago, realdancemom said:

Alex Wong also wrote something on his Instagram.  His comment:

WOW 😱😱😱PLEASE WATCH‼️ PLEASE CHIME IN!!! 🙌🏼🙌🏼 I would really love to hear your thoughts on whether or not you not thought this was in good fun - or not appropriate. As a male dancer myself, I find it a little tough that @lara.spencer allowed this to happen. It’s already hard enough for so many male dancers being made fun of growing up. Thoughts? 🌟PLEASE TAG YOUR FRIENDS and “like” so a bigger audience can chime and see this footage🌟

Wow...I can't even believe that the original comments ridiculing the idea of Prince George taking a ballet class were even cleared by whoever is responsible for this sort of thing. In this day and age, I would think the media would be incredibly sensitive to gender stereotypes. I don't watch a lot of TV, so I'm not sure whether this station has a bias at all, but unless it's an offshoot of Fox News, I'd think they would be about trying to be politically correct.

All that aside, though, it doesn't surprise me at all that little Prince George might have an artistic bent. Prince Charles has always been known for what was always considered a flaw in his sometimes "effeminate" manner when he was young, and his love for painting and such. I would hazard a guess that all the efforts at trying to man him up in his youth and adolescence did him much more harm than good, and I imagine that William and Kate, while keeping up with all the requirements in education are also sensitive enough to their children's personalities to allow them to follow their passions. And the idea of Prince George having a passion for dance makes me very happy.

[ElectricBoogaloo]

6 hours ago, Jynnan tonnix said:

I don't watch a lot of TV, so I'm not sure whether this station has a bias at all, but unless it's an offshoot of Fox News, I'd think they would be about trying to be politically correct.

Good Morning America is a national show that airs on ABC.

[realdancemom]

On 8/23/2019 at 7:55 PM, Jynnan tonnix said:

Wow...I can't even believe that the original comments ridiculing the idea of Prince George taking a ballet class were even cleared by whoever is responsible for this sort of thing. In this day and age, I would think the media would be incredibly sensitive to gender stereotypes. I don't watch a lot of TV, so I'm not sure whether this station has a bias at all, but unless it's an offshoot of Fox News, I'd think they would be about trying to be politically correct.

All that aside, though, it doesn't surprise me at all that little Prince George might have an artistic bent. Prince Charles has always been known for what was always considered a flaw in his sometimes "effeminate" manner when he was young, and his love for painting and such. I would hazard a guess that all the efforts at trying to man him up in his youth and adolescence did him much more harm than good, and I imagine that William and Kate, while keeping up with all the requirements in education are also sensitive enough to their children's personalities to allow them to follow their passions. And the idea of Prince George having a passion for dance makes me very happy.

Lara apologized and reached out to Travis Wall.  She saw Travis' response.  Here's a link to an article.  It's from Fox News which is conservative.

https://www.foxnews.com/entertainment/lara-spencer-prince-george-ballet-travis-wall

In the article, it shows a picture of the Monday morning ballet class.  Travis and Alex Wong are up front in the pic.  Gene Kelly's widow also posted on her FB page.

[ElectricBoogaloo]

Video of Travis and Alex outside of GMA:

Pictures (swipe):

[ElectricBoogaloo]

Alex Wong performing with Taylor Swift at the VMAs:

[ElectricBoogaloo]

Seeing Gaby as an all star for the top 6 episode got me to google her to see what she's been up to. This Dance Spirit article is from last year. She talks about moving from commercial dance (performing with J. Lo and Shaping Sound) to joining a company (Hubbard Street Dance). She also mentions SYTYCD very briefy.

[ElectricBoogaloo]

Travis Wall was a guest choreographer on Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders: Making the Team again (S14.E5: The Transformation Begins). He taught the girls a contemporary routine to Bad Guy. They then taught him a short portion of one of their pom routines. This is a clip of him doing the DCC routine with them:

[Guest]

Alex Wong and Melanie Moore going to be in the live Little Mermaid airing tomorrow night. 

[ElectricBoogaloo]

Jodi Benson posted a picture with Alex on the set yesterday in her IG stories!

Edited November 5, 2019 by ElectricBoogaloo

[ElectricBoogaloo]

Ariana DeBose joins cast of Ryan Murphy's Netflix adaptation of THE PROM

Quote

Debose joins a cast that includes Nicole Kidman, Meryl Streep, Kerry Washington, Awkwafina, James Corden, Keegan-Michael Key, and Andrew Rannells.

The film, written by Bob Martin and Chad Beguelin, follows four Broadway stars who, to champion a cause to rehabilitate their careers, head to a small-town to find Emma, a high school senior in Indiana who isn't allowed to take her girlfriend to the prom. DeBose will star as Alyssa, a popular daughter of the head of the Parent Teacher Association.

[ElectricBoogaloo]

Allison and tWitch had a little girl named Zaia last week!

They have been posting short dance videos the last few months.

Hot Shower

Boogie Shoes

September

Motivation

The Way You Move

Baby

Funky Good Time

All for You

The Tuxedo Way

Truth Hurts

Gettin Jiggy Wit It

Every Little Step (cameo by Maddox!)

Get Up

This Is How We Do It (with Maddox)

A longer video

[Keekski]

Never been an Allison fan. Never will be. 

[Maya S]

Alan Bersten (season 10) became the first male SYTYCD contestant to win Dancing With the Stars this past Monday.  The other SYTYCD contestants-turned-DWTS pros who have won are Witney Carson (season 9), Lindsay Arnold (season 9) and Jenna Johnson (season 10).  Witney was also runner-up to Alan this year.  

Edited November 27, 2019 by Maya S

[realdancemom]

Watching a show called Flirty Dancing on Fox.  Travis is one of the choreographers.  Last week, some of the assistants are also SYTYCD alumni.  I saw Season 5 Kayla and also Vlad who is more known as being in the DWTS troupe but he did audition last year.  Tyce was also a choreographer two weeks ago.