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Travis Wall
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| Travis Michael Wall | |
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| Born | September 16, 1987 Virginia Beach, Virginia |
| Nationality | United States |
| Occupation | Dancer Dance instructor |
| Known for | So You Think You Can Dance: Season 2 |
| Relatives | Danny Tidwell |
| Website http://www.traviswall.tv http://www.myspace.com/hardassbitch |
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Travis Michael Wall (born September 16, 1987, Virginia Beach, Virginia), an American dancer and dance instructor specializing in contemporary dance and hip-hop. He is best known for his 2006 appearance as a competitor on the second season of the television show So You Think You Can Dance, which airs on the Fox Network. Among other pursuits, he is currently a choreographer for the show.
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Personal
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"I was born into the studio and all I really know is dance."
—Travis Wall (Dance Magazine, 2007)1
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Wall grew up in Virginia Beach, Virginia. He began dancing at the age of three, training at his mother's studio, Denise Wall's Dance Energy, and competing in a number of conventions.2
In 2007, his adoptive brother Danny Tidwell was a runner-up of the third season of So You Think You Can Dance. He, too, had trained with their mother Denise Wall, who also trained Jaimie Goodwin, a season 3 contestant.1
Career
Early career
His professional career officially started at the age of nine when he appeared in a popular Dr. Pepper commercial 3. On April 27, 2000, at age 13, he started a two-year run in "The Music Man" on Broadway, playing a Resident of River City/Winthrop Paroo understudy.4
"So You Think You Can Dance"
At the age of 18, Wall competed on the second season of the show So You Think You Can Dance (SYTYCD), making it to the final four contestants and coming in second place to overall winner Benji Schwimmer. Wall was praised by the judges as the most technically talented dancer in the competition. People have said that Travis is one of the best contemporary dancers that has ever appeared on "So You Think You Can Dance."
For the routine, called 'The Bench' set to Calling You by Celine Dion, which he danced with Heidi Groskreutz, Mia Michaels won an Emmy in Outstanding Choreography for 2007 5
During the fall of 2006, Wall toured the United States with the top 10 dancers of the So You Think You Can Dance competition.
Wall helped teach choreography for the season four auditions and was glimpsed in the audition episodes which aired in May 2008.
Post-SYTYCD
Travis danced on the October 16, 2007 Dancing with the Stars results show, in a piece choreographed by and starring Wade Robson. Wall, along with Tidwell and many previous finalists of So You Think You Can Dance, performed during the second annual American Idol Idol Gives Back charity event on April 9, 2008. Nigel Lythgoe produces both shows.6
Travis did a surprise audition on the 4th episode of So You Think You Can Dance - as "Danielle Chorizo".
In Week 6 of Season 5, Travis choreographed a contemporary piece for Jeanine Mason and Jason Glover to the song "If It Kills Me" (The Casa Nova Sessions) by Jason Mraz, for which the judges gave Travis and the dancers a standing ovation. In Week 7 of Season 5, Wall choreographed a contemporary group routine for the remaining top 8 dancers. He was, once again, commended for his brilliant choreography. On July 23, 2009, Wall returned to So You Think You Can Dance along with fellow Season 2 contestant Heidi Groskreutz on the 100th episode of the show, to perform their Emmy award winning piece "The Park Bench" choreographed by Mia Michaels.
Dance tours
Wall performs regularly with American Dance Artists, in Delmarva, as well as for Evolution, a Los Angeles based company.
Dance instruction
Wall teaches students Contemporary at NUVO, a dance convention that tours the nation (www.gonuvo.com).
DVDs
Wall and Ivan Koumaev made a dance video in 2007 called Its About Time. It was made for the viewer's entertainment and is not an educational DVD.
Choreography
On July 15 Travis Wall choreographed for So You Think You Can Dance's 5th season as a guest choreographer. He was given a standing ovation for his work with the Jason and Jeanine Contemporary "If It Kills Me" Routine.
Media
Publications
In February 2007, Wall was featured in a fashion/dance spread in movmnt magazine (which Tidwell co-founded). The following June, Wall interviewed Whoopi Goldberg for the magazine.7
Wall was featured in the photography book Moving Still: a Life Performance by David Benaym.
Films
Wall was in the 2008 Disney movie, Bedtime Stories (film) starring Adam Sandler, alongside SYTYCD season 3 contestant, Lacey Schwimmer.
Awards
- 2006, Runner-up So You Think You Can Dance
- Jeanine Mason and Jason Glover's Contemporary piece chosen as Mary Murphy's favorite performance of season five of SYTYCD.
Footnotes
- ^ a b Marshall, Lea (January 2007). "Winning Attitude" Dance Magazine. 81 (1):212-214
- ^ No byline (2006). "Travis Wall" Fox.com. Retrieved August 28, 2007
- ^ Travis Wall: Portrait of the young man as an artist movmnt, June 20, 2006.
- ^ No byline. The Music Man Production Credits Ibdb.com. Retrieved May 19, 2008.
- ^ Academy of Television Arts & Sciences
- ^ "Idol Gives Back". American Idol. 9 April 2008 No. 7, Episode 29
- ^ Wall, Travis. movmnt magazine [online video]. "Whoopi Goldberg to Travis Wall: 'movement is everything!'"
Links
- traviswall.tv Official Web site
- Travis Wall at MySpace
- Travis Wall at the Internet Movie Database
- TravisWall-Online.Org Travis Wall fansite
- "So You Think You Can Dance" profile at fox.com
- denisewall.com Denise Wall Dance Energy dance studio
- Travis Wall page at the Internet Broadway Database
- Moving Still, a life performance - Site of the book featuring Wall
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