So You Think You Can Dance dancer was in my ballet class!?

So I just realized that I took ballet in a class with Jason Glover from So You Think You Can Dance for a few years! He is from Fresno, my hometown, and went to the same high school as me, Bullard. I knew he looked so familiar to me and after reading this article below it mentions the dance studio he went to, which was the dance studio I went to since I wad ten and then up to my senior year of high school. Then it clicked, he was totally this young kid in my class who was better than all of us ballerinas and used to show us all how to do everything, we would stand on the sides and just watch his spins and leaps and just be in awe. Sue Sampson-Dalena is the owner of the dance studio and has been since I was young, she is a sweetheart and she mentioned a lot about Jason below. Anyway, small world!

Fresno's Jason Glover dances toward his dream

Published online on Tuesday, Jun. 09, 2009

By Rick Bentley / The Fresno Bee

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Fresno’s Jason Glover, one of 20 finalists for this season of the Fox series “So You Think You Can Dance,” is keeping close to his heart the words of wisdom he got from actor/dancer Gregory Hines.

In 2003, Hines’s dance tour made a stop in Fresno. As part of the show, the actor/dancer invited several local people on stage. One of those novice dancers was a 15-year-old Glover. Hines was so impressed with Glover, he invited the Fresnan and his mother, Sylvia Glover, to a small party after the show.

“He took me by the shoulder and said, ‘Jason, you are an amazing talent. You will be famous one day. Always be humble and remember the people who loved you and who got you here.’ That hit a real note with me. I knew then I wanted to be a dancer,” Glover said.

Glover’s doing just that. Landing a spot in the top 20 of the Fox series “So You Think You Can Dance” is the latest dance accomplishment for the 21-year-old Bullard graduate. And to think — when Glover was 12 he was afraid to admit he wanted to dance.

“I had always wanted to try dance. But, I was doing a lot of sports: soccer, baseball, basketball, swimming. At that age, peer pressure comes into play. I wanted to be well-liked by my peers. But dance, for most men, is not a macho thing. You meet a guy and he says he’s a dancer, you immediately think he is a sissy. We are not,” Glover says during a quick break from the lengthy rehearsals for the television show. “Dance is one of the hardest things anyone can do.”

FOX

Dancer Jason Glover of Fresno has landed among the 20 top finalists in “So You Think You Can Dance .”

Show info

Glover and the other 19 finalists will show just how physically demanding dance is when the first round of eliminations begins Wednesday. Viewers will vote for their favorite pairs. Those with the fewest votes will face elimination Thursday night.

It has been a long and demanding road for Glover to reach the TV show.

After he finally enrolled at Sue Sampson-Dalena’s Dance Studio of Fresno at the age of 12, he spent every free moment rehearsing.

“Jason has talent galore. He had the ability, even as a youngster, to pick up every type of step,” Sampson-Dalena says.

It was Glover’s mother who took the first steps toward igniting the dance passion in Glover. She showed him videos of hoofers like Hines, Michael Jackson and Fred Astaire. It wasn’t long before Glover was studying tap and hip-hop.

Sampson-Dalena guided him into jazz, contemporary and even ballet. His dance teacher says Glover was such a ballet talent when he was 14 that he could have joined a professional ballet company. “He just likes everything,” Sampson-Dalena says. “He is a chameleon, able to go from one style to next and not skip a beat.”

That will help with this competition. Dancers must be able to perform styles from hip-hop to ballroom to earn the title of America’s Favorite Dancer. Glover’s secret weapon could be his tap dancing skills, a style that isn’t shown much on the show.

Glover, a loyal fan of the show since it debuted in 2005, auditioned last year for the series but was cut just before the final 40.

The hard work has begun. Dancers spend every moment working on dance moves for their pairs competition Wednesday and for a group performance on Thursday. Glover’s partner for his pairs number won’t be revealed until the telecast.

Anyone who doubts the physical demands of dance should see one of the rehearsals. Sampson-Dalena, whose husband played professional baseball, argues that dance training is more demanding than any sport.

Glover credits his family and friends for giving him the support over the years to keep dancing. Many of his supporters will get together 7:30 p.m. Wednesday at the World Sports Cafe to watch the telecast. Dance Studio of Fresno has produced “Glover Lover” T-shirts to wear. The event is open to the public.

“For the dance community, this is our ‘American Idol,’ ” says Sampson-Dalena.

Joshua Allen, last season’s winner on “So You Think You can Dance,” won a $250,000 cash prize and got an offer to be a featured dancer in the Adam Shankman film “Step Up 3-D.”

Glover’s dream is to be a dancer with a musical act while he is young and then become a choreographer. This show could launch that career.

Right now, Glover has another concern on his mind: “I love Fresno. I hope people can see me on TV for who I am, see I am working hard to represent Fresno. I just hope I do everybody proud.”