Spoilers forward for the Season 18 premiere of So You Suppose You Can Dance.
So You Suppose You Can Dance has kicked off its 18th season, with new judges Allison Holker, Maksim Chmerkovskiy and Consolation Fedoke selecting the perfect of the perfect to proceed forth within the revamped dance competitors. Monday’s premiere was the primary episode since former contestant and Season 17 decide Stephen “tWitch” Boss died, and so they rightfully paid tribute to the beloved dancer. Holker, Boss’ widow, had me in tears together with her lovely phrases about his legacy, and the feelings solely grew when a montage of tWitch started to play.
Allison Holker — who competed on SYTYCD Season 2 and returned a number of occasions over time as a choreographer and All-Star — joined the panel only one season after her late husband served as a decide. Holker grew to become emotional throughout contestant Jin’s audition, and afterward Jin thanked the decide for persevering with to be a light-weight for the dance neighborhood and guaranteeing tWitch’s legacy lives on, to which Holker stated:
I respect you saying that a lot. It’s not a straightforward journey, for anybody. Stephen ‘tWitch’ Boss was, and can perpetually be, an icon and a legend, as a result of he was actually the perfect at what he did, but additionally as a result of he introduced out the perfect in everybody round him. And to this present day, proper now, for me, my kids and everybody right here, he’s nonetheless doing that. And the way we honor him is by giving that gentle again. As a result of that’s what he would need, too.
I’ve been a fan of tWitch’s because the starting — in truth, he’s the rationale I began watching So You Suppose You Can Dance. He impressed me over time, and I don’t belong anyplace close to a dance ground. His dying by suicide at age 40 was a horrible loss for his household and followers and the dance neighborhood as a complete, and Allison Holker does deserve a lot credit score for the way she’s carried on within the aftermath.
After the judges unanimously agreed that Jin ought to advance to the following spherical, the temper was somber. Consolation Fedoke, who competed with tWitch on Season 4 and was a groomswoman in his and Allison Holker’s wedding ceremony, was clearly affected by Holker’s phrases, and I used to be in tears even earlier than the tune “Don’t Overlook Me” by Dermot Kennedy began to play and a picture of Stephen Boss appeared subsequent to his spouse’s face. You possibly can see the total audition and tWitch montage beneath:
Allison Holker was appropriate in saying that Stephen Boss’ legacy lives on, however it was actually powerful to see him and know he’s not right here. The montage confirmed tWitch at his So You Suppose You Can Dance audition getting via to the following spherical — the literal second that modified his life — and that was so much to absorb, realizing how issues would finish.
As emotional as Allison Holker’s phrases and the clips of tWitch dancing on the SYTYCD stage made me, I’m so glad they honored the dancer, and it’s good to know that Stephen Boss remains to be and can all the time be part of So You Suppose You Can Dance. New episodes of Season 18 air at 9 p.m. Mondays on Fox.
If you happen to or somebody you recognize are having ideas of self-harm, please, name or textual content the Suicide & Disaster Lifeline at 988.
