Stephen ‘tWitch’ Boss

Some Lesser Known Facts About Stephen Laurel “tWitch

• Stephen Boss (better known as tWitch) was an acclaimed American hip-hop dancer and TV personality who rose to fame with the reality TV show “So You Think You Can Dance.” Later, he became a regular on “The Ellen DeGeneres Show.”

• He was intrigued by dancing growing up when he watched the King of Pop Michael Jackson. MJ was the reason Stephen started dancing. MJ’s Billie Jean, Smooth Criminal, Beat It, Rock With You, and Bad were some of his favourites at that time.

• He secured second position in the TV talent competition Star Search (2003).

• At the beginning of his career, he choreographed performances for Seven, a South Korean pop/R&B singer, and helped train other YG Entertainment artists including Big Bang.

• Apart from that, he was a part of the dance troupes Breed OCLA and Chill Factor Crew.

• He appeared in season 3 of the dance competition TV show So You Think You Can Dance (2005) on Fox in which he didn’t make it to the top 20; tWitch was beaten out by the Japanese breakdancer Hokuto Konishi. He came into the limelight with the following season of SYTYCD he was the runner up, behind hip-hop dancer Joshua Allen. During that season, he performed a routine with Katee Shean, choreographed by Mia Michaels, which was a Contemporary piece on the song Mercy by Duffy. ^[4]Mia Michaels – YouTube The choreography went on to earn the nomination for the 2009 Emmy Award. In 2011, 2012, and 2013 he was chosen as one of the All-Star dancers on SYTYCD. In 2015, he was the captain of Team Street in SYTYCD. In 2018 and 2022, he was a Judge on SYTYCD.

• He appeared on Dancing with the Stars in 2013.

• He featured in several sketch-series videos on the comedy collective TheKommune.com in 2009.

• After excelling in the field of dance, tWitch tried his hand at acting. He played the role of Jason Hardlerson in the “Step Up” franchise films, Step Up 3D (2010), Step Up Revolution (2012), and Step Up: All In (2014).

• He also featured in the comedy-drama film Magic Mike XXL (2015).

• Acting credits under his belt also include the shows Bones (2010), Drop Dead Diva (2012), Love (2016), and Modern Family (2018).

• Boss gained popularity for appearing on The Ellen DeGeneres Show from 2014 to 2022 as a D.J., a guest host, and eventually an executive producer. The show aired in syndication. He also appeared in Ellen’s Game of Games as a sidekick to DeGeneres.

• In 2017, tWitch, along with his wife, Allison, started c0-hosting Disney’s Fairy Tale Weddings. The documentary TV series featured couples and their Disney-themed weddings. The show aired on Disney’s Freeform network and the Disney+ streaming service.

  

• He is the founder of a clothing line, tWitch Boss Clothing.

• In an interview, he revealed that he used to refer to his car, a 1992 aqua-green Toyota Paseo, as tWitch. He began using “tWitch” as a nickname for himself when was 20, the same time he first started dancing. In an interview, he talked about the same and said,
  

  I took (the name) Twitch when I was about 20-years-old because that was when I first started dancing, going places and teaching dance, and a lot of my dance knowledge and a lot of my dance thoughts took place in that car. Driving from place to place. Whether it was to Huntsville, Tuscaloosa, Bessemer, Birmingham, whatever. I’d choreograph in the car.”

  On the other hand, some media houses state that Stephen earned the nickname during his childhood because he could not stop moving in school or in church.

• He was an avid lover of comic books, especially Superman comics.

• His dog’s name is Krypto, which is a Jack Russel mix.

• In an interview, he said that had he not become a dancer, he would have joined the navy.

Stephen ‘tWitch’ Boss and Ellen DeGeneres on The Ellen DeGeneres Show