SO YOU THINK YOU CAN DANCE Top 20 – Season 5 Gallery Pictures June 5, 2009 News, So You Think You Can Dance SO YOU THINK YOU CAN DANCE has once again found its new Top 20. And as always, it’s time to meet them before the real competition starts next week. Top 10 Guys Max Kapitannikov Dance Specialty: Latin Ballroom Hometown: Moscow, Russia Currently Resides: Brooklyn, NY Age: 26 Kapitannikov has been dancing for as long as he can remember. He comes from a dancing family, and his mother is a ballet teacher. He also enjoys sculpting and playing the guitar. He attended the Manhattan Comprehensive High School. ____________________________________________________________________________ Jason Glover Dance Specialty: Lyrical/Contemporary Hometown: Fresno, CA Currently Resides: Fresno, CA Age: 21 Glover began dancing at age 12, studying Tap and Hip Hop. He is a graduate of Bullard High School, and his favorite dancer is Michael Jackson. ____________________________________________________________________________ Evan Kasprzak Dance Specialty: Broadway Hometown: West Bloomfield, MI Currently Resides: West Bloomfield, MI Age: 21 Kasprzak graduated from Wylie E. Groves High School and currently attends Illinois Wesleyan University. He has been dancing since he was 6 years old, and his most memorable dance experience was performing in a Gregory Hines tribute with Hines’ family in the audience. ____________________________________________________________________________ Brandon Bryant Dance Specialty: Contemporary Hometown: Miami, FL Currently Resides: Salt Lake City, UT Age: 19 Bryant began dancing ballet at age 10. He is a graduate of Coral Reef Senior High School and now attends Miami Dade College. His most memorable dance experience was performing for Madonna at her daughter’s birthday party. ____________________________________________________________________________ Vitolio Jeune Dance Specialty: Contemporary Hometown: Pétionville, Haiti Currently Resides: Miami, FL Age: 26 Jeune began dancing at age 18, and is a graduate of Florida’s New World School of the Arts. He loves motorcycles, and his favorite dancer is Desmond Richardson. ____________________________________________________________________________ Ade Obayomi Dance Specialty: Contemporary Hometown: Chandler, AZ Currently Resides: Orange County, CA Age: 20 Obayomi has been dancing since he was 6 years old. He is a graduate of Corona Del Sol High School and currently attends Chapman University. A dance highlight for him was performing at Radio City Music Hall. ____________________________________________________________________________ Jonathan Platero Dance Specialty: Salsa Hometown: Sanford, FL Currently Resides: New York, NY Age: 21 Platero was a gymnast before he began dancing at age 16. He is a graduate of Seminole High School, was a World Salsa finalist in 2006-2007 and performed as a dancer and acrobat in “High School Musical.” ____________________________________________________________________________ Phillip Chbeeb Dance Specialty: Popping Hometown: Houston, TX Currently Resides: Los Angeles, CA Age: 20 Chbeeb has had no formal dance training, but began dancing when he was 15 years old. At age 16, he founded the Marvelous Motion Studio in Houston. He is currently an engineering physics major at Loyola Marymount University. ____________________________________________________________________________ Tony Bellissimo Dance Specialty: Hip Hop Hometown: Buffalo, NY Currently Resides: Buffalo, NY Age: 20 Bellissimo has been dancing for most of his life. He is a graduate of Frontier High School, and played on the school’s soccer, football and lacrosse teams. He likes to write short stories and poems, and his favorite professional dancer is Barry Lather. ____________________________________________________________________________ Kupono Aweau Dance Specialty: Lyrical/Contemporary Hometown: Honolulu, HI Currently Resides: Kailua, HI Age: 23 Aweau graduated from the Kamehameha Schools and has been dancing since he was 16 years old. He loves his home state of Hawaii, and is an avid collector of home furnishings. ____________________________________________________________________________ Top 10 Girls Caitlin Kinney Dance Specialty: Contemporary Hometown: Annapolis, MD Currently Resides: Annapolis, MD Age: 21 Kinney graduated from the Baltimore School for the Arts in 2005. She danced at North Carolina Dance Theatre as an apprentice for two years and is an experienced gymnast. ____________________________________________________________________________ Asuka Kondoh Dance Specialty: Latin Ballroom Hometown: San Francisco, CA Currently Resides: Irvine, CA Age: 25 Kondoh loves swimming, golf and tennis and has played piano for 13 years. She is a graduate of University of California, Irvine, and has worked as a Latin Ballroom instructor for the last two years. ____________________________________________________________________________ Jeanine Mason Dance Specialty: Contemporary Hometown: Miami, FL Currently Resides: Pinecrest, FL Age: 18 A recent graduate of the Ransom Everglades School, Mason plans to attend the University of California, Los Angeles in the fall. She began her dance training in Ballet and Lyrical and then went on to study Jazz, Acrobatics, Hip Hop, Modern and Contemporary. ____________________________________________________________________________ Karla Garcia Dance Specialty: Jazz/Contemporary Hometown: Oxon Hill, MD Currently Resides: Brooklyn, NY Age: 23 Garcia is a graduate of New York University. Her early dance experience included learning traditional Filipino folk dancing. Garcia performed on Broadway in “Hot Feet,” danced in the ensemble of the “Radio City Christmas Spectacular” and went on to tour with “Wicked.” ____________________________________________________________________________ Melissa Sandvig Dance Specialty: Ballet Hometown: Los Alamitos, CA Currently Resides: Los Alamitos, CA Age: 29 Sandvig has been dancing for most of her life. She has danced with the Milwaukee Ballet Company, LA Opera, Long Beach Ballet and Helios Dance Theater. A highlight for Sandvig was performing “Le Coeur Illumine” at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion. ____________________________________________________________________________ Paris Torres Dance Specialty: Contemporary Hometown: Issaquah, WA Currently Resides: Issaquah, WA Age: 19 Torres is a graduate of Skyline High School. She began dancing when she was 6 years old and now teaches at a studio near her home. She was also a Miss Washington Teen pageant winner, and was a Seattle Storm and Seattle Sonic Jr. dancer from 2000-2003. ____________________________________________________________________________ Randi Evans Dance Specialty: Jazz Hometown: Orem, UT Currently Resides: Springville, UT Age: 23 Evans began dancing at an early age and performed in the closing ceremonies at the 2002 Salt Lake City Winter Olympic Games. She currently attends Utah Valley University where she is majoring in elementary education. ____________________________________________________________________________ Ashley Valerio Dance Specialty: Contemporary Hometown: Mesa, AZ Currently Resides: North Hollywood, CA Age: 22 Valerio has been dancing for most of her life. She is a graduate of Mountain View High School. ____________________________________________________________________________ Janette Manrara Dance Specialty: Salsa Hometown: Miami, FL Currently Resides: Hialeah, FL Age: 25 Manrara began performing in musical theater at age 12, and started her formal dance training at 19, studying Ballroom, Ballet, Pointe, Jazz and Hip Hop. She currently attends Florida State University. ____________________________________________________________________________ Kayla Radomski Dance Specialty: Jazz/Contemporary Hometown: Aurora, CO Currently Resides: Aurora, CO Age: 18 Radomski has been dancing for most of her life, and participating in SO YOU THINK YOU CAN DANCE is one of her most rewarding experiences. She is grateful to her amazing mother who has supported her love of dance for so many years. Radomski also enjoys acting and singing. 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