Danny Tidwell

Danny Tidwell was born in Norfolk, Virginia and raised in nearby Virginia Beach. His early childhood was turbulent, and he sometimes got into trouble.[2] Tidwell started dancing at the age of eight in an after-school program for at-risk youth. Local dance instructor Vicky Cooke took notice of the "little bit of a kid in a straddle, trying to reach his fingers to his toes",[3] and after the program closed, Cooke mentioned the boy to Denise Wall. The two women decided to accept him to their studio, Denise Wall's Dance Energy, for free. Over the next couple of years, Wall took a personal interest in Tidwell, and by the time he was ten, he was calling Wall "Mom" and her other sons (Scotty, Travis, Tyler and Shannon) his brothers. She found out that the boy would often walk part or all of the ten miles (16 km) home after dance class, had little adult supervision outside of the studio, and, at one point, had not been registered in school for months.[3] He lived with his biological mother and two sisters until he was ten, before moving in with Wall;[4] she officially took custody of Tidwell when he was twelve years old.[5]

Commenting on his early days in training, he said, "I hated ballet and would skip every chance I got."[6] More interested in jazz as a child, the flips, turns, and chance for expression appealed to him. However, his real motivation was competition, which would prepare him for his future endeavors more than he could have known at the time.[4] "I was a competition kid. We used to do competitions every other weekend," he told Dance Magazine.[7]

In his early teens, Tidwell met several outstanding young dancers, including his favorite - Rasta Thomas,[8] and it motivated him to take his dance to a new height. He set the goal to attend the Kirov Academy of Ballet (also known as Universal Ballet Academy) in Washington, DC[6] and, at the age of fifteen, he was invited to study at Kirov on scholarship.[9] It turned out to be up to that time, what he calls, "the best and the worst experience" of his life.[4] He began receiving high-level classical ballet training with Vladimir Djouloukhadze and Anatoli Kucheruk, at first to improve his jazz dance. However, he soon found that the difficulty of ballet was the perfect outlet for his need of a constant challenge, and switched concentrations - a late start by ballet standards.[6][7] While excelling in dance, he found the environment at Kirov demanding and isolating. As summer approached, he prepared for and participated in the Shanghai International Ballet Competition and took home a silver medal (no gold was awarded that year). However, the stress of Kirov had been too much, and he quit the school after the competition.[4]

After leaving, Tidwell got the opportunity to perform principal roles in two original shows created by Debbie Allen, including Dreams and Pearl, which he performed at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C.,[10] in front of President George W. Bush. He also had a two-month stint at the School of American Ballet, where he found both the teachers and students unaccepting and remote.[4] In 2002, Tidwell submitted his audition tape to participate in the prestigious, quadrennial USA International Ballet Competition (USA IBC). He was invited to compete, and went on to receive the silver medal. Unbeknownst to Tidwell, the win would launch his career.[7]

Mistress of Ceremonies of the USA IBC, Anna-Marie Holmes, passed Tidwell's application videotape to Kevin McKenzie, artistic director of the elite American Ballet Theatre (ABT).[7] Upon viewing it, McKenzie suggested to John Meehan (the ABT Education Director) that he offer Tidwell a place in the ABT Studio Company (its apprentice wing). Just two months later, Tidwell joined the Studio Company - without an audition - and soon after, in May 2003, he was promoted into their corps de ballet just before the ABT's 2003 season began at the Metropolitan Opera House. He performed many works in the classical ballet repertory, and although only a corps member, he was given soloists roles in Le Spectre de la Rose and the peasant pas de deux from Giselle. Tidwell was a company member of the ABT's 2003 production of the Swan Lake that was later broadcast on the program Great Performances: Dance in America and released on DVD.[11] Despite his success, he was beginning to find the unremitting rigors of being in a company confining. Tidwell left the ABT in 2004, shocking the dance world and those who knew him.[3][12]

Over the next two years, Tidwell dabbled in various pursuits. He performed contemporary works by choreographers Nacho Duato,[13] Jiri Killian, William Forsythe, Kirk Peterson and Robert Hill.[9] In 2005, Tidwell was featured as one of Dance Magazine’s 25 to Watch (appearing on the cover)[9] and Pointe Magazine's Top 10 VIP.[13] He was a guest principal dancer in Ballet Lubbock's Nutcracker in December 2005. That August, Tidwell taught in the National Dance Foundation of Bermuda's International Summer Intensive program, run in partnership with American Ballet Theatre. Continuing to work in dance education, Tidwell was on the faculty of JUMP and was invited to guest teach at many schools and studios across the country.[14]

Also in 2005, Tidwell, along with publisher David Benaym, photographer Roger Moenks, and choreographer Lauren Adams, co-created Moving Still, a "life performance" in the format of a combination of a live show and a photography art/fashion book.[15] Moving Still led to the creation of movmnt magazine in June 2006, a quarterly with a focus on fashion, dance, emerging music artists, and social issues that Tidwell co-founded with Benaym.[16] Tidwell served as the magazine's Artistic Advisor,[17] and he eventually posed for the cover in the Spring 2008 issue along with former SYTYCD contestant Sabra Johnson.[18]

In 2006, Tidwell joined Complexions Contemporary Ballet for a season under the direction of company founders Dwight Rhoden and Desmond Richardson. That summer he was invited back to the USA IBC to perform in the opening ceremonies.[19] He left Complexions after a year.

During this period, Tidwell would often return home from New York to Virginia Beach, to be "rejuvenated" and teach at the studio with his mother.[3] While still active in dance, Tidwell's career was losing focus, and his mother feared that he was losing his love for dance.[20] That changed in late 2006 when the two went to see Tidwell's brother, Travis, perform in the So You Think You Can Dance tour in Madison Square Garden. Travis had come in second place during the previous season, and was heavily featured in the touring show. His mother recalled, "At Madison Square Garden, Danny looked at me with tears in his eyes and said, 'I want to do that. My brother's up there on that stage, dancing and living, and I want to do that.'" The following season he attended the show's open auditions in New York City.[3]

Tidwell married journalist David Benaym in May 2014.[36]

Tidwell died as a result of a car accident in Georgia, on March 6, 2020.[37][38]

• Silver Medal, Shanghai International Ballet Competition (2001)
• National Outstanding Male Dancer, New York City Dance Alliance (2002)
• Men's Junior Silver Medal, USA International Ballet Competition (2002)
• Named one of Dance Magazine's "25 to Watch" (2005)

• List of dancers

Wikiquote has quotations related to Danny Tidwell.

• Movmnt magazine Archived June 26, 2006, at the Wayback Machine, a quarterly publication co-founded by Tidwell
• Moving Still - a life performance, photography book and live show co-created by Tidwell
• Tidwell interview with BuddyTV (transcript)
• Danny Tidwell at IMDb