Benji Schwimmer

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Benji Schwimmer, 2006

Benjamin "Benji" Daniel Schwimmer (born on January 18, 1984)^[1] is an American professional swing dancer who has been winning dance competitions since he was a child. On August 16, 2006 he was crowned "America's Favorite Dancer", as the winner of the second season of So You Think You Can Dance, a #1-rated television series.

1 Biography
2 So You Think You Can Dance 2006
3 Current and future projects
4 Awards
5 References
6 External links

[edit] Biography

Schwimmer was born January 18, 1984 in Newport Beach, California, and grew up in a Mormon household in Moreno Valley, California. He is the son of "King of Swing" Buddy Schwimmer, who is of great fame in the West Coast Swing world.^[2] His mother and sister, Laurie and Lacey Schwimmer, are also West Coast Swing dancers.

He started competing when he was 5-years-old. He attended high school in Moreno Valley and Redlands, but then transferred to independent study because of his parents' travel schedule. He finished his studies early, and then taught dance for one semester at Crafton Hills College in Yucaipa.[1]

Benji Schwimmer and his older cousin, Heidi Groskreutz (herself a top-4 finalist on the same season of "So You Think You Can Dance"), are also U.S.A Open Showcase Swing champions in West Coast Swing style. Schwimmer left the dancing scene at the top of his game to serve a two-year mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in the Mexican state of Oaxaca. He has subsequently founded the non-profit charity organization "Dancers Everywhere Making a Needed Difference" (D.E.M.A.N.D.) for helping orphans in southern Mexico and Africa and providing healthcare for dancers with HIV/AIDS, and is a co-owner of 5678 Dance Studio in Redlands, California.

[edit] So You Think You Can Dance 2006

After returning to the United States from Mexico, Schwimmer learned that his fiancee had broken up with him (he stated on the show that he learned this by seeing her wedding invitation, and noting that his picture wasn't on it). To combat the resulting depression, Schwimmer returned to dancing. He was shown a video of the performance of the 2005 winner of "So You Think You Can Dance", Nick Lazzarini, and decided that he would himself audition for the 2006 season of the show, along with his cousin and childhood dance partner Heidi Groskreutz, and her former dance partner, Dmitry Chaplin. All three of them made it to the top 20 finalists and then to the top 10. Schwimmer and his first assigned dance partner, Donyelle Jones, successfully competed through the entire first part of the season without either of them being in the bottom three couples, with both making it to the top 4.

Schwimmer was named the overall winner on August 16, 2006 in an emotional finale. This was a different kind of title from his earlier swing dance awards, as the televised competition required versatility in several different dance styles, and the final voting was done not by a panel of judges, but by American phone-in voters. According to the show, the finale brought in 16 million votes, with a total of 70 million over the course of the season. During the course of the show, the judges routinely said that while Schwimmer was not necessarily the best technical dancer in styles other than his own, that he was clearly outstanding in terms of performance and entertainment and had an amazing personality.

The prizes for winning the competition included a car, a one-year contract to perform in Celine Dion's Las Vegas show, and $100,000 USD. However, in an interview for Seattle Times, Schwimmer indicated that he had turned down the Dion contract, saying that though it was an honor, it wasn't really his genre of dance, and he did not wish to be tied to Las Vegas for a full year. FGS

[edit] Current and future projects

Schwimmer and the rest of the top-10 finalists performed in a North American tour starting in September 2006 (see So You Think You Can Dance (Season 2) for details). Most of the dates sold out within hours (Seattle sold out within 30 minutes, and New York within 11 minutes^[3]).
In August 2006, in an interview for Entertainment Weekly, Schwimmer revealed that he may be being cast as Fred Astaire in an upcoming motion picture.^[4]. However, during an interview with Regis Philbin, Schwimmer backpedaled a bit and referred to the part as a possibility. In a mySpace blog which is believed to be maintained by Schwimmer, it was stated that the Astaire movie fell through and will not happen after all.
According to a September 2006 Redlands article, Schwimmer was asked by Regis Philbin to be an alternate host on his program^[5]
According to the Seattle Times, Schwimmer is writing and co-producing a movie about dancing, in which both he and his cousin Heidi Groskreutz will appear. He is also working on a TV show on the lives of dancers.
He has signed on to do a TV movie called "For the Love of Dance."[2]
Benji and Heidi danced on Fox's New Years Eve show[3] and talked about their instructional dance DVD.
Benji appears in Christina Aguilera's music video "Candyman"

[edit] Awards

1991 US Open, Young America Div. (ages 6-11), 1st Place, partner Heidi Groskreutz
1992 US Open, Young America Div. (ages 6-12), 3rd Place, partner Heidi Groskreutz
1993 US Open, Young America Div. (ages 6-12), 4th Place, partner Heidi Groskreutz
1994 US Open, Young America Div. (ages 6-12), 2nd Place, partner Heidi Groskreutz
1995 US Open, Young America Div. (ages 6-11), 2nd Place, partner Heidi Groskreutz
2001 US Open Swing Dance Championship, Showcase Division, partner Heidi Groskreutz Video
2002 USA Swing Net "Person of the Year"
2002 US Open Swing Dance Championship, Showcase Division, partner Heidi Groskreutz^[6]^[7]
2005 US Open Swing Dance Championship, Showcase Division, 1st place, partner Heidi Groskreutz Video^[8]
2006 So You Think You Can Dance, 1st place, "America's Favorite Dancer", after a tally of 16 million votes for the finale

[edit] References

[4] Benji Schwimmer's official website and forum.
[5] The official website to purchase intsructional WCS videos taught by Benji Schwimmer and Heidi Groskreutz.
Benji Schwimmer photos and video clips Benji Schwimmer photos and video clips from SYTYCD TOUR
Benji Schwimmer Biographical information and an interview with Benji by USA Swing Net.
US Open awards
Videos of Benji Schwimmer from So You Think You Can Dance TRANJI Video
Video interview and dance clips on Access Hollywood
"Benji Shows Why He's Your 'Favorite Dancer'", TV Guide "Insider", August 21, 2006
Benji Schwimmer's Myspace page

[edit] External links

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Benji Schwimmer

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

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[edit] Biography

[edit] So You Think You Can Dance 2006

[edit] Current and future projects

[edit] Awards

[edit] References

[edit] External links

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