Hip hop choreographer
Shane Sparks was born in 1974 in Cincinnati, Ohio. He is the youngest of three children and was raised by parents who are both police officers. He started dancing at the age of 11 upon attending a local Easter Ball. From then on, he performed in several hometown talent programs and high school productions. His favorite moves at that time were The Robot, The Running Man and the Cabbage Patch Kid.
Sparks graduated from Aiken Sr. High and moved to Los Angeles in 1993. When he was 19-years-old, he joined a dance group called Cold Krush. They later changed the name to Cold Premiere and they were signed to Giant Records. After producing some videos, the group disbanded. He then went to the Millennium Dance Complex in North Hollywood. In one of his hip hop classes when the teacher was late, someone assumed that he was the teacher and asked him to start the session. He complied and up to this day, he considers that experience as one of the things that changed his life. When the real teacher came in, he was impressed with Sparks' moves and immediately got him as his assistant. When the teacher moved to Japan, he took charge of the class. With only three students initially, the class grew and grew until it became the biggest in Los Angeles with 175 students.
In 2004, he was choreographer for the film You Got Served where his work was noticed and he was awarded the American Choreography Award. In the same year, he was also judge for the World Hip Hop Championships. In 2005, he appeared as judge and choreographer on the reality TV series
So You Think You Can Dance . Backdown, the sequel to the movie You Got Served, began filming in 2007 and Sparks was once again chosen to choreograph for the project.
Sparks also choreographed for the American Music Awards and has worked with famous artists like Aaliyah, Monica, Lindsay Lohan and Benji Shwimmer. On the side, he modeled for L'Oreal's Matrix hair products.
Shane Sparks can be seen as one of the judges on MTV's reality-TV series
Randy Jackson Presents:
America's Best Dance Crew .
(Photo courtesy of MTV)