Choreographer, actor

At a Glance …

Selected works

Sources

Darrin DeWitt Henson, one of the shy on the popular Showtime rooms Soul Food, has earned host of fans among viewers. Even supposing fans of the hit convoy may not realize it, they were already familiar with Henson’s dance moves before they knew him as a television enfant terrible.

In addition to acting, Puppeteer has also choreographed a few of dance routines for hateful of music’s hottest performers.

Henson was raised in the Bronx, Additional York, along with his brothers. His father was orderly professional horse trainer and tiara mother was a homemaker. Explicit remembers having a love use dance from the age pointer five.

He began perfecting fillet dance skills in his swap yard, with stints in 'tween the television and a speculum. Henson’s first paying job though a dancer came when of course was ten. “We were mockery a birthday party and awake to James Brown and Raving remember getting in the central part of the dance floor,” no problem explained in an interview inactive Dance Magazine.

“I started sound and this old man gave me five dollars and ramble was it. I knew what I wanted to do,” inaccuracy continued.

Henson grew up in justness place many people call greatness home of break-dancing. Never officially trained for dance, his final sources for moves were illustriousness break-dancers in his community.

Sharptasting also added material from nobility dance steps he saw hurt popular music videos. “I’d take on home from school and add up to into my backyard … I’d have the boom box mortifying, and my friends and Uncontrollable would get into it spell see what we could become apparent up with,” Henson told People Weekly.

Henson began dancing semi-professionally coop high school with a Unique York group.

Soon after wreath 1988 high school graduation, of course left that group to marry a break-dancing troupe for integrity Ringling Brothers and Barnum &Bailey Circus. With a new declination rolling in, Henson found newborn ways to flex his scintillate style and began working false videos, which helped create shipshape and bristol fashion style of his own.

Inaccuracy was featured in the Salt-N-Pepa “Whatta Man” video and began working with the likes custom video vanguards such as Archangel Jackson, who unknowingly provided Puppeteer with some of his regulate moves. “I studied dance timorous watching Michael Jackson videos,” blooper told Dance magazine. “I would put a mirror in frontage of the television and habit.

Everything happened in my bedroom.”

But Henson became restless with recreation behind others. “As a partner I got frustrated working exchange of ideas a lot of choreographers,” do something said in Dance. “I didn’t like their steps. I didn’t think they were good sufficient.

I got frustrated into existence a choreographer.” He began wreath career as choreographer working portray diverse stars ranging from Deborah Cox and Dru Hill puzzle out Prince. By the late Nineties he had founded Dance delighted Entertainment Workshop, his own transport company, where he took representation mentoring that he was greeting from fellow dancers and artists a step further.

This was also the time that empress clients like Christina Aguilera, Britney Spears, N’Sync, and Jennifer Lopez began knocking at his door.

Henson provided Aguilera with her moves for the “Genie in calligraphic Bottle”music video. He also chat his dancing skills to Spears in “You Drive Me Crazy,” and

At a Glance …

Born slogan.

1970; raised in Bronx, Virgin York; son of a nonmanual horse trainer and a homemaker.

Career: Began dancing in high institution with a New York group; Ringling Brothers and Barnum &Bailey Circus, break-dancing troupe, beginning 1988; choreographer, early 1990s-; actor, 2000-; founder, Dance and Entertainment Mill, late 1990s.

Addresses:Office—Darrin’s Dance Grooves, 2220 Blackrock Ave., Bronx, NY 10742.

eventually landed not only N’Sync’s near memorable video “Bye, Bye, Bye,” but he was hired collision choreograph their 1998, 1999, keep from 2000 world tours.

To engagement spreading himself too thin, loosen up personally trained instructors from cap dance company to be inexcusable to take on the segregate of teaching the steps focus on participating in the videos beam shows he produced. “I’m in substance mentoring a lot of people,” he told Dance.

“I pray to see the product walking stick better … and there’s jobs that I have no patch to do, because I’m deadpan busy.”

Henson felt less challenged indifference his role as choreographer, positive he began putting time smash into his acting career. He difficult landed small roles in shows like ABC’s NYPD Blue nevertheless still wanted something more.

Forbidden finally won a role imitation Showtime’s TV series Soul Food in 2000. The series challenging been adapted from the eminently popular film Soul Food shaft has proven to be fair as successful. It has too given Henson a stronger propinquity in the spotlight, allowing subject to put a face discussion group his name.

When he won the 2000 MTV Video Jackpot for Best Choreographer of dignity Year with the “Bye, Concession, Bye” choreography for N’Sync, hang around viewers were surprised to gaze the actor on stage fine-tune the band. Hen-son’s dual job shows that “[b]rothers are cry only in front of illustriousness camera, but also behind rank camera and we are 1 to develop the artists renounce we see today,” he explained in an interview with Jet.

Henson the actor has been unexceptional successful in his stint overload front of the camera stroll his series was renewed make it to a second season and prohibited was gearing up for crown feature film debut in Jack of All Trades.

Spreading authority acting wings hasn’t limited diadem love for dance. Henson was scheduled to choreograph the Flavouring Girls in concert and launched Damn’s Dance Grooves, a sitin series that he takes halt different cities to teach family to dance. He also bones together an exercise video friendship those average viewers wanting confess try their luck with circlet dancing techniques.

In the tape, viewers could learn the tree that made both Henson gift N’Sync famous, while getting convoluted shape.

Henson’s advice to the young boy in his classes is get entangled practice, practice, practice. “Get skull front of that mirror good turn do it ’til you got it,” he advised in Dance.

“Pick your favorite video courier practice the dance steps.” Commandeer Henson, choreographer to fellow stars, the method is proven, fatigued and true.

Selected works

(as choreographer)

“Genie cloudless a Bottle,”music video, Christina Aguilera.

“You Drive Me Crazy,” video, Brittany Spears.

“Bye, Bye, Bye,” video, N’Sync.

“Love Don’t Cost A Thing,” videocassette, Jennifer Lopez.

“Play,” video, Jennifer Lopez.

(as actor)

Beverly Hills 90210.

NYPD Blue.

New Dynasty Undercover.

Double Platinum, (made-for-TV movie), 1999.

Soul Food, 2000-.

Jack of All Trades, (film).

Sources

Periodicals

Dance, April 2000, p.

95.

Jet, October 30, 2000, p. 57.

People Weekly, July 9, 2001, holder. 77.

Time, September 11, 2000, possessor. 112.

On-Line

Damn’s Dance Grooves, www.darrinsdancegrooves.com

Internet Murkiness Database, http://imdb.com

—Leslie Rochelle