STUDENT DANCER TAKES TOP SPOT ON ‘SO YOU THINK YOU CAN DANCE’
Jaime Winston
The Daily Utah Chronicle
July 16 2008
UT
Gevorg Manoukian used to practice break dancing in his aunt’s garage in
Centerville. Now the U senior, majoring in business, has been bustin’
moves on national TV.
Manoukian became one of the top 10 contestants on Fox’s "So You Think
You Can Dance" on Thursday.
"We’re all in shock," said Amy Simkins, director of Expressions Dance,
where Manoukian is a hip-hop and break dancing instructor. "It doesn’t
seem real that someone we know is so successful and has gone so far."
Expressions Dance holds a "So You Think You Can Dance" viewing party
Wednesday nights and will do so as long as Manoukian is on the show,
bringing in 25 to 50 people each week to cheer for him.
"I think he’s the kind of guy who’s grateful to be exactly where he
is, and every step he gets to move up, he has his head on straight,"
Simkins said.
After trying out for the show two years ago and making the top 100,
Manoukian impressed the judges at the Salt Lake City auditions in
February. He later made it through the Las Vegas auditions, which
narrowed the dancers down to 20.
As one of the top 10 in Los Angeles, Manoukian will embark on a
nationwide dance tour and have a chance to win $250,000 as the
overall winner.
Manoukian, 21, was born in Kazakhstan and visited New York each summer
since he was 9 to spend time with his father, a three-time champion
ice skater in Armenia and a two-time champion in Kazakhstan.
Although he also enjoys the ice, Manoukian found his passion for
break dancing about five years ago.
"He learns almost everything by himself," his father, Akop Manoukian,
said. "I’m a coach myself, and a lot of the time I’m at a competition
saying, ‘Come on, do better.’ But I never realized how tense it is
for the parents."
Akop Manoukian knows his son will still get noticed, even if he isn’t
the overall winner.
"I think a lot of people will remember him," he said.
Gev Manoukian’s aunt, Anahit Manoukian, is proud of him for taking the
initiative to learn to dance on his own, without formal instruction.
"My heart is beating really heavy, especially when I see him do some
trick," she said.
She also gets nervous during the show’s elimination segments.
"But I know he can make it," she said.
Fellow dancer and instructor at Park City Dance Academy, Lucas Manning,
said he has followed the show carefully in support of Gev Manoukian.
"I’m not a huge fan of the show, but I’m there for Gev," Manning
said. "He puts himself out there almost too much for other people
and loves what he does, and he would never want to have any other
job than dancing."
The Creative Arts Academy in Bountiful, where Gev Manoukian teaches
children and teens to dance, had a party to watch him perform on the
July 9 show.
"He’s a fabulous teacher and great with the kids," said Jana Monson,
director of the academy.
Gev Manoukian said on the "So You Think You Can Dance" website that
he’d like to open his own dance studio one day and hopes the show
will help his career. He has also learned what it will take to achieve
his dreams.
"You need to know other styles of dance, you need to be entertaining
and most importantly, show who you really are," he said on the
site. "Don’t be fake."
Gev Ma noukian was also in the musical "Aida" at Hale Center Theatre
in 2007, "High School Musical 2" and has worked with Alex Boeye,
Wayne Brady and the Utah Blaze. He can be seen on "So You Think You
Can Dance" Wednesday at 7 p.m. and Thursday at 8 p.m. on Fox.