Evan Kasprzak is a dancer specializing in tap and theater jazz. He is best known for finishing third on the Fox

Fox Broadcasting Company

Fox Broadcasting Company, commonly referred to as Fox Network or simply Fox , is an American commercial broadcasting television network owned by Fox Entertainment Group, part of Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation. Launched on October 9, 1986, Fox was the highest-rated broadcast network in the...

 show So You Think You Can Dance, and for being the first dancer on the show specializing in the style that the show refers to as "Broadway."

Early life

Evan Joseph Kasprzak was born on June 15, 1987, in Monroe, Michigan to Barbara and James Kasprzak. Evan is the youngest of three boys: Evan and his two older brothers Ian and Ryan Kasprzak. From Monroe, his family moved to South Carolina, St. Charles Illinois, and finally settled in West Bloomfield, Michigan where Evan and his parents currently reside. His family inspired him to participate in community theater, his earliest performance being the youngest prince in The King and I

The King and I

The King and I is a stage musical, the fifth by the team of Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II. The work is based on the 1944 novel Anna and the King of Siam by Margaret Landon and derives from the memoirs of Anna Leonowens, who became governess to the children of King Mongkut of Siam in...

. Ryan Kasprzak started dancing at age 13, and the six year old Evan, following the example of the person whom he now calls his "best friend", began to take classes as well. He hated the classes at first but soon grew to love it, training in tap

Tap dance

Tap dance is a form of dance characterized by using the sound of one's tap shoes hitting the floor as a percussive instrument. As such, it is also commonly considered to be a form of music. Two major variations on tap dance exist: rhythm tap and Broadway tap. Broadway tap focuses more on the...

, jazz

Jazz

Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...

, hip hop

Hip hop

Hip hop is a form of musical expression and artistic culture that originated in African-American and Latino communities during the 1970s in New York City, specifically the Bronx. DJ Afrika Bambaataa outlined the four pillars of hip hop culture: MCing, DJing, breaking and graffiti writing...

 and ballet

Ballet

Ballet is a type of performance dance, that originated in the Italian Renaissance courts of the 15th century, and which was further developed in France and Russia as a concert dance form. The early portions preceded the invention of the proscenium stage and were presented in large chambers with...

. Ryan introduced him to an old, classic style of jazz resembling the styles of Gene Kelly

Gene Kelly

Eugene Curran "Gene" Kelly was an American dancer, actor, singer, film director and producer, and choreographer...

, Donald O'Connor

Donald O'Connor

Donald David Dixon Ronald O’Connor was an American dancer, singer, and actor who came to fame in a series of movies in which he co-starred alternately with Gloria Jean, Peggy Ryan, and Francis the Talking Mule...

, and Fred Astaire

Fred Astaire

Fred Astaire was an American film and Broadway stage dancer, choreographer, singer and actor. His stage and subsequent film career spanned a total of 76 years, during which he made 31 musical films. He was named the fifth Greatest Male Star of All Time by the American Film Institute...

. Evan graduated from Wylie E. Groves High School in Michigan. Before appearing on So You Think You Can Dance, Kasprzak starred in a short dance film entitled "After Hours."

Professional theatre

Evan Kasprzak has been cast as a lead in the upcoming revival of the Sherman Brothers

Sherman Brothers

The Sherman Brothers are an American songwriting duo that specialize in musical films, made up of Robert B. Sherman and Richard M. Sherman ....

' swing musical Over Here!

Over Here!

Over Here! is a musical with a score by Richard M. Sherman and Robert B. Sherman and book by Will Holt. The original Broadway production was directed by Tom Moore and choreographed by Patricia Birch, with scenic design by Douglas W. Schmidt and costumes by Carrie F...

 coming to the Saban Theatre, Beverly Hills in 2012.

He was cast in the Paper Mill Playhouse

Paper Mill Playhouse

Paper Mill Playhouse is a regional theatre with approximately 1200 seats, located in Millburn, New Jersey, less than 25 miles from Manhattan. Due to its location, it can draw from the pool of actors who live in New York City. Its location, as well as its focus on producing large-scale shows, makes...

 live musical production of Disney's Newsies

Newsies

Newsies is a 1992 Disney musical film starring Christian Bale, David Moscow, and Bill Pullman. Robert Duvall and Ann-Margret also appeared in supporting roles. The movie is widely claimed to have gained a cult following after its initial failure at the box office...

. He was a Newsie named Elmer as well as understudied the role of Seitz. As part of the production, he became a Equity Membership Candidate.

Higher education

Evan Kasprzak graduated from Illinois Wesleyan University

Illinois Wesleyan University

Illinois Wesleyan University is an independent undergraduate university located in Bloomington, Illinois. Founded in 1850, the central portion of the present campus was acquired in 1854 with the first building erected in 1856...

 in 2010 where he majored in musical theater.

So You Think You Can Dance

Evan first auditioned in Season 4, in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. He made it as far as the top 40 during the Las Vegas callbacks, but was then cut. He returned with his brother Ryan in Season 5 to the auditions in Memphis, Tennessee. Ryan turned heads with his whoopie cushion inspired tap solo, but was cut before making the finals. In the season finale, the 3,500 strong crowd at the Kodak theater began chanting his name after Nigel responded to Mary's comments about Evan's lack of Jive technique with "I think you came out with guns blazing."

Performances

Week	Partner	Dance	Song	Result
1	Randi Evans	Jazz Jazz dance Jazz dance is a classification shared by a broad range of dance styles. Before the 1950s, jazz dance referred to dance styles that originated from African American vernacular dance. In the 1950s, a new genre of jazz dance—modern jazz dance—emerged, with roots in Caribbean traditional dance...	"I Only Have Eyes for You I Only Have Eyes for You "I Only Have Eyes for You" is a popular song by composer Harry Warren and lyricist Al Dubin, written in 1934 for the film Dames where it was introduced by Dick Powell and Ruby Keeler.... "—Jamie Cullum Jamie Cullum Jamie Cullum is an English pop and jazz-pop singer-songwriter. Though he is primarily a vocalist/pianist he also accompanies himself on other instruments including guitar and drums. Since April 2010, he has been presenting a weekly jazz show on BBC Radio 2, broadcast on Tuesdays from 19:00.- Early...	Safe
2		Jive Jive (dance) In Ballroom dancing, Jive is a dance style in 4/4 time that originated in the United States from African-Americans in the early 1930s. It was originally presented to the public as 'Jive' in 1934 by Cab Calloway. It is a lively and uninhibited variation of the Jitterbug, a form of Swing dance...	"Shake A Tail Feather Shake a Tail Feather "Shake a Tail Feather" is a song originally recorded in 1963 by the Chicago-based group The Five Du-Tones... "—Ray Charles Ray Charles Ray Charles Robinson , known by his shortened stage name Ray Charles, was an American musician. He was a pioneer in the genre of soul music during the 1950s by fusing rhythm and blues, gospel, and blues styles into his early recordings with Atlantic Records...	Safe
3		Contemporary Contemporary dance Contemporary dance is a genre of concert dance that employs compositional philosophy, rather than choreography, to guide unchoreographed movement...	"Koop Island Blues"—Koop Koop -People:*C. Everett Koop, the Surgeon General of the United States from 1982-1989*Wanda Koop, a Canadian painter*Booba, a French rapper also known as B2O and Élie Yaffa-Culture and entertainment:...	Safe
4		Broadway Broadway theatre Broadway theatre, commonly called simply Broadway, refers to theatrical performances presented in one of the 40 professional theatres with 500 or more seats located in the Theatre District centered along Broadway, and in Lincoln Center, in Manhattan in New York City...	"Rich Man's Frug"—from Sweet Charity Sweet Charity Sweet Charity is a musical with music by Cy Coleman, lyrics by Dorothy Fields and book by Neil Simon. It was directed and choreographed for Broadway by Bob Fosse starring his wife and muse Gwen Verdon. It is based on Federico Fellini's screenplay for Nights of Cabiria...	Safe
5		Hip-hop	"Halo Halo (Beyoncé Knowles song) "Halo" is a song recorded by American R&B singer Beyoncé Knowles for her third studio album I Am... Sasha Fierce . Columbia Records released the song as the fourth single of the album, to mainstream radio in the United States on January 20, 2009. It was composed by Ryan Tedder, Evan Bogart, and... "—Beyonce Knowles Beyoncé Knowles Beyoncé Giselle Knowles , often known simply as Beyoncé, is an American singer, songwriter, record producer, and actress. Born and raised in Houston, Texas, she enrolled in various performing arts schools and was first exposed to singing and dancing competitions as a child...	Safe
		Samba Samba Samba is a Brazilian dance and musical genre originating in Bahia and with its roots in Brazil and Africa via the West African slave trade and African religious traditions. It is recognized around the world as a symbol of Brazil and the Brazilian Carnival...	"Ritmo De Bom Bom"—Jubaba
6	Kayla Radomski	Viennese Waltz Viennese Waltz Viennese Waltz is the genre of a ballroom dance. At least three different meanings are recognized. In the historically first sense, the name may refer to several versions of the waltz, including the earliest waltzes done in ballroom dancing, danced to the music of Viennese Waltz.What is now called...	"Kiss from a Rose Kiss from a Rose "Kiss from a Rose" is a song from Seal's second eponymous album Seal . The song was first released as a single in July 1994. Re-released in 1995, it was included on the Batman Forever film soundtrack, helping it top the charts in the U.S. and Australia. It took the 1996 Grammy Awards for both... "—Seal Seal (musician) Seal Henry Olusegun Olumide Adeola Samuel , known simply as Seal, is a British soul and R&B singer-songwriter, of Nigerian and Brazilian background. Seal has won numerous music awards throughout his career, including three Brit Awards—winning Best British Male in 1992, four Grammy Awards, and an...	Safe
	Performance show solo		"Zing! Went the Strings of My Heart Zing! Went the Strings of My Heart "Zing! Went the Strings of My Heart" is a 1934 popular song with words and music by James F. Hanley. It was introduced by Hal Le Roy and Eunice Healey in the Broadway revue Thumbs Up! Probably the most notable recordings were made by Judy Garland and by The Trammps "Zing! Went the Strings of My... "—Rufus Wainwright Rufus Wainwright Rufus McGarrigle Wainwright is an American-Canadian singer-songwriter. He has recorded six albums of original music, EPs, and tracks on compilations and film soundtracks.-Early years:...
7	Janette Manrara	Jazz Jazz Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...	"Move" (Metronomy Remix)—CSS CSS -Computing:*Cascading Style Sheets, a language used to describe the style of document presentations in web development*Central Structure Store in the PHIGS 3D API*Closed source software, software that is not distributed with source code...	Safe
		Rumba Rumba Rumba is a family of percussive rhythms, song and dance that originated in Cuba as a combination of the musical traditions of Africans brought to Cuba as slaves and Spanish colonizers. The name derives from the Cuban Spanish word rumbo which means "party" or "spree". It is secular, with no...	"Heartless Heartless (Kanye West song) "Heartless" is a song by American hip hop artist Kanye West, released on November 4, 2008 digitally as the second single for his fourth studio album, 808s & Heartbreak. It debuted at the number four spot on the Billboard Hot 100 where it eventually peaked at number two and reached number-one on the... "—Kris Allen Kris Allen Kristopher Neil "Kris" Allen is an American musician and singer-songwriter from Conway, Arkansas, and the winner of the eighth season of American Idol...
	Performance show solo		"Old Devil Moon Old Devil Moon "Old Devil Moon" is a popular song composed by Burton Lane, with lyrics by E.Y. Harburg for the 1947 musical Finian's Rainbow.-Notable recordings:*Rosemary Clooney - Out Of This World , At Long Last... "—Jamie Cullum Jamie Cullum Jamie Cullum is an English pop and jazz-pop singer-songwriter. Though he is primarily a vocalist/pianist he also accompanies himself on other instruments including guitar and drums. Since April 2010, he has been presenting a weekly jazz show on BBC Radio 2, broadcast on Tuesdays from 19:00.- Early...
8	Melissa Sandvig	Broadway Broadway theatre Broadway theatre, commonly called simply Broadway, refers to theatrical performances presented in one of the 40 professional theatres with 500 or more seats located in the Theatre District centered along Broadway, and in Lincoln Center, in Manhattan in New York City...	"Get Me to the Church on Time Get Me to the Church on Time "Get Me to the Church on Time" is a song composed by Frederick Loewe, with lyrics written by Alan Jay Lerner for the 1956 musical My Fair Lady, where it was introduced by Stanley Holloway.... "—Matt Dusk Matt Dusk Matthew-Aaron Dusk is a Canadian jazz musician / vocalist. He currently has two certified gold albums: Two Shots and Good News, and three number one radio hits: "Back in Town," "All About Me", and "Good News."-Biography:From an early age, Matt Dusk wanted to become a performer. At the age of...	Safe
		Quickstep Quickstep The quickstep is a light-hearted member of the standard ballroom dances. The movement of the dance is fast and powerfully flowing and sprinkled with syncopations. The upbeat melodies that quickstep is danced to make it suitable for both formal and informal events...	"As Long As I'm Singin'"—Brian Setzer Orchestra
	Performance show solo		"The Lady Is a Tramp The Lady Is a Tramp "The Lady Is a Tramp" is a show tune from the 1937 Rodgers and Hart musical Babes In Arms in which it was introduced by former child star Mitzi Green. This song is a spoof of New York high society and its strict etiquette... "—Sammy Davis, Jr. Sammy Davis, Jr. Samuel George "Sammy" Davis Jr. was an American entertainer and was also known for his impersonations of actors and other celebrities....
9	Jeanine Mason Jeanine Mason Jeanine Marie Mason is an American dancer specializing in contemporary dance. She is best known for her 2009 appearance as the winner of the fifth season of the television show So You Think You Can Dance - which airs on the Fox Network - becoming the youngest person to win the competition...	Jazz Jazz dance Jazz dance is a classification shared by a broad range of dance styles. Before the 1950s, jazz dance referred to dance styles that originated from African American vernacular dance. In the 1950s, a new genre of jazz dance—modern jazz dance—emerged, with roots in Caribbean traditional dance...	"Heartbreaker"—MSTRKRFT MSTRKRFT MSTRKRFT is a Canadian electronic music duo from Toronto, Ontario. The group was started in 2005 by Jesse F. Keeler of Death from Above 1979 and Al-P formerly of the Mississauga, Ontario electropop group Girlsareshort...  featuring John Legend John Legend John Roger Stephens , better known by his stage name John Legend, is an American singer, musician, and actor. He is the recipient of nine Grammy Awards, and in 2007, he received the special Starlight award from the Songwriters Hall of Fame.Prior to the release of his debut album, Stephens' career...	3rd Place
	Brandon Bryant	Pop-Jazz	"Nasty Nasty (song) "Nasty" is the second single from Janet Jackson's third studio album, Control . Released in 1986, the single peaked at number three on Billboard Hot 100 and number one on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs, and remains one of Jackson's signature songs. Paula Abdul choreographed the music video and appeared... "—Janet Jackson Janet Jackson Janet Damita Jo Jackson is an American recording artist and actress. Known for a series of sonically innovative, socially conscious and sexually provocative records, as well as elaborate stage shows, television and film roles, she has been a prominent figure in popular culture for over 25 years...
	Kayla Radomski	Jive	”T.R.O.U.B.L.E."— from Travis Tritt Travis Tritt James Travis Tritt is an American country music singer from Marietta, Georgia. He signed to Warner Bros. Records in 1989, releasing seven studio albums and a greatest hits package for the label between then and 1999. In the 2000s, he released two albums on Columbia Records and one for the defunct...
	Final solo		"The Best Is Yet to Come The Best Is Yet to Come (song) "The Best is Yet to Come" is a 1959 song composed by Cy Coleman, with lyrics by Carolyn Leigh. It is associated with Frank Sinatra, who recorded it on his 1964 album It Might as Well Be Swing, accompanied by Count Basie, under the direction of Quincy Jones... "—Michael Bublé Michael Bublé Michael Steven Bublé is a Canadian singer. He has won several awards, including three Grammy Awards and multiple Juno Awards. His first album reached the top ten in Canada and the UK. He found worldwide commercial success with his 2005 album It's Time, and his 2007 album Call Me Irresponsible was...

External links

• Evan Kasprzak's Profile on Fox.com