Although host Nelson Diaz’s comic relief and sporadic “F— Michigan” shout-outs had the crowd laughing and cheering, the real magic began once the ‘So You Think You Can Dance’ performers started moving and brought students into the action.

The contestants from the dance show, which has aired on FOX for six seasons, visited Ohio State on Monday night. The talent for the evening included season four contestants Katee Shean, Stephen “Twitch” Boss, Comfort Fedoke and the season-winner Joshua Allen, along with season five’s Caitlin Kinney and her sister Megan Kinney.

The Ohio Union Performance Hall boomed with clapping, laughter and cheering as the dancers showcased their talent while engaging the audience.

The dancers performed solos throughout the night, showing off their specific dance styles.
Allen caused many of the girls in the audience to scream and swoon for features other than just his talent as he turned around and shook what his momma gave him during his solo hip-hop routine.

The season four winner has had girls drooling over him since his television debut onthe show.

“I have to look cute in case Joshua looks my way,” said Kristi Akehurst, a student in zoology.

Twitch’s solo concluded the evening and left people laughing and cheering for more. He combined comedy and dance through his “public service announcement” set to music, which featured tell-tale signs of “that guy syndrome.”

“That guy syndrome” describes dancing that should not be done in public, according Twitch said. It includes battle guy, who goes way too hard, directionally challenged guy, dances-with-anyone-and-everyone guy and the “Single Ladies” guy, who is a little too in touch with his feminine side.

After Megan Kinney’s solo, Diaz informed the audience that she just finished finals at the University of Miami. She proceeded to tell the audience, “Can’t say that I support your football team.” The comment was followed by boos and expressions of disapproval from the crowd.

The event, sponsored by OUAB, also had students out of their seats and dancing with the performers, literally.

Dancers from OSU were contacted a week before the event and asked to do a dance battle on stage with the stars of the dance show. Instead of battling the dancers fromthe show, the students had to compete head to head against each other.

Henrick Sawczak, a student in chemical engineering, spent almost eight hours preparing for the battle, thinking he had to rival talents such as Twitch and Allen.

“I thought we would battle them, not each other,” said Lindsay LaPointe, a graduate student in dance and a graduate teaching associate.

Their time spent practicing paid off in the end. Sawczak, coached by Twitch, and LaPointe, coached by Shean and Fedoke, both made it to the semifinal of the battle along with dance major Sherrell Whitmire, who was coached by Allen.

During the final round of the dance battle, the three OSU performers fought it out amid uproarious support from the audience and their coaches.

In an interview before the show, Whitmire said she had not really practiced for the event. She said she was just going to freestyle it once she was in the moment.

Whitmire’s freestyle approach won the audience’s favor as the room exploded with cheers in response to her performance and she took the crown as the winner of the OSU dance battle.

“It was amazing to be able to meet people sharing the same passion we have for dance,” Sawczak said.

The dancers from the reality dance series displayed their love for dance through their performances.

Allen and Shean wowed the students with their famous season four routine to “No Air” by Jordin Sparks. Twitch and Fedoke, “the Queen of crump,” also performed a season-four favorite, the hip-hop routine to “Forever” by Chris Brown.

Mixed in with the old favorites were also some new routines. Twitch and Shean peformed a duet to “Airplanes” by B.o.B that gained crowd approval instantly. The Kinney sisters also performed a heartwarming duet that left Diaz saying “Cross my heart and hope to be a Kinney sister.”

After the show, the performers held a short instructional dance session that was open to everyone who attended the event. Allen, Fedoke and Twitch taught students how to do short dance moves, such as the wobble and the dougie.

Their love of dance and their humble backgrounds translated in their attitudes toward the people they worked with in setting up the event.

“Working with them has been absolutely amazing,” said Sheri Lee, the Dates and Data Chair for OUAB, in an e-mail. “They were all so excited to be here. They were all very genuine and incredibly humble.”

The dance lesson even allowed Lee and other members of OUAB, who had been hard at work before and during the show, the chance to relax and have a little fun.