# Travis Wall

Travis Michael Wall (born September 16, 1987) is an American dancer, instructor, and choreographer specializing in contemporary and jazz dance styles. He rose to international attention in 2006 as a competitor on the second season of the Fox television show So You Think You Can Dance. As of 2009, he was a choreographer for the show earning Emmy nominations every year from 2011 to 2019; and winning twice. In 2012, he starred in the Oxygen reality show All The Right Moves, where he, Teddy Forance, Nick Lazzarini and Kyle Robinson launched their own dance company called Shaping Sound.

## Early life and background

   I was born into the studio and all I really know is dance.
Wall was born and raised in Virginia Beach, Virginia. His mother, owner and operator of the eponymous Denise Wall's Dance Energy, recalls putting him in a walker and watching him imitate the dancers. He began dancing at the age of three, training at his mother's studio, and competing in a number of conventions.

## Career
### Early career and training

His professional career officially started at the age of nine when he appeared in a Dr. Pepper commercial. In 1999, he won the Junior National Outstanding Dancer Scholarship Award. On April 27, 2001, at age 12, he started a two-year run in The Music Man on Broadway, playing a resident of River City/Winthrop Paroo understudy. This led to him performing at the 2000 New York City Dance Alliance's closing-night gala. In 2006, New York City Dance Alliance awarded Wall its Teen Outstanding Dancer of the Year award and he toured with the group for a year.

### So You Think You Can Dance

In 2006, at the age of 18, Wall competed on the second season of the show So You Think You Can Dance (SYTYCD), making it to the final four contestants before placing second behind overall winner Benji Schwimmer. Wall was praised by the judges as the most technically talented dancer in the competition. Nigel Lythgoe and Adam Shankman have listed Wall, his brother Danny Tidwell, Season 4's Will Wingfield and Season 5's Kayla Radomski as the most talented dancers on the show, later adding Season 6's Billy Bell and Jakob Karr to that list.
While on the show, Wall danced in Mia Michaels' The Bench routine for which she later won an Emmy for Outstanding Choreography. During the Fall of 2006, Wall toured the United States with the top 10 dancers from the So You Think You Can Dance competition. He returned to the show in 2008 during the Season 4 auditions to teach choreography. He did a surprise audition on the 4th episode as "Danielle Chorizo".
On July 23, 2009, Wall returned to So You Think You Can Dance along with fellow Season 2 contestant Heidi Groskreutz on the 100th episode of the show, to perform the Emmy award-winning piece The Bench, choreographed by Mia Michaels.
| Week | Partner | Style | Song | Choreographer(s) | Result |
| 1 | Martha Nichols | Broadway | "Steam Heat"— The Pointer Sisters | Tyce Diorio | Safe |
| 2 | Martha Nichols | Krump | "Clap Back"—Ja Rule | Lil' C | Safe |
| 3 | Martha Nichols | Hip-Hop | "Just Fine"—Chris Brown | Todd Sams | Safe |
| 4 | Martha Nichols | Salsa | "Tanga"—Machito and His Afro-Cubans | Ron Montez | Safe |
| 5 | Martha Nichols | Foxtrot | "Witchcraft"—Steve Tyrell | Jean-Marc Généreux | Bottom 3 |
| 5 | Result Show Solo | Result Show Solo | ""The Blower's Daughter"—Damien Rice | | Safe |
| 6 | Heidi Groskreutz | Paso Doble | "The Plaza of Execution" from The Mask of Zorro | Mary Murphy | Safe |
| 6 | Heidi Groskreutz | Contemporary | "Calling You"—Celine Dion | Mia Michaels | Safe |
| 6 | Solo | Solo | "Belief"—Gavin DeGraw | | Safe |
| 7 | Donyelle Jones | Hip Hop | "London Bridge"—Fergie | Shane Sparks | Bottom 4 |
| 7 | Donyelle Jones | Quickstep | "Dancin' Fool"—Barry Manilow | Glenn Weiss | Bottom 4 |
| 7 | Result Show Solo | Result Show Solo | "Gotta Get Thru This (Acoustic)"—Daniel Bedingfield | | Safe |
| 8 | Heidi Groskreutz | Smooth Waltz | "Flying"—Cait Agus Sean | Ron Montez | Safe |
| 8 | Heidi Groskreutz | Afro Pop | "W'Happy Mama"—Zap Mama | Wade Robson | Safe |
| 8 | Solo | Solo | "You And Me"—Lifehouse | | Safe |
| 8 | Results show solo | Results show solo | "Flying Without Wings (A Capella version)"—Westlife | | Safe |
| 9 | Heidi Groskreutz | Disco | "Shake Your Groove Thing"—Peaches & Herb | Doriana Sanchez | Runner-Up |
| 9 | Benji Schwimmer | Hip Hop | "Gyrate"—Da Muzicianz feat. Mr. Collipark | Shane Sparks | Runner-Up |
| 9 | Donyelle Jones | Contemporary | "Georgia On My Mind"—Ray Charles | Mia Michaels | Runner-Up |
| 9 | Solo | Solo | "Konstantine"—Something Corporate | | Runner-Up |

### Post-SYTYCD

Wall danced on the October 16, 2007 Dancing with the Stars results show, in a piece choreographed by and starring Wade Robson. Wall, along with Tidwell and many previous finalists of So You Think You Can Dance, performed during the second annual Idol Gives Back charity event on April 9, 2008. Nigel Lythgoe produced both shows at the time.
Wall performs regularly with American Dance Artists, in Delmarva, as well as for Evolution dance company in Los Angeles, California. He teaches students contemporary dance at NUVO, a dance convention that tours the nation. In 2007, Wall and Ivan Koumaev made a dance video called Its About Time designed to be for the viewer's entertainment rather than for instructional purposes like most dance videos.
Wall was in the 2008 Disney movie Bedtime Stories, starring Adam Sandler, alongside SYTYCD Season 3 contestant, Lacey Schwimmer. In 2010 Wall worked as an assistant choreographer for the Academy Awards, alongside Mia Michaels and Brian Friedman.
So You Think You Can Dance Get Fit: Cardio Funk was one of two home exercise videos released by the producers of SYTYCD. Wall choreographed a contemporary dance and corresponding cool-down routine for the video.
Wall choreographed and performed in an ensemble piece featuring New York City Ballet principal ballerina Tiler Peck to a piece by Nuttin' But Stringz for ABC's Dancing with the Stars April 13, 2010 episode in a feature called "Macy's Stars of Dance".
In 2010, Wall choreographed several numbers for the VMA's.
In 2011, Wall choreographed a floor exercise routine for Olympic All-Around Champion Nastia Liukin which she will use to try to earn a spot on the 2012 Olympic USA Gymnastics team.
Wall will be starring in a new reality show "All the Right Moves" with Teddy Forance, Nick Lazzarini, and Kyle Robinson. The four men are launching their own dance company called Shaping Sound.
Wall has appeared twice on RuPaul's Drag Race, first in the season 5 episode "Black Swan: Why It Gotta Be Black?" to choreograph a ballet based on the life of RuPaul, and later the season 11 episode "The Draglympics" to choreograph routines for an Olympics-like challenge. Wall also appeared on the RuPaul's Drag Race All Stars episode "All Stars Supergroup" in 2016.
Wall has appeared in two episodes of Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders: Making the Team in seasons 13 and 14 to choreograph routines for the Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders training camp candidates.
In 2018, Wall has appeared in a video against homophobia, dancing to This is me from The Greatest Showman while Shoshana Bean is singing.
In 2019, Wall choreographed the Off-Broadway musical "The Wrong Man" which debuted at the MCC theater, featuring Joshua Henry.
Wall was removed from the dance company Break the Floor (BTF) in 2021 after allegations that he had engaged in sexually inappropriate behavior. BTF said in a statement on Instagram that "Travis will not be traveling with BTF until we've had the opportunity for a third-party to look into these allegations." Wall has denied the accusations.

### Choreography for So You Think You Can Dance

Wall earned 2011 and 2013 Emmy nominations for his contemporary choreography in seasons 7 and 9. He won a 2015 Emmy for routines he choreographed for season 11. (See SYTYCD Emmy Awards for details.) Along with Mandy Moore, he jointly won a 2017 Creative Emmy Award.
| Season | Week | Dancers | Style | Song | Note |
| 3 | 5 | Jaimie Goodwin Hokuto Konishi | Broadway | "Mr. Bojangles"—Fosse | by Tyce Diorio Travis Wall assisting |
| 5 | 6 | Jeanine Mason Jason Glover | Contemporary | "If It Kills Me"(The Casa Nova Sessions)—Jason Mraz | |
| 5 | 7 | Top 8 | Jazz | "Let It Rock"—Kevin Rudolf feat. Lil Wayne | |
| 6 | 1 | Bianca Revels Victor Smalley | Contemporary | "Wasted Time"—Me'shell Ndegeocello | |
| 6 | 4 | Ellenore Scott Ryan Di Lello | Contemporary | "Your Ex-Lover Is Dead"—Stars | |
| 6 | 7 | Ellenore Scott Jonathan "Legacy" Perez | Contemporary | "Machine Gun"—Portishead | |
| 6 | 8 | Ashleigh Di Lello Ryan Di Lello | Contemporary | "I'm There Too"—Michelle Featherstone | |
| 7 | LVW | All dancers | Contemporary | | "A Beautiful Mess"—Jason Mraz |
| 7 | MT11 | Kent Boyd Lauren Froderman Mark Kanemura Kathryn McCormick | Jazz | "Paris is Burning"—St. Vincent | |
| 7 | 1 | Adéchiké Torbert Kathryn McCormick | Jazz | "Addicted to Love"—Florence and the Machine | |
| 7 | 2 | Ashley Galvan Mark Kanemura | Jazz | "Wonderful"—Annie Lennox | |
| 7 | 4 | Lauren Froderman Kent Boyd | Contemporary | "Collide" (acoustic version)—Howie Day | |
| 7 | 5 | Robert Roldan Allison Holker | Contemporary | "Fix You"—Coldplay | |
| 7 | 8 | Kent Boyd Neil Haskell | Contemporary | "How It Ends"—DeVotchKa | |
| 8 | LVW | All dancers | Contemporary | "Yellow"—Vitamin String Quartet | |
| 8 | MT20 | Alexander Fost Mitchell Kelly Caitlynn Lawson Ryan Ramirez Ashley Rich | Contemporary | "Moth's Wings"—Passion Pit | |
| 8 | 1 | Sasha Mallory Alexander Fost | Contemporary | "Stupid [Mark Bell mix]"—Sarah McLachlan | |
| 8 | 1 | Melanie Moore Marko Germar | Contemporary | "Turn to stone"—Ingrid Michaelson | |
| 8 | 5 | Jordan Casanova Tadd Gadduang | Contemporary | "Brotsjór"—Ólafur Arnalds | |
| 8 | 5 | Caitlynn Lawson Mitchell Kelly | Jazz | "Piece of My Heart"—Janis Joplin | |
| 8 | 8 | Kent Boyd Lauren Froderman | Contemporary | "Collide"—Howie Day | Guest Dancers |
| 9 | LVW | All Dancers | Contemporary | "I Won't Give Up"—Jason Mraz | |
| 9 | MT20 | Top 10 girls | Contemporary | "Where the Light Gets In"—Sennen | |
| 9 | 1 | Audrey Case Matthew Kazmierczak | Contemporary | "Unchained Melody"—The Righteous Brothers | |
| 9 | 5 | Witney Carson Nick Lazzarini | Jazz | "Sing It Back"—Moloko | |
| 9 | 5 | Jaimie Goodwin Cyrus "Glitch" Spencer | Contemporary | "Outro"—M83 | |
| 9 | 8 | Eliana Girard Alex Wong | Contemporary | "Without You"—Harry Nilsson | |
| 10 | 1 | Jasmine Mason Alan Bersten | Contemporary | "Can't Help Falling in Love" (Live at Daytrotter)—Ingrid Michaelson | |
| 10 | 1 | Malece Miller Jade Zuberi | Jazz | "Silver Screen Shower Scene"—Felix da Housecat | |
| 10 | 4 | Jenna Johnson Tucker Knox | Contemporary | "Hangin' By a Thread"—Jann Arden | |
| 10 | 7 | Tucker Knox Robert Roldan | Contemporary | "Medicine"—Daughter | |
| 10 | 8 | Amy Yakima Travis Wall | Contemporary | "Wicked Game" (Live at Kilkenny Arts Festival, Ireland 2011)—James Vincent McMorrow | |
| 10 | 10 | Jasmine Harper Fik-Shun | Contemporary | "Spiegel im Spiegel"—Arvo Pärt, performed by Angela Yoffe & Vadim Gluzman | |
| 11 | LVW | All Dancers | Contemporary | "Lay Me Down"—Sam Smith | |
| 11 | 1 | Emily James Casey Askew | Contemporary | "All of Me"(Live from Spotify)—John Legend | |
| 11 | 2 | Valerie Rockey Ricky Ubeda | Contemporary | "Oh Darling"—Gossling | |
| 11 | 4 | Bridget Whitman Emilio Dosal | Contemporary | "The Leaving Song"—Chris Garneau | |
| 11 | 4 | Bridget Whitman Carly Blaney Jacque LeWarne Jessica Richens Marcquet Hill Ricky Ubeda Rudy Abreu Teddy Coffey | Jazz | "Love Runs Out"—OneRepublic | |
| 11 | 5 | Jessica Richens Casey Askew | Contemporary | "Like Real People Do"—Hozier | |
| 11 | 5 | Top 7 Guys | Contemporary | "Wave"—Beck | |
| 11 | 6 | Jacque LeWarne Chehon Wespi-Tschopp | Contemporary ballet | "Adagio for TRON"—Daft Punk | |
| 11 | 7 | Ricky Ubeda Jaimie Goodwin | Contemporary | "Smile"—Michael Jackson | with All-Star |
| 11 | 9 | Top 4 | Contemporary | "Wind Beneath My Wings"—RyanDan | |
| 11 | 9 | Jessica Richens Robert Roldan | Contemporary | "When I Go"—Over the Rhine | with All-Star |
| 12 | MT20 | Kate Harpootlian Edson Juarez | Contemporary | "Shaped Like A Gun"—Tailor | |
| 12 | 1 | Team Stage | Contemporary | "Stabat Mater"—Woodkid | |
| 12 | 3 | Team Stage | Contemporary | "Beautiful Friends"—Helen Money | |
| 12 | 5 | Jaimie Goodwin Edson Juarez | Contemporary | "Your Day Will Come"—Son Lux | with All-Star |
| 12 | 8 | Gaby Diaz Hailee Payne | Contemporary | "Do Not Hang Your Head"—Elizabeth & the Catapult | |
| 12 | 9 | Jim Nowakowski Alex Wong | Contemporary | "November"—Max Richter | with All-Star |
| 13: Next Gen | 3 | J.T. Church Robert Roldan | Contemporary | "The Mirror"—Alexandre Desplat | with All-Star |
| 13: Next Gen | 3 | All-Stars | Contemporary | "Send in the Clowns"—from A Little Night Music (Sarah Vaughan and the Count Basie Orchestra) | |
| 13: Next Gen | 4 | Tate McRae Kathryn McCormick | Contemporary | "She Used to Be Mine"—Sara Bareilles | with All-Star |
| 13: Next Gen | 5 | Contestants and All-Stars | Contemporary | "What the World Needs Now is Love"—Hal David and Burt Bacharach (Will Young cover) | |
| 13: Next Gen | 5 | Emma Hellencamp J.T. Church | Contemporary | "I Will Not Forget You"—Max Richter | with All-Star |

### Danced as Guest or All-Star for So You Think You Can Dance

| Season | Week | partner(s) | Style | Song | Choreographer(s) | Note |
| 4 | 9 | Earlier contestants | Discoswing | "Don't Stop the Music"—Rihanna | | as Guest |
| 5 | 7 RS | Heidi Groskreutz | Contemporary | "Calling You"—Celine Dion | Mia Michaels | as Guest |
| 10 | 8 | Amy Yakima | Contemporary | "Wicked Game" (Live at Kilkenny Arts Festival, Ireland 2011)—James Vincent McMorrow | Travis Wall | as All-Star |
| 13: Next Gen | 6 | Maddie Ziegler | Contemporary | "Cage of Bones"—Son Lux | Travis Wall | as Guest |

### Publications

In February 2007, Wall was featured in a fashion/dance spread in movmnt magazine (which Tidwell co-founded). The following June, Wall interviewed Whoopi Goldberg for the magazine.
Wall was featured in the photography book Moving Still: a Life Performance by David Benaym.

## Personal life

In 2007, his adoptive brother Danny Tidwell was a runner-up of the third season of So You Think You Can Dance. He, too, had trained with their mother Denise Wall, who also trained Jaimie Goodwin, a Season 3 contestant. Wall is gay. In March 2016, he got engaged to UCLA gymnastics coach Dom Palange after 5 years of dating. Wall announced the couple's split on his Instagram page on August 3, 2018.

## Filmography

| Year | Media | Role | Notes |
| 2006-2019 | So You Think You Can Dance | Contestant, Choreographer, Dancer, Guest, All-Star | Runner-Up in Season 2. Choreographer in seasons 3, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 12: Next Gen Guest in seasons 4, 5, 13: Next Gen. All-Star in Season 10 |
| 2007-2010 | Dancing with the Stars | Dancer, Choreographer | Results Show, Season 5, October 16, 2007. Guest Dancer/Choreographer, Season 10, April 13, 2010. |
| 2008 | Bedtime Stories | | |
| 2010 | 82nd Academy Awards | Assistant Choreographer | |
| 2010 | 2010 MTV Video Music Awards | Choreographer | |
| 2013-2019 | RuPaul's Drag Race | Himself (Choreographer and Guest Judge) | Episode: "Why It Gotta Be Black, Swan?" Episode: "Draglympics" |
| 2018-2021 | Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders: Making the Team | Himself (Guest Choreographer) | Season 13, 14, 15, 16 |

## Awards
### Primetime Emmy Awards

Source:
| Year | Award | Performance | Result |
| 2011 | Outstanding Choreography | So You Think You Can Dance | Nominated |
| 2012 | Outstanding Choreography | So You Think You Can Dance | Nominated |
| 2013 | Outstanding Choreography | So You Think You Can Dance | Nominated |
| 2014 | Outstanding Choreography | So You Think You Can Dance | Nominated |
| 2015 | Outstanding Choreography | So You Think You Can Dance | Won |
| 2016 | Outstanding Choreography | So You Think You Can Dance | Nominated |
| 2017 | Outstanding Choreography | So You Think You Can Dance | Won |
| 2018 | Outstanding Choreography | So You Think You Can Dance | Nominated |
| 2019 | Outstanding Choreography | So You Think You Can Dance | Nominated |
| 2020 | Outstanding Choreography | So You Think You Can Dance | Nominated |