“So You Think You Can Dance” Winner Joshua Allen Dead at 36
Family confirms passing of Season 4 champion; cause of death undisclosed.
Los Angeles, October 1 EST: Joshua Allen, the dancer who shook up So You Think You Can Dance Season 4 back in 2008, has died at 36. His family confirmed the news late Tuesday but chose not to share the cause. They asked for privacy as they grieve.
If you were watching the Fox competition at its peak, you remember Allen. He wasn’t the polished ballet kid or the contemporary darling. He was the street dancer who came in with grit, charisma, and a knack for blowing the roof off the place. That season, he beat out Stephen “tWitch” Boss who would later become a household name in a finale that still lives rent-free in fan memory.
The Season That Sealed His Name
Allen’s win mattered. Before him, street-style dancers on SYTYCD were often framed as underdogs fun, but not destined to win. Then came Joshua, launching himself across the stage in routines that were part fight, part flight. His hip-hop duets with Katee Shean and Comfort Fedoke are still fan favorites, often reposted with comments like, “This is when the show was untouchable.”
Judge Nigel Lythgoe called him “a powerhouse,” and it wasn’t hype. His performances carried a rawness that TV dance rarely let through.
Life After the Show
Post-SYTYCD, Allen worked steadily but never hit that tWitch-level mainstream visibility. He danced for Missy Elliott, Chris Brown, and scored film credits in Step Up 3D and Footloose. For insiders, his talent was never in question but the commercial machine is fickle, and his career never quite took the same trajectory as some of his castmates.
A Complicated Journey
Allen’s later years were turbulent. In 2017, he served jail time after pleading no contest to felony assault involving a former girlfriend. He was ordered to counseling and largely stepped away from the public eye.
That part of his story complicates the nostalgia. But it doesn’t erase what he did for dance on TV. For younger performers, especially those coming from freestyle or street traditions, Allen’s win was proof the industry could take them seriously.
How He’s Being Remembered
Choreographer Emmanuel Hurd, a longtime collaborator, described him as “a very honest, real person.” Across social media, fans have been resurfacing clips of his most iconic routines grainy YouTube videos that still hit harder than most choreography going viral today.
According to TMZ, Allen’s death took place on September 30. No other details have been released.
What lingers now is the memory of a dancer who changed the rules, even briefly. Joshua Allen didn’t just win a TV show. He cracked open the door for dancers who didn’t come through conservatories or studios, but from backyards, rec centers, and street corners.
And if you watch those clips today, sixteen years later, the energy is still there. Sweaty, smiling, unstoppable like the music was made just for him.
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A bi-coastal pop culture critic and former indie screenwriter, Gia covers Hollywood, streaming wars, and subculture shifts with razor wit and Gen Z intuition. If it’s going viral, she already knew about it.
