It was 1 a.m. when Ira Griffin left Syracuse on a bus headed for New York City a little over a week ago. Seven hours later, he found himself at the Hammerstein Ballroom, where a crowd of hundreds had gathered to audition for the dance show “So You Think You Can Dance.”

The 12th season of “So You Think You Can Dance” is centered on the theme of the stage versus the street — classic, trained dancing against contemporary, self-taught dancing. Although the doors of the Hammerstein Ballroom opened at 8 a.m., Griffin had to wait until the late afternoon for his audition.

For Griffin, the audition was exhilarating and nerve-wracking.

“I was so scared because there had already been so many good dancers ahead of me,” said Griffin, a junior public health major. “Just imagine hundreds of people in one room who share the same passion as you — and you all connect through dancing.”

Right after he auditioned, the judges told Griffin he did not make the cut.

“I was just slightly bummed. But most of me is like, ‘I did it. I did it.’ I just danced in front of a lot of people. I just danced in front of famous people and judges,” Griffin said. “Not many people did what I just did. So that was amazing. Nothing but smiles afterwards.”

Griffin, 21, said he began dancing when he was 18. He would watch YouTube videos of dances for hours until he could do the moves himself.

Eventually, he began developing a personal style, though Griffin said he is still trying to learn “breaking and krumping.”

“I like to be funny. Shake my butt a little bit, chest pops here and there, stuff like that,” Griffin said.

He said his plans for the future definitely include dancing. But for right now, he’s content with dancing as a passion.

“I’m stressed about school, but I know that I can always fall back on dancing,” Griffin said. “Dancing has been an outlet to freedom and happiness. I’m dancing for me and my passion.”

Published on February 1, 2015 at 11:01 pm

Contact Momin: mrafi@syr.edu