LAYTON -- Using a mix of matinee-idol looks and the flexibility of a straw, professional dancer Nathan Trasoras charmed and challenged students in his Saturday workshops looking to enhance their contemporary dance skills.
"It is going to be hard, but it is not going to be impossible," he told the dancers, who ranged in age from 7 to 19.
Trasoras, 18, fresh off the Fox television series "So You Think You Can Dance," was at the Davis Conference Center teaching two dance workshops to about 80 intermediate and advanced dancers who had come from as far away as Idaho and Nevada.
Aleena Dudley, 8, of Elko, Nev., said she came to the workshop because dancing is fun, and because she knows who Trasoras is because she watched him "a lot" on "So You Think You Can Dance."
The 90-minute classes, sponsored by Utah Dance Championships, also offered about 70 people less inclined to boogie the opportunity to view the personable teen's teaching technique for a $5 charge.
This is the first trip to Utah for Trasoras, who is from Los Angeles. But based on the number of Utah contestants who have appeared on the same television show he did, Trasoras said, he is aware there is a large segment of the Utah population with an interest in dancing.
"Mostly women," Trasoras said in a Thursday telephone interview with the Standard-Examiner. Some men have insecurities when it comes to dancing, he said.
However, Tre'vaun Peoples of Layton, was one of two 7-year-old boys in the intermediate class Saturday.
"I just kind of wanted to do this competition," said Tre'vaun, who had heard of Trasoras, but had yet to see him on television.
Trasoras acknowledged the two boys during the class, assuring them their sudden stops in a particular routine could be more pronounced.
"You don't have to be girly to dance," said Trasoras, who has been dancing for eight years, and with his new-found notoriety travels the country and Canada sharing his art.
Trasoras said it is by challenging himself that he has become a better dancer, as he uses the talent to break into other avenues of entertainment, including an appearance in an upcoming episode of the television series "Glee."
But teaching is something he enjoys, Trasoras said, particularly larger classes where it allows students to work off one another.
"I learned the most from just watching people," he told students.
Syracuse resident Taylee Bingham, 11, said a new move she learned was a "weird jump thing" involving a jump and twist motion.
The Vigil sisters of Layton, Darian, 10 and Sydney, 9, were so impressed with Trasoras they signed up for both his intermediate and advanced workshops.
The sisters have been dancing since they were 2.
Utah Dance Championship owner Tami Larson said the Saturday workshops with Trasoras is a way to offer a lot of fun opportunities to Utah dancers.
"It adds a new dimension to the dance world," Larson said, while educating those who enjoy dancing on what their possibilities are.
"Everyone is getting back into dancing," Trasoras said, crediting the resurgence of dance popularity to television shows like "America's Got Talent" that provide dance acts a chance to perform before large audiences.
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