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An Interview with Joshua Allen from SYTYCD
He's So Much More Than Dancing

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Original Publication Date:
June 2009

On the 4-finger shoulder sign otherwise known as IV REAL:

Early on in the season the audience noticed a few of the dancers began making this funny symbol putting 4 fingers up on their shoulder and saying 4Real, 4Real. Suddenly, the message boards were all abuzz. Most reactionary speculators thought it was some silly inside deal among the "black block" of dancers since they didn't see any of the others making the gesture. As the season progressed, so, too, did the instance of IV REAL signs being offered up by Will and Twitch and Comfort and Joshua. Eventually, even Nigel and Mary and Cat got in on the gesture. Before it was over, everybody was curling 4 fingers on their shoulder and chanting the slogan. As it turns out, the IV REAL symbol evolved into something much bigger than any of the dancers could have envisioned and from its innocuous beginnings, took on a life of its own. Joshua explains:

"Energy, focus, talent, and togetherness: that's what the 4 fingers in IV REAL stand for. We all joked around with the expression for a while. We'd say 'Man, we're Season 4, we're so FOR REAL (Season 4=IV=FOR REAL) or this number is hard 4 real, but I'm going to do this boy. I'm gonna end up coming out on top 4 real. Somethin', somethin', somethin', 4 real.' I remember me and Twitch and Gev were joking and Gev ran and flipped off my back and Twitch was like, aaaaa, that's so 4 real. We were looking for a way to grab the viewer's attention to what we were about. Will had shirts made up with the IV REAL sign on the front but we only got 4. It kinda took off from there. It means a lot of things. It was the definition of Season 4 for us. It became our sign and our slogan--it grew and grew and grew. Me, Twitch, Will, Comfort, Jessica, Chelsea T, Courtney, and Kherington got a IV REAL tattoo when it was over. It was that important to us."

On the future...

So much has happened to Joshua since his win. Getting to travel the country and tour with his dance family was one of his all time highlights. Since then, he has left his home in Texas and settled into an apartment that he loves in Los Angeles. There he hopes to keep his dream alive as he weighs his offers while moving ever forward. Many of his friends from the show are there in L.A. also, giving him a base of familiar faces to look to and draw from whether the going is rough or just right. He's on his own but not alone. Joshua stays grounded by keeping his Fort Worth roots close at hand, as well. Pastor Johnny Castleberry remains in touch on a regular basis--a true blessing in his life.

The humble, shy, unassuming guy with the big dimples and bright smile that lights up the sky each time he steps on the stage is on his way. He won the whole enchilada and proudly wears the title of America's Favorite Dancer.

Winning the show was a magical feat that is almost impossible to adequately explain. It is so remarkable from so many vantage points for so many reasons. Yet, winning, as fabulous as that is, is only the beginning. With determination, good choices, good friends, and a little bit of luck, Joshua can go on to even greater heights. He doesn't want to be known only as that guy who won Season 4 of SYTYCD. He doesn't want to be known only as a one-trick hip hop popper who happened to win dancing's lottery. He doesn't want to get lost.

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Photos

Joshua Allen
Photos of Joshua Allen from the shoot with Pz and photographer Cory Sorensen.

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