So You Think You Can Dance Sam Nelson

SALT LAKE CITY — Sam Nelson found out just days after his high school graduation last year that he had made it to Hollywood on "So You Think You Can Dance."

"It was the type of thing where I was like, 'This is too great of an opportunity to turn it down, so I just need to go,'" Nelson said.

He immediately packed his bags and moved from his family's home in Texas to California. But the happy news also left Nelson with a "pretty big dilemma," as competing on the show would interfere with his plans to attend classes at the University of Utah campus in Salt Lake City.

"I knew that because I was going to be filming for the show in California that wouldn't be possible anymore, and so I needed to find a way to continue my education remotely," Nelson said.

Nelson's brother, who attends Southern Utah University, recommended SUU Online, which would enable Nelson to both get his degree and work in California.

Now, Nelson is three semesters into SUU Online's business management program and supporting himself as a dancer while living in Los Angeles.

The 19-year-old said he chose to study business management because he has always had an interest in business and thought of himself as possibly being an entrepreneur.

"I knew that I could incorporate the business management degree with my dance ability, and that either will be in the future, opening my own dance studio, my own dance convention, managing other people's talents and their bookings that they will get, something in that realm, but I'm trying to find a way to relate the two," Nelson said.

Sam Nelson, an SUU Online student and professional dancer.

Jacob Clair

Nelson first started dancing at 10 years old as a way to unite his athletic and artistic interests.

"After trial and error of trying out different extracurricular activities, I was able to find a passion in dance because I was able to combine my athletic ability with my artistic, creative brain," Nelson said.

After moving to California, Nelson made it to the top 20 male performers on season 16 of "So You Think You Can Dance."

"'So You Think You Can Dance' for me was something that I had always dreamed about," Nelson said. "I had so many of my mentors and my teachers growing up that were on the show, and so I've always thought about it as being something that might be in my future, but I never thought that I would ever reach the level where it would actually be a dream come true in a way."

The dancer is currently part of an all-male contemporary company called Embodiment The Collective and travels frequently for choreography and teaching jobs.

Nelson has performed with his dance company at the 2019 Primetime Emmy Awards and on NBC's World of Dance Championships.

"Those are really cool experiences because the rehearsal process is super fast-paced and it really helped me develop skills to be a professional dancer," Nelson said. "At the age that I was working and still am working, I'm younger than most of the working dancers here in California, so it was really nice to be able to have that experience."

Finding time to both study and pursue his dancing career isn't easy, but to Nelson, it's worth it.

"My schedule is so crazy sometimes," Nelson said. "It definitely was stressful at first, but now I feel like I'm sort of getting the hang of things."

Sam Nelson performs on "So You Think You Can Dance" Season 16.

Jacob Clair

The dancer said the coronavirus pandemic has affected his work pretty heavily.

"It's really been tough because a lot of people can't be in the same room right now, so we have to either limit it to 25% capacity or we have to dance in our masks or something like that, so all of the in-person work has been on hold as of right now," Nelson said.

In the meantime, Nelson has been keeping busy with school and teaching Zoom classes from his apartment.

"I've converted my living room into a little dance studio for the time being," Nelson said.

Nelson's online learning experience has put him at an advantage over other students who have had to transition to studying online amid the pandemic.

"I think that it reassures me that I did make the right decision because had I chosen to go on campus, I would have ended up being online during this time anyway," Nelson said.

In the future, Nelson plans to do more choreography and teaching.

"I'm testing the waters out in every area of dance right now, since it only has been about a year since moving here," Nelson said. "I'm trying to see which direction I want to put all of my time and energy into."

Nelson's advice to others is "if you have an interest that sets you apart from other people, invest in it and see how far you can go with it."

"It's like the saying where it's like, 'You can't score if you don't take the shot,'" Nelson said. "I feel like taking the shot is always the way to go."

So You Think You Can Dance Sam Nelson

Source: https://www.deseret.com/entertainment/2020/7/9/21304758/suu-online-education-dancer-sam-nelson-sytycd

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