Michael has been heavily active in the Dance world since the very beginning of his life. Starting his training at the age of 2 with the Etta Mae Smith Studio of Dance, he studied all styles including Tap, Jazz, Ballet, Modern, Musical Theater, and Hip Hop. He started his competitive tenure early on with the Dance Masters organization, and competed throughout his student career achieving numerous overall and high score awards regionally and nationally, along with being a 3-time state title holder for Ohio Dance Masters. Aside from the competitive scene, he was highly invested in vocal music and theatre, performing in productions such as, “Music Man”, “Fiddler on the Roof”, while also landing the lead as Ren McCormack in “Footloose the Musical”. In 2015, he auditioned for the hit show, “So You Think You Can Dance”, where he advanced past more than 500 people to perform for celebrities such as Paula Abdul and Jason Derulo. He now frequently judges at competitions and conventions throughout the midwest, for names such as Dance Force Xpress, Encore Talent Productions, and Dance Masters. Along with judging, he’s guest choreographed and held countless workshops and master classes across the region, while most notably teaching for Dance Masters of PA Chapter 10, Ohio Dance Masters Chapter 16, as well as holding dance intensives in Ohio, Michigan, and New York. For a handful of years, he performed with the New Vision Dance Company based in Columbus, Ohio and now frequently teaches for their Winter and Summer Tap workshops. Alongside New Vision, he also teaches annually at the New Albany Dance Festival which is held every summer. Michael has over 30 years of dance experience, and 10 years of experience teaching Tap and Hip-Hop, while currently being on staff at multiple dance studios in the Northeast Ohio area. All of which he’s choreographed multiple award wining routines for that’ve been recognized for Choreography, Entertainment, Top Style, Industry Dance Nominee, Scholarships, and Top Overall placements.