Back by popular demand, World of Dance is returning for its fourth season to showcase phenomenal dancers from around the world. This season, 34 acts are vying for the $1 million dollar prize, but it won’t come without challenges. With an amazing group of world-class competitors bringing a variety of genres of dance to the World of Dance stage, there is one key goal that awaits the end of the competition: the title of “best dancer in the world”. Competitors from around the world will compete in styles including but not limited to jazz, ballet, ballroom, hip hop and so much more. Kurtis Sprung, a contemporary dancer from Caroga Lake, NY, is one of the many talented acts who will hit the stage this season.
As a contestant competing in the upper division, Sprung plans to bring a unique style of movement to the stage that will set him apart from the other acts and styles of contemporary seen before.
“My movement comes from a strong ballet background crossed with a grounded and free flow wake-like quality,” says Sprung. “I also use athleticism to create pathways and acrobatics.”
In addition to a sound blueprint of movement along with transitions that tie everything together, Sprung credits his more grounded style of movement from the contemporary world, as well as a strong sense of story-telling, as something that differs him from others and will hopefully engage the audience.
Sprung shares, “I love to bring emotion to people’s lives. I want them to be able to relate and share their own experience back!”
Training and continuing growth are of course essential in this exciting journey for Sprung. The training process has never truly stopped for him, even over the last 24 years. By constantly pushing himself to learn new material every day, Sprung is well-equipped for the twists and turns that this new season of World of Dance will throw at the contestants. But, of course, behind every driven dancer, there are challenges waiting at each turn.
“The challenge of finding the right fit of music and movement was the hardest part,” Sprung reveals. “Picking what song was going to evoke the exact emotion my choreographer, Teddy, and I wanted.”
Regardless of the challenges and the pressures of competition, there is always a support system to credit for making what may have started out as a dream a reality. For Kurtis, there is no shortage of support that boosted his drive to continue dancing while striving to be the best he could be and ultimately ending up with one of the best opportunities of a lifetime.
Sprung says, “My parents really pushed me to be a hard worker, and my sister, Brittany, was really great at everything, so it gave me someone to look up to who was always working hard. My dance teachers, Mara and Marlene, were also key in keeping me focused on goals and aspirations within the dance world. They really gave me the opportunity to have a career!”
As someone who used to compare himself to the greats in the dance world as a kid with the intent of pushing himself to be better, the chance to compete against the best dancers around the world is proof of how far Sprung has come. This opportunity is also a push to be great at his craft and continue improving no matter what. One thing is certain, this will be one exciting journey of many for this talented dancer.
“The opportunity to share my art form on the biggest stage for dance was all I needed to take the challenge,” Sprung says. “It just finally worked out this season that I had the time to enter. The hope is to definitely win; however, I am so grateful to be able to share my art with so many people who love it!”
You can catch up on season four of World of Dance every Tuesday night on NBC!
By Monique George of Dance Informa.
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