Charles "Lil Buck" Riley (born May 25, 1988) is an American dancer, actor and model from

Memphis, Tennessee Memphis is a city in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is the seat of Shelby County in the southwest part of the state; it is situated along the Mississippi River. With a population of 633,104 at the 2020 U.S. census, Memphis is the second-mos ...

who specializes in a style of street dance called jookin. He gained popularity after director Spike Jonze used his cell phone to record an interpretive performance of "

The Dying Swan ''The Dying Swan'' (originally ''The Swan'') is a solo dance choreographed by Mikhail Fokine to Camille Saint-Saëns's ''Le Cygne'' from ''Le Carnaval des animaux'' as a ''pièce d'occasion'' for the ballerina Anna Pavlova, who performed it abou ...

" by Lil Buck and

Yo-Yo Ma Yo-Yo Ma ('' Chinese'': 馬友友 ''Ma Yo Yo''; born October 7, 1955) is an American cellist. Born in Paris to Chinese parents and educated in New York City, he was a child prodigy, performing from the age of four and a half. He graduated from ...

. Jonze uploaded the video to YouTube and as of November 2015, it had amassed over three million views.

Early life

Lil Buck was born in Chicago and raised in Memphis. He discovered jookin when he was 12 years old after his older sister showed him some basic jookin dance moves in their living room. After learning more about the dance from neighborhood mentors he spent less time doing his other hobbies, including drawing and basketball, so that he could focus solely on improving his dancing. When he was 17, he appeared in a locally produced jookin DVD called ''Memphis Jookin Vol. 1''. Lil Buck studied ballet for two years while on scholarship at the New Ballet Ensemble (NBE) in Memphis. He accepted the scholarship under the condition that he would not have to wear tights, but he eventually relented so that he could perform with the company. It was also while at NBE that Riley first performed "The Dying Swan", a choreographic collaboration with his instructor at NBE, Katie Smythe (CEO / Creative Director - NBE). She explained the background of the piece on the way to a NBE school performance in West Memphis, Arkansas.

Career

2010–2011: ''The Swan'' and Madonna

Lil Buck moved to Los Angeles when he was 19 to pursue a career in dance. In 2010, he appeared on ''

The Ellen DeGeneres Show ''The Ellen DeGeneres Show'' (often shortened to ''Ellen'' or ''The Ellen Show'') is an American daytime television variety comedy talk show that was created and hosted by its namesake Ellen DeGeneres. Debuting on September 8, 2003, it was pro ...

'' and co-choreographed the music video for the song "

Tightrope Tightrope walking, also called funambulism, is the skill of walking along a thin wire or rope. It has a long tradition in various countries and is commonly associated with the circus. Other skills similar to tightrope walking include slack rope ...

" by

Janelle Monáe Janelle Monáe Robinson (; born December 1, 1985) is an American singer, rapper and actress. She is signed to Atlantic Records, as well as to her own imprint, the Wondaland Arts Society. Monáe has received eight Grammy Award nominations. Mon� ...

. In 2011, director and former ballet dancer Damian Woetzel met Lil Buck and paired him with Yo-Yo Ma in "The Swan" performance that went viral on YouTube. Woetzel heard about Lil Buck from his wife Heather Watts who saw an old YouTube video clip of Lil Buck freestyle dancing to Camille Saint-Saëns’ '' Le cygne'' (''The Swan'') in a New Ballet Ensemble (NBE) school performance in West Memphis, Arkansas. NBE director Katie Smythe introduced Buck to Saint-Saëns' music and the idea of applying jookin' to classical music. Watts showed the clip to her husband Woetzel who then showed the clip to

. They all eventually met by using Facebook to contact Katie Smythe (Lil Buck's ballet teacher) who facilitated the introduction. After "The Swan" performance, Woetzel's professional relationship with Lil Buck continued. Woetzel invited Lil Buck to be the

artist in residence Artist-in-residence, or artist residencies, encompass a wide spectrum of artistic programs which involve a collaboration between artists and hosting organisations, institutions, or communities. They are programs which provide artists with space a ...

at the 2011

Vail International Dance Festival Damian Woetzel (born May 17, 1967) is an American choreographer. Woetzel was a principal dancer with the New York City Ballet, where he performed from 1985 until 2008. He also frequently performed with companies like the Kirov Ballet and Americ ...

. He paired Lil Buck with Yo-Yo Ma again for a performance at the 2011 U.S.-China Forum on the Arts and Culture in

Beijing } Beijing ( ; ; ), alternatively romanized as Peking ( ), is the capital of the People's Republic of China. It is the center of power and development of the country. Beijing is the world's most populous national capital city, with over 21 ...

. Lil Buck was the first person in his family to travel outside of the United States. His trip was documented in a short independent film titled ''Lil Buck Goes to China''. The film was directed by Ole Schell who is the son of Orville Schell, an American journalist based in China who organized the forum in Beijing. After his trip, Lil Buck was photographed by Bruce Weber for an interview in the Spring 2011 issue of VMAN magazine. Aside from working with Woetzel and Yo-Yo Ma, Lil Buck danced for Madonna during her Super Bowl XLVI halftime show after winning the "Dance for Madonna Smirnoff Nightlife Exchange Competition". He eventually joined

The MDNA Tour The MDNA Tour was the ninth concert tour by American singer Madonna, launched in support of her twelfth studio album, '' MDNA'' (2012). Comprising 88 shows, the tour began on May 31, 2012, in Tel Aviv's Ramat Gan Stadium and concluded in Cór ...

as one of 22 dancers. Due to all of his accomplishments during the year, ''Dance Spirit'' magazine named him one of "The Most Influential People of 2011".

2012–2014: Cirque Du Soleil, films, and modeling

In 2012, Lil Buck was named one of ''

Dance Magazine ''Dance Magazine'' is an American trade publication for dance published by the Macfadden Communications Group. It was first published in June 1927 as ''The American Dancer''. ''Dance Magazine'' has multiple sister publications, including '' Point ...

s "25 to Watch". The same year, he modeled in a national GAP ad and danced in two

NOWNESS Nowness (stylized NOWNESS) is a digital video channel that was launched in 2010 by its founder Jefferson Hack as a brand of LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton SE.

videos, one of which was directed by ballet choreographer

Benjamin Millepied Benjamin Millepied (; born 10 June 1977) is a French dancer and choreographer, who has lived and worked in the United States since joining the New York City Ballet in 1995, where he became a soloist in 1998 and a principal in 2002. He has also ...

. The other video was directed by Jacob Sutton who submitted a longer version to Cinedans, a Dutch

film festival A film festival is an organized, extended presentation of films in one or more cinemas or screening venues, usually in a single city or region. Increasingly, film festivals show some films outdoors. Films may be of recent date and, depending upo ...

that showcases films based on dance. Lil Buck spent most of 2013 dancing in the

Cirque du Soleil Cirque du Soleil (, ; "Circus of the Sun" or "Sun Circus") is a Canadian entertainment company and the largest contemporary circus producer in the world. Located in the inner-city area of Saint-Michel, it was founded in Baie-Saint-Paul on 16 Ju ...

show '' Michael Jackson: One''. He modeled men's clothing in an 8-page spread in '' GQ'' magazine titled "How to Kick Your Jeans Habit". He also appeared on ''

The Colbert Report ''The Colbert Report'' ( ) is an American late-night talk and news satire television program hosted by Stephen Colbert that aired four days a week on Comedy Central from October 17, 2005, to December 18, 2014, for 1,447 episodes. The show fo ...

'' and spoke at the Aspen Ideas Festival. Lil Buck performed with Yo-Yo Ma a third time at an event directed by Woetzel and held at

(Le) Poisson Rouge (Le) Poisson Rouge (often referred to as LPR) is a music venue and multimedia art cabaret in New York City founded in 2008 by Justin Kantor and David Handler on the former site of the Village Gate at 158 Bleecker Street. The performance space wa ...

in New York City. He and his cousin Ron "Prime Tyme" Myles eventually won a

Bessie Award The New York Dance and Performance Awards, also known as the Bessie Awards, are awarded annually for exceptional achievement by independent dance artists presenting their work in New York City. The broad categories of the awards are: choreography, ...

for this performance. Later in the year, Lil Buck made the August 2013 cover of ''Dance'' magazine and briefly appeared in the Spike Jonze film '' Her'' as a busker/dancer. In March 2014, Lil Buck performed at the

TEDx TED Conferences, LLC (Technology, Entertainment, Design) is an American-Canadian non-profit media organization that posts international talks online for free distribution under the slogan "ideas worth spreading". TED was founded by Richard Sau ...

Teen conference in New York City. In April, he appeared in another Jacob Sutton dance film sponsored by Diesel and he danced in the

New York City Ballet New York City Ballet (NYCB) is a ballet company founded in 1948 by choreographer George Balanchine and Lincoln Kirstein. Balanchine and Jerome Robbins are considered the founding choreographers of the company. Léon Barzin was the company' ...

's Spring premiere that was choreographed by artist JR and scored by musician

Woodkid Yoann Lemoine (; born 16 March 1983), known professionally as Woodkid, is a French music video director, graphic designer and singer-songwriter. His most notable works include his music video direction for Katy Perry's " Teenage Dream", Taylo ...

. Lil Buck was a guest judge on season 11 of ''

So You Think You Can Dance ''So You Think You Can Dance'' is a franchise of reality television shows in which contestants compete in dance. The first series of the franchise, created by '' Idols'' producers Simon Fuller and Nigel Lythgoe, premiered in July 2005 and ha ...

''. He performed in the opening credits for

Spike Lee Shelton Jackson "Spike" Lee (born March 20, 1957) is an American film director, producer, screenwriter, and actor. His production company, 40 Acres and a Mule Filmworks, has produced more than 35 films since 1983. He made his directorial debut ...

's 2014 film, ''

Da Sweet Blood of Jesus ''Da Sweet Blood of Jesus'' is a 2014 American horror film directed by Spike Lee. The plot is about a wealthy anthropologist who is stabbed by an ancient African dagger and turned into a vampire. Lee has said the film is about " man beings who ar ...

''.

2015–present: Versailles and collaborations

In May, Lil Buck performed in

Versailles The Palace of Versailles ( ; french: Château de Versailles ) is a former royal residence built by King Louis XIV located in Versailles, about west of Paris, France. The palace is owned by the French Republic and since 1995 has been managed, ...

with dancers from

's ballet company. Afterward, he went on tour with Madonna again to promote her album '' Rebel Heart''. In a continuation of his interest in

modern dance Modern dance is a broad genre of western concert or theatrical dance which included dance styles such as ballet, folk, ethnic, religious, and social dancing; and primarily arose out of Europe and the United States in the late 19th and early 20th ...

, Lil Buck appeared in a three-and-a-half minute

rag & bone Rag & Bone is an American fashion label helmed by Marcus Wainwright, originally from Britain. The brand is sold in more than 700 shops around the world, as well as in Rag & Bone retail stores. History Rag & Bone was founded in 2002 by Nathan B ...

commercial with the classical dance artist Mikhail Baryshnikov. He modeled for French jeans retailer Kaporal and partnered with

Versace Gianni Versace S.r.l. (), usually referred to as Versace ( ), is an Italian luxury fashion company founded by Gianni Versace in 1978 known for flashy prints and bright colors. The company produces Italian-made ready-to-wear and accessories, as ...

to create a line of sneakers exclusively available online and at Versace's New York City store. Due to his accomplishments, he made the November 2015 cover of the

Wall Street Journal ''The Wall Street Journal'' is an American business-focused, international daily newspaper based in New York City, with international editions also available in Chinese and Japanese. The ''Journal'', along with its Asian editions, is published ...

's "Innovators Issue". In 2016, Lil Buck collaborated with dancer Jon Boogz and artist Alexa Meade to create "Color of Reality", a video addressing gun violence. ''The New York Times'' likened the video to "...van Gogh — that is, if one of his paintings were brought to life as a performative protest."

Personal life

Lil Buck is

vegan Veganism is the practice of abstaining from the use of animal product—particularly in diet—and an associated philosophy that rejects the commodity status of animals. An individual who follows the diet or philosophy is known as a vegan. ...

and has seven brothers and sisters. Though he primarily identifies with Memphis jookin', he is a fan of the Brooklyn-based street dance style flexing.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Lil Buck 1988 births Living people People from Memphis, Tennessee American hip hop dancers Bessie Award winners Cirque du Soleil performers African-American male dancers African-American dancers American male dancers 21st-century African-American people 20th-century African-American people