Blake Andler McGrath (born November 21, 1983) is a

Canadian Canadians () are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of their being ''C ...

professional

dancer Dance is an The arts, art form, consisting of sequences of body movements with aesthetic and often Symbol, symbolic value, either improvised or purposefully selected. Dance can be categorized and described by its choreography, by its repertoir ...

pop Pop or POP may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * Pop music, a musical genre Artists * POP, a Japanese idol group now known as Gang Parade * Pop! (British group), a UK pop group * Pop! featuring Angie Hart, an Australian band Album ...

singer, actor, model, and

choreographer Choreography is the art of designing sequences of movements of physical bodies (or their depictions) in which Motion (physics), motion or Visual appearance, form or both are specified. ''Choreography'' may also refer to the design itself. A chor ...

. He was known for being on the first season 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 has ...

'' in 2005, and on the MTV reality dance show ''

DanceLife ''DanceLife'' is a 2007 dance-oriented reality show, featuring and produced by Jennifer Lopez. The series follows the lives of seven dancers trying to break into the world of professional dance and trying to "make it" in Hollywood. ''DanceLife ...

''.BurlingtonPost.com: A & E: Story: Rising dance star to visit
/ref> He has also developed a solo singing career with a debut album '' Time to Move'' in 2010. On May 27, 2023, McGrath married Taylor Andler who has taken the name of Taylor Andler McGrath.

Early career

McGrath was born in

Mississauga Mississauga is a Canadian city in the province of Ontario. Situated on the north-western shore of Lake Ontario in the Regional Municipality of Peel, it borders Toronto (Etobicoke) to the east, Brampton to the north, Milton to the northwest, ...

Ontario Ontario is the southernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Located in Central Canada, Ontario is the Population of Canada by province and territory, country's most populous province. As of the 2021 Canadian census, it ...

.CTV.ca , Blake Boot Camp
/ref> He attended Cawthra Park Secondary School, School of the Arts and Applewood Heights Secondary School in

as well as St. Jean de Brebeuf Catholic Secondary School in

Hamilton, Ontario Hamilton is a port city in the Canadian Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Ontario. Hamilton has a 2021 Canadian census, population of 569,353 (2021), and its Census Metropolitan Area, census metropolitan area, which encompasses ...

. His early television appearances include: Choices of the Heart: The Margaret Sanger Story (1997) playing Stuart Sanger, and the TV show recreation of Goosebumps book "Stay Out of the Basement", in which he played the brother Casey. In 2015, McGrath was chosen to perform on

Michael Jackson Michael Joseph Jackson (August 29, 1958 – June 25, 2009) was an American singer, songwriter, dancer, and philanthropist. Dubbed the "King of Pop", he is regarded as Cultural impact of Michael Jackson, one of the most culturally significan ...

's thirtieth anniversary special. In 2006, he performed alongside

Paulina Rubio Paulina Susana Rubio Dosamantes (; born 17 June 1971) is a Mexican singer, songwriter and television personality. Referred to as "Honorific nicknames in popular music, The Golden Girl", she first achieved recognition as a member of the successf ...

at the 2004

Latin Grammy Awards The Latin Grammy Awards (stylized as Latin GRAMMYs) are awards presented by the Latin Recording Academy to recognize outstanding achievement in the Latin music, Latin music industry. The Latin Grammy honors works recorded in Spanish language, S ...

. Also in 2006 he has an appearance in the documentary Freestyle (with Brian Friedman). He has appeared in Gap campaigns (with

Sarah Jessica Parker Sarah Jessica Parker (born March 25, 1965) is an American actress and television producer. In a career spanning over five decades, she has performed across several productions of both Sarah Jessica Parker filmography, screen and stage. List o ...

), and in advertisements for

iPod The iPod is a series of portable media players and multi-purpose mobile devices that were designed and marketed by Apple Inc. from 2001 to 2022. The iPod Classic#1st generation, first version was released on November 10, 2001, about mon ...

JCPenney Penney OpCo LLC , Trade name, doing business as JCPenney (colloquially Penney's and abbreviated JCP) is an American department store chain store, chain with 649 stores across 49 U.S. states and Puerto Rico. It is managed as part of the Catalys ...

(which he also choreographed), and

Hummer Hummer (stylized in all caps) is an American brand of Pickup truck, pickups launched in 1992 when AM General began selling a civilian version of the M998 Humvee. Although discontinued in 2010, Hummer returned as a model under GMC (automob ...

.CTV.ca , Blake McGrath
/ref> He has danced with stars such as

Madonna Madonna Louise Ciccone ( ; born August 16, 1958) is an American singer, songwriter, record producer, and actress. Referred to as the "Queen of Pop", she has been recognized for her continual reinvention and versatility in music production, ...

Britney Spears Britney Jean Spears (born December 2, 1981) is an American singer. Often referred to as the "Princess of Pop", she has sold over 150 million records worldwide, making her one of the world's best-selling music artists. Cultural impact of Brit ...

Kylie Minogue Kylie Ann Minogue (; born 28 May 1968) is an Australian singer, songwriter, and actress. Frequently referred to as the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Princess of Pop", she has achieved recognition in both the music industry and fas ...

Janet Jackson Janet Damita Jo Jackson (born May 16, 1966) is an American singer, songwriter, actress and dancer. She is noted for her innovative, socially conscious and sexually provocative records, as well as elaborate stage shows. Her sound and choreogr ...

Adam Lambert Adam Mitchel Lambert (born January 29, 1982) is an American singer, songwriter and actor. He is known for his dynamic vocal performances that combine his theatrical training with modern and classic genres. Lambert rose to fame in 2009 after ...

, Ashanti,

Destiny's Child Destiny's Child was an American girl group whose final lineup comprised Beyoncé, Beyoncé Knowles, Kelly Rowland, and Michelle Williams (singer), Michelle Williams. The group began their musical career as Girl's Tyme, formed in 1990 in Hou ...

Katy Perry Katheryn Elizabeth Hudson (born October 25, 1984), known professionally as Katy Perry, is an American singer, songwriter, and television personality. She is one of the List of best-selling music artists, best-selling music artists in hist ...

Craig David Craig Ashley David (born 5 May 1981) is an English singer. He rose to fame in 1999, featuring on the single " Re-Rewind" by Artful Dodger. David's debut studio album, '' Born to Do It'', was released in 2000, to great commercial success. In to ...

, and Jewel. In addition to his appearances on television shows, McGrath has also appeared in the films '' Butterbox Babies'', '' Life With Mikey'', ''

Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

'', and '' Rent''. He was also featured as a dancer in ''

The Suite Life of Zack & Cody ''The Suite Life of Zack & Cody'' is an American teen sitcom created by Danny Kallis and Jim Geoghan. The series aired on Disney Channel from March 18, 2005, to September 1, 2008. The series was nominated twice for the Primetime Emmy Award for ...

'' in the episode Commercial Breaks. He was a waiter, and studied at Tiffany Dance Academy in Hamilton Ontario, Deborah Thomson School of Dance in Brampton, Ontario and Joanne Chapman School of Dance in Brampton, Ontario. He is owner of VIP Dance Events which tours major cities throughout Canada. Lastly, he appeared on the 9/10/13 episode of Dance Moms as a guest choreographer.

Dancing career

In 2005, McGrath participated as a contestant on ''

'', he also never landed in the danger zone. He appeared in the 2007 reality TV show ''

'' produced by

Jennifer Lopez Jennifer Lynn Lopez (born July 24, 1969), also known by her nickname J.Lo, is an American singer, songwriter, actress, dancer and businesswoman. Lopez is regarded as one of the most influential entertainers of her time, credited with breaking ...

. In 2014, he appeared in the '' Lifetime'' hit ''

Dance Moms ''Dance Moms'' is an American reality television series that premiered on Lifetime (TV network), Lifetime on July 13, 2011. Created by Collins Avenue Productions, the show followed the training and careers of children in dance and show business ...

'' as a guest choreographer for the Candy Apples Dance Center (CADC), the main rival of the Abby Lee Dance Company.

Choreography in ''So You Think You Can Dance Canada'' series (2008-2010)

He is the lead

for the audition cities and alternating third judge on ''

So You Think You Can Dance Canada ''So You Think You Can Dance Canada'' is a dance competition and reality show that aired on CTV. Based on the original American TV show ''So You Think You Can Dance'', the Canadian series showcased the best in Canadian dancing talent. Each sea ...

''. He has had contributions for all three seasons to date of the Canadian series as follows:

Musical career

* Blake started pursuing a music career and released his first single " The Night (Only Place To Go)" on April 27, 2010, on

MuchMusic Much is a Canadian English language discretionary specialty channel owned by BCE Inc. through its Bell Media subsidiary that airs programming aimed at teenagers and young adults. It is headquartered at 299 Queen Street West in what was o ...

. He presented an award with

Girlicious Girlicious was an American girl group originally formed by Robin Antin, creator of the Pussycat Dolls, from The CW reality TV show ''Pussycat Dolls Present: Girlicious''. The group was originally signed to Geffen Records and composed of member ...

at the

2010 MuchMusic Video Awards The 2010 MuchMusic Video Awards were held in Toronto, Ontario, Canada at MuchMusic's headquarters on 20 June 2010. Along with the MuchMusic VJ's, it was confirmed on the MuchMusic website that Miley Cyrus will co-host the show. The artists with ...

on June 20, 2010. His follow-up single was

Relax Relax or RELAX may refer to: Albums * ''Relax'' (album), by Das Racist, 2011 * ''Relax'', by Blank & Jones, 2003 * ''Relax'', by Los Piratas, 2003 Songs * "Relax" (Deetah song), 1998 * "Relax" (Frankie Goes to Hollywood song), 1983 * "Relax ...

on August 3, 2010, which also won an MMVA award. On November 2, 2010, he released his first studio album ''Time to Move''. It peaked at 39 on the Canadian Album charts. It was later released March 14, 2011, but failed to chart. * He released his second studio album entitled ''"Love Revolution"'' on September 30, 2013. * Blake's EP ''I am Blake McGrath'' was released in 2017 with the lead singles 'Love Myself' and 'Harder Than The First Time'. * Blake's third studio album 'INNERvention' was released on September 6, 2019, with the lead singles 'Dive in the Water', 'Innervention' and 'Breakthrough'. The album debuted in the top 20 the first week of sales on the Billboard Christian/Gospel album chart.

Personal life

As of 2019, McGrath lives in

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

. McGrath acknowledged he was

gay ''Gay'' is a term that primarily refers to a homosexual person or the trait of being homosexual. The term originally meant 'carefree', 'cheerful', or 'bright and showy'. While scant usage referring to male homosexuality dates to the late ...

in a 2009 interview with the Canadian gay magazine ''

fab Fab or FAB may refer to: Commerce * Fab (brand), a frozen confectionery * Fab (website), an e-commerce design web site * Fab, a digital asset marketplace by Epic Games * The FAB Awards, a food and beverage award * FAB Link, a European electricity ...

''. "I've been attracted to men and attracted to women... My feelings change all the time. One day I can feel like I'm gay, another day like I'm straight. But I'm not just one or the other, I'm Blake McGrath and I'm attracted to somebody on the inside."

Discography

Studio albums

Extended plays

Singles

Tours

Stage Fright Tour (2011) * First tour for Blake McGrath's debut studio album "Time To Move"

Filmography

* 1993: '' Life with Mikey'' as an acrobat * 1995: '' Butterbox Babies'' as Simon (age 7/8) * 1995: '' Choices of the Heart: The Margaret Sanger Story'' as Stuart Sanger (TV movie) * 1996: '' Goosebumps'' as Casey Brewer (in 2 episodes in TV series) * 2002: ''

'' as a male dancer * 2004: '' Britney Spears Live from Miami'' as a dancer (TV movie) * 2005: '' Rent'' as dancer (uncredited) * 2007: ''

Dancelife ''DanceLife'' is a 2007 dance-oriented reality show, featuring and produced by Jennifer Lopez. The series follows the lives of seven dancers trying to break into the world of professional dance and trying to "make it" in Hollywood. ''DanceLife ...

'' as himself * 2013: ''

'' as himself

References

External links

McGrath's Official Twitter Page
* {{DEFAULTSORT:McGrath, Blake 1983 births 21st-century Canadian dancers 21st-century Canadian LGBTQ people 21st-century Canadian male actors 21st-century Canadian male singers 21st-century Canadian singers Bisexual dancers Bisexual male musicians Bisexual singers Canadian bisexual male actors Canadian bisexual musicians Canadian LGBTQ dancers Canadian LGBTQ singers Canadian male dancers Canadian pop singers Living people Male actors from Mississauga Musicians from Mississauga Participants in Canadian reality television series Singers from Ontario So You Think You Can Dance (American TV series) contestants So You Think You Can Dance Canada