Dave Scott (August 15, 1972 – June 16, 2025) was an American

hip-hop dance Hip hop dance is a range of street dance styles primarily performed to hip-hop, hip hop music or that have evolved as part of hip-hop culture, hip hop culture. It is influenced by a wide range of styles that were created in the 1970s and made po ...

teacher,

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 ...

, and talent developer. He gained widespread success from his choreography in movies, primarily the 2004 dance film ''

You Got Served ''You Got Served'' is a 2004 American dance drama film written and directed by Chris Stokes, who was also the business manager of the performers who were the film's main characters: recording artist Marques Houston and the boy band B2K. The ...

'' and the 2008 dance film '' Step Up 2: The Streets''. He was a resident choreographer on ''

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 ...

'' and The PULSE on Tour dance convention.

Early life

Dave was born and raised in Compton,

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 ...

. He was and never took any dance classes or had any formal training. He started dancing as a hobby when he was 15. He learned how to dance from watching

musical Musical is the adjective of music. Musical may also refer to: * Musical theatre, a performance art that combines songs, spoken dialogue, acting and dance * Musical film Musical film is a film genre in which songs by the Character (arts), charac ...

b-boy A b-boy is a person devoted to breaking or break dancing. B Boy may also refer to: Music * "B-Boy", a song by Tech N9ne featuring Big Scoob, Bumpy Knuckles, Kutt Calhoun, and Skatterman from the album '' K.O.D.'', 2009 * "B Boy" (song) by Meek ...

movies, and music videos, namely those of

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 ...

whom he cited as one of his influences. He acknowledged hip-hop dance pioneers Stefan " Mr. Wiggles" Clemente and Timothy "

Popin' Pete Timothy Earl Solomon (born August 5, 1961), known as Popin' Pete, is an American dancer and choreographer who popularized the "popping" dance style and member of the Electric Boogaloos. Pete’s career has spanned over forty years since the emerg ...

" Solomon as influences as well. As a teenager, he further developed his skills by forming his own b-boy crew and battling other crews in his neighborhood. After graduating high school, Scott attended

Weber State University Weber State University (pronounced ) is a public university in Ogden, Utah, United States. It was founded in 1889 as Weber Stake Academy and earned its current name in 1991. As of fall 2023, the student population reached 30,536 students, cons ...

on a basketball scholarship where he earned an

associate's degree An associate degree or associate's degree is an undergraduate degree awarded after a course of post-secondary study lasting two to three years. It is a level of academic qualification above a high school diploma and below a bachelor's degree. ...

in business. He got his first professional dance job while in Utah by chance when he was asked to replace a dancer on a concert tour after being spotted dancing in a club. He later returned to California and started his career by dancing on tours and in music videos.

Career

From tours and music videos, he built relationships in the dance community and moved into teaching classes and doing choreography for film and television. He described his choreography style as aggressive, melodic, and energetic. He worked with singers such as

Ginuwine Elgin Baylor Lumpkin (born October 15, 1970), better known by his stage name Ginuwine ( ), is an American R&B singer. He began his career as a member of the musical collective Swing Mob in the early 1990s. As a solo act, he signed with Epic R ...

B2K B2K (Boys of the New Millennium) is an American boy band from 1998 to 2004, and again from 2018 to present. In 1998, the group was formed by American dance choreographer Dave Scott and Interscope A&R Keshia Gamble. The members consisted of Li ...

, Tyrese,

Brian McKnight Brian Kainoa Makoa McKnight Sr. (born Brian Kelly McKnight; June 5, 1969) is an American singer-songwriter, actor, record producer, radio personality, and multi-instrumentalist. An Contemporary R&B, R&B performer, he is recognized for his strong ...

Jon B Jonathan David Buck (born November 11, 1974) is an American Contemporary R&B, R&B singer, songwriter and record producer. His debut album ''Bonafide (Jon B. album), Bonafide'' (1995) spawned the hit singles "Pretty Girl (Jon B. song), Pretty G ...

IMx Immature (later known as IMx) is an American R&B boy band, managed by record producer Chris Stokes. Its members include Marques "Batman" Houston (born August 4, 1981), Jerome "Romeo" Jones (born October 25, 1981), and Kelton "LDB" Kessee ( ...

, rapper Bow Wow, and

Olympic Olympic or Olympics may refer to Sports Competitions * Olympic Games, international multi-sport event held since 1896 ** Summer Olympic Games ** Winter Olympic Games * Ancient Olympic Games, ancient multi-sport event held in Olympia, Greece bet ...

gold medalist

Tara Lipinski Tara Kristen Lipinski (born June 10, 1982) is an American former competitive figure skater, actress, sports commentator, and documentary film producer. A former competitor in women's singles, she is the 1998 Olympic champion, the 1997 Worl ...

. He was the choreographer and co-creator of teen R&B group

Mindless Behavior Mindless Behavior was an American boy band who were best known for the singles " My Girl" and " Mrs. Right", produced by Walter Millsap. The band was put together in Los Angeles in 2008, by Keisha Gamble, Vincent Herbert and Walter Millsap. The ba ...

. In 2012, he co-choreographed the

Ubisoft Ubisoft Entertainment SA (; ; formerly Ubi Soft Entertainment SA) is a French video game publisher headquartered in Saint-Mandé with development studios across the world. Its video game franchises include '' Anno'', '' Assassin's Creed'', ' ...

video game ''The Hip Hop Dance Experience'' with

Laurieann Gibson Laurieann Gibson (born July 14, 1969) is a Canadian choreographer, director, television personality, singer, actress, and dancer. She has choreographed dance numbers for musical artists such as Michael Jackson, Alicia Keys, Lady Gaga, and Beyon ...

and b-boy David "Kid David" Shreibman. As of May 2013, he was a mentor/judge on Danceamatic.com, a website that hosts monthly choreography competitions.

Film

In 2001, Scott formed the teen R&B group

and served as their choreographer and stylist. With the group he went on to choreograph the movie ''You Got Served'' which featured all four singers in primary roles. In 2004, he won an American Choreography Award for Best Choreography in a Feature Film. Following the success of the movie, he released an instructional dance DVD, ''You Got Served:Take it to the Streets'' which teaches viewers how to do the dance routines featured in the film. In addition to ''You Got Served'', he co-choreographed ''Step Up 2: The Streets'' with Jamal Sims and Nadine "Hi Hat" Ruffin. In 2008, he won a Fred and Adele Astaire Award for Best Choreography in Film. Scott also choreographed the movies ''Fresh'', ''

Stomp the Yard ''Stomp the Yard'' is a 2007 American dance drama film, drama film produced by Rainforest Films and released through Sony Pictures' Screen Gems division on January 12, 2007. Directed by Sylvain White, ''Stomp the Yard'' centers on DJ Williams, ...

'', ''

Dance Flick ''Dance Flick'' is a 2009 American musical comedy film directed by Damien Dante Wayans in his directorial debut and written by and starring many members of the Wayans family. The film was set for release in the United States on February 6, 2009, an ...

'', ''House Party 4'', and ''Coach Carter''. In 2010, Scott appeared in the independent documentary ''MOVE'' — a film about how people in the dance industry were able to go from dancing as a hobby to dancing as a career. He choreographed the 2013 film '' Battle of the Year: The Dream Team'' which is based on the 2007 documentary ''

Planet B-Boy ''Planet B-Boy'' is a 2007 documentary film that focuses on the 2005 Battle of the Year while also describing B-boy culture and history as a global phenomenon. This documentary was directed by Canadian-American Korean filmmaker Benson Lee, shot ...

''.

Television

In 2003, he was a guest choreographer on '' The Wade Robson Project''. He was also a guest choreographer on ''

Step It Up and Dance ''Step It Up and Dance'' is an American reality television competition series where contestants are supposed to "learn what it takes to make it big in the cutthroat dance industry". Actress and dancer Elizabeth Berkley serves as host, and directo ...

'' and on season seven of ''

Dancing with the Stars ''Strictly Come Dancing (widely known as Dancing with the Stars)'' is an international television franchise based on the format of the British TV series '' Strictly Come Dancing,'' itself a successor to the show ''Come Dancing'' (1950–1998) ...

''. Beginning with

season three A season is a division of the year based on changes in weather, ecology, and the number of daylight hours in a given region. On Earth, seasons are the result of the axial parallelism of Earth's tilted orbit around the Sun. In temperate and polar ...

he was a recurring hip-hop choreographer on the show ''

''.

Teaching

In conjunction with

Debbie Allen Deborah Kaye Allen (born January 16, 1950) is an American actress, dancer, choreographer, singer, director, producer, and a former member of the President's Committee on the Arts and Humanities. She has been nominated 20 times for an Emmy Award ...

Dance Academy, Scott served as the director of the Los Angeles Hip Hop Intensive. He was a faculty member with PULSE dance convention, Millennium Dance Complex, and

Broadway Dance Center Broadway Dance Center is a dance school located at 322 West 45th Street west of Times Square in New York City. It was founded in 1984 as one of the first "drop-in" dance training schools in the world, offering classes in jazz, tap, ballet, conte ...

Death

Scott died on June 16, 2025, at the age of 52.Step Up 2: The Streets Choreographer Dave Scott Dead at 52: 'His Light, Laughter, and Legacy Will Forever Live'
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References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Scott, Dave 1972 births 2025 deaths Entertainers from Compton, California American dance teachers American choreographers So You Think You Can Dance choreographers Participants in American reality television series African-American choreographers 21st-century African-American people 20th-century African-American people