Lynnwood dancer returns home with ‘So You Think You Can Dance’ tour

  • By Gale Fiege Herald Writer
  • Wednesday, January 28, 2015 1:51pm
  • LifeGo-See-Do

SEATTLE — Lynnwood’s Casey Askew returns home next week for a performance with the top dancers from this past season’s “So You Think You Can Dance” TV show.

The SYTYCD tour drops the dancers off on Feb. 5 at the Paramount Theatre.

When Askew was home for a visit at his folks’ house at Christmas, he talked on the phone about the 79-city tour and his plans for the future.

“The tour has been really crazy, just nonstop,” Askew said. “It’s nice to get a break, catch up with old friends and hang out with my family. I’ve really missed them, so it’s been nice to feel normal during this visit.”

For the last third of the tour, performances are primarily on the West Coast.

Askew, who is paid a professional wage for the tour, said the tour audiences have been different.

“In some cities, people have been staid and rather quiet. In others, the crowds have been very loud and high energy. We love that energy and we feed off it,” he said. “I’m looking forward to the Seattle show because I know people are going to be great and scream for us. I am counting the days.”

Now that he has lived away for most of two years, Askew said he misses south Snohomish County.

“I guess I took living there for granted.”

His fellow dancers on the tour have become lifelong friends, Askew said. Along with Askew, performing will be Bridget Whitman, Emilio Dosal, Jacque LeWarne, Jessica Richens, Ricky Ubeda, Rudy Abreu, Tanisha Belnap, Valerie Rockey and Zack Everhart.

“We’re having the time of our lives,” he said. “When will we ever again be in a show that’s a show crafted just for us?”

After the tour, Askew plans to audition for spot on the dance team for singer Taylor Swift’s next national and international tour.

“I hope to book another tour of some kind,” he said.

Otherwise he will be back in school in the fall at Chapman University in Orange County, California, where he is a sophomore dance student in Chapman’s College of Performing Arts.

“I want to graduate, pursue a dance career and dance until my body gives out,” Askew said.

A former athlete who loves sports, Askew’s dance style accentuates his strength.

The Meadowdale High School graduate began dancing at age 8, studying first at the former Camille’s Dance Edge studio in Lynnwood.

During high school, he flew to Los Angeles each weekend to study ballet, jazz, contemporary and lyrical dance.

His parents, Lisa and Dale Askew, supported his interest from the start and were in attendance each time the SYTYCD show was taped last year.

“Casey had quite a ride on the show. He said it’s the most difficult thing of his life thus far,” Lisa Askew said this past fall. “But he is so passionate about dance. Everything he does is sort of an homage to all of his teachers and other people he’s met on his journey. Casey has had a privileged life so far, but he’s a truly humble and gracious kid.”

Askew received some of his best comments from the judges Christina Applegate, Nigel Lythgoe and Mary Murphy on July 30 when he and fellow contestant Jessica Richens performed a contemporary dance choreographed by Travis Wall to the song “Like Real People Do” by Hozier.

“Jessica is having fun on the tour, too,” Askew said. “People can look forward to seeing us perform a duet together. Come out and see us, everybody.”

Gale Fiege: 425-339-3427; gfiege@heraldnet.com. Twitter: @galefiege.

If you go

So You Think You Can Dance touring show, 7:30 p.m. Feb. 5, Paramount Theatre, 911 Pine St., Seattle.

Tickets: $36 to $66 and are available by calling 877-784-4849.

Talk to us

> Give us your news tips.

> Send us a letter to the editor.

> More Herald contact information.

More in Life

Brandon Hailey of Cytrus, center, plays the saxophone during a headlining show at Madam Lou’s on Friday, Dec. 29, 2023 in Seattle, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Lynnwood-based funk octet Cytrus has the juice

Resilience and brotherhood take center stage with ‘friends-first’ band.

FILE - In this April 11, 2014 file photo, Neko Case performs at the Coachella Music and Arts Festival in Indio, Calif. Fire investigators are looking for the cause of a fire on Monday, Sept. 18, 2017, that heavily damaged Case’s 225-year-old Vermont home. There were no injuries, though a barn was destroyed. It took firefighters two hours to extinguish the blaze. (Photo by Scott Roth/Invision/AP, File)
Music, theater and more: What’s happening in Snohomish County

Singer-songwriter Neko Case, an indie music icon from Tacoma, performs Sunday in Edmonds.

Sarah Jean Muncey-Gordon puts on some BITCHSTIX lip oil at Bandbox Beauty Supply on Tuesday, Jan. 9, 2024, in Langley, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
Bandbox Beauty was made for Whidbey Island locals, by an island local

Founder Sarah Muncey-Gordon said Langley is in a renaissance, and she’s proud to be a part of it.

Dominic Arizona Bonuccelli
Tangier’s market boasts piles of fruits, veggies, and olives, countless varieties of bread, and nonperishables, like clothing and electronics.
Rick Steves on the cultural kaleidoscope of Tangier in Morocco

Walking through the city, I think to myself, “How could anyone be in southern Spain — so close — and not hop over to experience this wonderland?”

chris elliott.
Vrbo promised to cover her rental bill in Hawaii, so why won’t it?

When Cheryl Mander’s Vrbo rental in Hawaii is uninhabitable, the rental platform agrees to cover her new accommodations. But then it backs out. What happened?

Byrds co-founder Roger McGuinn, seen here in 2013, will perform April 20 in Edmonds. (Associated Press)
Music, theater and more: What’s happening in Snohomish County

R0ck ‘n’ Roll Hall of Famer Roger McGuinn, frontman of The Byrds, plans a gig in Edmonds in April.

Mother giving in to the manipulation her daughter fake crying for candy
Can children be bribed into good behavior?

Only in the short term. What we want to do is promote good habits over the course of the child’s life.

Speech Bubble Puzzle and Discussion
When conflict flares, keep calm and stand your ground

Most adults don’t like dissension. They avoid it, try to get around it, under it, or over it.

The colorful Nyhavn neighborhood is the place to moor on a sunny day in Copenhagen. (Cameron Hewitt)
Rick Steves: Embrace hygge and save cash in Copenhagen

Where else would Hans Christian Andersen, a mermaid statue and lovingly decorated open-face sandwiches be the icons of a major capital?

Last Call is a festured artist at the 2024 DeMiero Jazz Festival: in Edmonds. (Photo provided by DeMiero Jazz Festival)
Music, theater and more: What’s happening in Snohomish County

Jazz ensemble Last Call is one of the featured artists at the DeMiero Jazz Festival on March 7-9 in Edmonds.

Kim Helleren
Local children’s author to read at Edmonds Bookshop

Kim Helleren will read from one of her books for kids at the next monthly Story Time at Edmonds Bookshop on March 29.

Chris Elliott
Lyft surprises traveler with a $150 cleaning charge

Jared Hakimi finds a $150 charge on his credit card after a Lyft ride. Is that allowed? And will the charge stick?

Support local journalism

If you value local news, make a gift now to support the trusted journalism you get in The Daily Herald. Donations processed in this system are not tax deductible.