Virgil “Lil O” Gadson is a Broadway actor and dancer who has appeared in NFL commercials, season eight of So You Think You Can Dance, MTV‘s Americas Best Dance Crew, music videos, and has choreographed musicals. And now he’s back for season twelve of “So You Think You Can Dance”, on the Fox network, and airs Mondays at 8pm/7pm central.
Gadson was nominated for a Fred Astaire Award for After Midnight, which received seven Tony nominations for principal actor/dancer, and Dulé Hill, Fantasia Barrino, and Desmond Richardson also starred in the musical. The New York Times describes his joint performance in After Midnight in this way; “two dapper men dance a sinuous, playful duet. As they move — to the driving strains of “Hottentot,” played by the Jazz at Lincoln Center All Stars — laws of physics shatter. These men force time to slow and speed. Their bodies curve in ways that would stagger Newton. Virgil Gadson…bounces and bends as though he has replaced every bone with licorice sticks.”
As a teacher, Gadson taught outreach programs in Philadelphia, the University of the Arts in Center City, and in classrooms in Bermuda. He’s taught a variety of age ranges, from children to adults, and is also very involved in dance communities here and abroad. He has also competed in Paris, Japan, China, and Russia representing the United States for hip-hop titles in competitions from 2011 to 2013.
He also attended Freedom Theater and University of the Arts, and is a 2008 graduate of their dance program; there he learned other dance forms such as Modern, Jazz, Ballet and Tap. Hip-Hop is what he focuses on, although he encourages students to learn and experience different types of dance in addition to learning dance history; Gadson believes this will help them grow and meet their potential not only in life but in dance as well.
