Danny Tidwell

American Ballet Theatre Studio Company (2002-2003)
American Ballet Theatre (2003-2004)
Complexions Contemporary Ballet (2006-2007)
Norwegian National Opera & Ballet (2010-?)

Photo: Joe Viles/Fox.
Danny Tidwell, born in Norfolk, Virginia on August 1, 1984 and raised in Virginia Beach, started dancing when he was eight years old. He began his training at an after-school program and later Denise Wall’s Dance Energy. Because of an unstable home life, Denise Wall took Tidwell in and raised him along with her four children.
He started studying at Washington DC’s Kirov Academy of Ballet on scholarship at age 15.
After receiving a silver medal at the Shanghai International Ballet Competition, Tidwell left the Kirov and danced in Debbie Allen productions.
He then attended the School of American Ballet but left after two months because of the school’s isolating environment.
In 2002, Tidwell was invited to join the American Ballet Theatre Studio Company after artistic director Kevin McKenzie saw his audition tape for the USA International Ballet Competition (at which he won silver). It didn’t take long for him to join the main company and dance leading roles. As a company member, he appeared in the PBS television series Great Performances: Dance in America’s recording of ABT’s Swan Lake.
Photo via The Hollywood Gossip.

After leaving ABT only a year later, Tidwell performed as a guest artist, taught ballet, and was named one of Dance Magazine’s 25 to Watch of 2005 and one of Pointe Magazine’s Top 10.

Tidwell co-created the live show/art book Moving Still in 2005 and subsequently movmnt magazine, of which Tidwell was artistic advisor.
Tidwell joined Complexions Contemporary Ballet, under Desmond Richardson and Dwight Rhoden, in 2006 and left in 2007.
After seeing his brother Travis Wall in the So You Think You Can Dance tour, Tidwell auditioned for the show in 2007 and finished as runner-up.
His success on So You Think You Can Dance led to many more performance opportunities for Tidwell. He was featured in the Broadway show Memphis in 2009 and on Dancing With the Stars with NYCB’s Tiler Peck in 2010. That same year, he was hired as a soloist with Norwegian National Opera and Ballet.
Tidwell married journalist David Benaym in 2014 and passed away at the age of 35 on March 6, 2020 from injuries sustained in a car accident.

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