Blake McGrath
| Blake McGrath | |
|---|---|
 McGrath at the 2011 MuchMusic Video Awards | |
| Background information | |
| Birth name | Blake James McGrath |
| Born |
November 21, 1983 Mississauga, Ontario, Canada |
| Occupation(s) | dancer, choreographer, singer, model |
Blake James McGrath (born November 21, 1983) is a Canadian professional dancer, pop singer and choreographer. He was known for being on the first season of So You Think You Can Dance in 2005, and on the MTV reality dance show, DanceLife.[1] He has also developed a solo singing career with a debut album Time to Move in 2010.
Early career
Blake James McGrath was born in Mississauga, Ontario.[2][3]
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". He played the brother Casey.
In 2003, McGrath was chosen to perform on Michael Jackson's thirtieth anniversary special. In 2006, he performed alongside Paulina Rubio at the 2004 Latin Grammy Awards. Also in 2006 he has an appearance in the documentary Freestyle (with Brian Friedman). He has appeared in Gap campaigns (with Sarah Jessica Parker), and in advertisements for iPod, Old Navy (which he also choreographed), and Hummer.[2]
He has danced with stars such as Madonna, Britney Spears, Kylie Minogue, Janet Jackson, Adam Lambert, Ashanti, Destiny's Child, P!nk, Craig David, Jewel.
In addition to his appearances on television shows, McGrath has also appeared in the films Butterbox Babies, Life With Mikey, Chicago, and Rent.[2] He was also featured as a dancer in The Suite Life of Zack & Cody in the episode Commercial Breaks. He was a waiter. He studied at both Tiffany Dance Academy in Hamilton Ontario and Joanne Chapman School of Dance in Brampton, Ontario.
He is owner of VIP Dance Events which tours major cities throughout Canada.[1] He also appeared on the magazine cover of Hotshoes and appeared in Dance Spirit Magazine December 2006 issue. 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 So You Think You Can Dance. He appeared in the 2007 reality TV show DanceLife produced by Jennifer Lopez. In 2014, he appears in the Lifetime hit Dance Moms as a guest choreographer for the Candy Apples Dance Center. CADC is the main rival of the Abby Lee Dance Center.
Choreography in So You Think You Can Dance Canada series (2008-2010)
He is the lead choreographer for the audition cities and alternating third judge on So You Think You Can Dance Canada.[1][3] He has had contributions for all three seasons to date of the Canadian series as follows:
| Season | Week | Dancers | Style | Music |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season 1 (Canada) | Week 3 | Arassay Reyes Nico Archambault |
Contemporary | "Let Me Leave"—Marc Broussard |
| Week 4 | Kaitlyn Fitzgerald Izaak Smith |
Jazz Funk | "Breakin' Dishes"—Rihanna | |
| Week 5 | Top 12 | Contemporary | "I Surrender"—Celine Dion | |
| Week 7 | Lisa Auguste Nico Archambault |
Jazz Funk | "When I Grow Up"—The Pussycat Dolls | |
| Week 8 | Lisa Auguste Miles Faber |
Contemporary | "The Face"—RyanDan | |
| Season 2 (Canada) | Week 2 | Amy Gardner Vincent Desjardins |
Contemporary | "When You Say My Name"—Mario Spinetti |
| Week 3 | Kim Gingras Emanuel Sandhu |
Jazz Funk | "Love Sex Magic"—Ciara feat Justin Timberlake | |
| Week 4 | Top 14 | Jazz Funk | "LoveGame"—Lady Gaga | |
| Week 5 | Jayme Rae Dailey Daniel Dory |
Contemporary | "It Must Have Been Love"—Kari Kimmel | |
| Week 8 | Jayme Rae Dailey Emanuel Sandhu |
Jazz Funk | "I Gotta Feeling"—The Black Eyed Peas | |
| Season 3 (Canada) | Week 2 | Kloé Schultz Jonathan Arsenault |
Jazz | "California Gurls"—Katy Perry feat Snoop Dogg |
| Week 4 | Nathalie Heath Mackenzie Green |
Contemporary | "After Afterall"—William Fitzsimmons | |
| Week 5 | Nathalie Heath Jonathan Arsenault |
Jazz | "Teenage Dream"—Katy Perry | |
| Week 7 | Janick Arseneau Jeff Mortensen |
Jazz Funk | "Come On Girl"—Taio Cruz feat Luciana Caporoso | |
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. He presented an award with Girlicious at the 2010 MuchMusic Video Awards on June 20, 2010. His follow-up single was 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.
Personal life
As of 2012, McGrath lives in Los Angeles, California.[2] He attended Cawthra Park Secondary School, School of the Arts and Applewood Heights Secondary School in Mississauga as well as St. Jean de Brebeuf Catholic Secondary School in Hamilton, ON.
In 2009, he openly expressed that he is bisexual.
As of 2013, McGrath has been in a relationship with fellow dancer, Joseph Guadagno of Long Island, New York. The two live in McGrath's home in Los Angeles and have adopted a dog together.
Discography
Studio albums
| Year | Album details | Peak | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CAN | US | |||||
| 2010 | Time to Move
|
39 | - | |||
| 2013 | Love Revolution
|
|||||
Tours
Stage Fright Tour (2011)
- First tour for Blake McGrath's debut studio album "Time To Move"
http://i846.photobucket.com/albums/ab26/BlastThatBoomBox/blake-mcgrath-2-400x500.jpg "Blake McGrath performing on "So You Think You Can Dance Canada"
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: Chicago as a male dancer
- 2004: Britney Spears Live from Miami as a dancer (TV movie)
- 2005: Rent as dancer (uncredited)
- 2007: Dancelife as himself
- 2013: Dance Moms as himself
References
External links
- McGrath's Official Twitter Page
- McGrath's Official Myspace Music Page
- Blake McGrath at the Internet Movie Database