Joshua Allen, the season 4 winner of So You Think You Can Dance, has died. He was 36.
The dancer died Tuesday at a hospital in Fort Worth, Texas, according to a medical examiner’s report reviewed by Entertainment Weekly.
A family member first revealed the news to TMZ, asking fans for “privacy and prayers,” but declined to reveal the dancer’s cause of death.
“One of the last things he said was to keep God first at all times,” they told the outlet. “You have to be real with yourself before you can be real with anybody else.”
EW has reached out to Allen’s reps for further comment.
FOX Image Collection via Getty
“We are deeply saddened to learn of the passing of Joshua Allen, winner of Season 4 of So You Think You Can Dance and a gifted performer whose talent left a lasting impact on the dance community,” Fox and Dick Clark Productions, which produced So You Think You Can Dance, said in a statement. “Joshua’s powerful artistry, charisma, and authenticity captured the hearts of millions and helped elevate the profile of dance on television. His contributions to the art form will not be forgotten. Our thoughts are with Joshua’s family, loved ones, and fans during this difficult time.”
Emmanuel Hurd, a choreographer and friend of Allen, paid tribute to the late star on Instagram with a photo montage he captioned, “Can’t wrap my head around this…Josh…my brotha. There are no words. You were the life of the party. You were Batman. Champion. One of the realest people I ever met. Kept it a stack every time and would make it right if you fell short. A real King.”
“This one hurts deep. I know you’re with Stephen now and that brings me comfort. I love you bro. IVEVER🦇👑,” Hurd added, referring to the late Stephen “tWitch” Boss, who was the runner-up to Allen on SYTYCD in 2008.
Boss died by suicide in December 2022 at the age of 40.
Allen was born on March 13, 1989, in Fort Worth. The dancer was only 18 years old when he won the fourth season of Fox’s beloved dance competition series and took home the $250,000 cash prize. He later returned to the series as All-Stars alongside Boss.
Fresh after his victory in 2008, Allen admitted to EW, “I really wasn’t that technically trained. I would just try to take classes in the summer, and when it was school time I would take class, run track, play football. I would always just train in the summer. So it was never hard training.”
“It was so difficult a lot of times, but the main thing about performing is that you have to make it look easy,” he added.
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After his SYTYCD win, Allen went on to appear as a featured dancer in Step Up 3D alongside Boss and fellow SYTYCD finalist Katee Shean. He also appeared in the dance comedy Freak Dance, on season 2 of Oxygen’s Dance Your Ass Off, and as a featured dancer in 2011’s Footloose remake starring Kenny Wormald, Dennis Quaid, and Julianne Hough.
Allen frequently appeared as a dancer in videos and commercials for Honda and McDonald’s, and he was featured as a dancer on NBC’s Community and in an episode of FX’s American Horror Story.
