Blake James McGrath (born November 21, 1983) is a

Canadian Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...

professional

dancer Dance is a performing art form consisting of sequences of movement, either improvised or purposefully selected. This movement has aesthetic and often symbolic value. Dance can be categorized and described by its choreography, by its repertoi ...

, pop singer, actor, model, and

choreographer Choreography is the art or practice of designing sequences of movements of physical bodies (or their depictions) in which motion or form or both are specified. ''Choreography'' may also refer to the design itself. A choreographer is one who cr ...

. He was known for being on the first season of ''

So You Think You Can Dance ''So You Think You Can Dance'' is a franchise of reality television shows in which contestants compete in dance. The first series of the franchise, created by '' Idols'' producers Simon Fuller and Nigel Lythgoe, premiered in July 2005 and has ...

'' in 2005, and on the MTV reality dance show ''

DanceLife ''DanceLife'' (also known as ''J.Lo's DanceLife'' in the UK) is a 2007 dance-oriented reality show, featuring and produced by Jennifer Lopez. The series follows the lives of seven dancers trying to break into the world of professional dance and ...

''.BurlingtonPost.com: A & E: Story: Rising dance star to visit
/ref> He has also developed a solo singing career with a debut album '' Time to Move'' in 2010.

Early career

McGrath was born in

Mississauga Mississauga ( ), historically known as Toronto Township, is a city in the Canadian province of Ontario. It is situated on the shores of Lake Ontario in the Regional Municipality of Peel, adjoining the western border of Toronto. With a popul ...

Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central Ca ...

.CTV.ca , Blake Boot Camp
/ref> He attended

Cawthra Park Secondary School Cawthra Park Secondary School, also known as CPSS, is a public high school built-in 1972 located in Southeast Mississauga, Ontario, Canada. It is one of two Regional Arts Schools in the Peel District School Board. Cawthra Park provides instructi ...

, School of the Arts and Applewood Heights Secondary School in

as well as St. Jean de Brebeuf Catholic Secondary School in

Hamilton, Ontario Hamilton is a port city in the Canadian province of Ontario. Hamilton has a population of 569,353, and its census metropolitan area, which includes Burlington and Grimsby, has a population of 785,184. The city is approximately southwest of T ...

. His early television appearances include: Choices of the Heart: The Margaret Sanger Story (1997) playing Stuart Sanger, and the TV show recreation of

Goosebumps ''Goosebumps'' is a series of children's horror fiction novels by American author R. L. Stine, published by Scholastic Publishing. The protagonists in these stories are tweens or young teens who find themselves in scary circumstances usually i ...

book "Stay Out of the Basement", in which he played the brother Casey. In 2015, McGrath was chosen to perform on

Michael Jackson Michael Joseph Jackson (August 29, 1958 – June 25, 2009) was an American singer, songwriter, dancer, and philanthropist. Dubbed the "King of Pop", he is regarded as one of the most significant cultural figures of the 20th century. Over a ...

's thirtieth anniversary special. In 2006, he performed alongside

Paulina Rubio Paulina Susana Rubio Dosamantes (; born 17 June 1971) is a Mexican singer. Referred to as "Honorific nicknames in popular music, The Golden Girl" and "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Queen of Latin Pop", she first achieved recognition as ...

at the 2004

Latin Grammy Awards The Latin Grammy Awards are an award by The Latin Recording Academy to recognize outstanding achievement in the Latin music industry. The Latin Grammy honors works recorded in Spanish or Portuguese from anywhere around the world that has been r ...

. Also in 2006 he has an appearance in the documentary Freestyle (with

Brian Friedman Brian L. Friedman (born May 28, 1977) is an American dancer and choreographer. Friedman has created the choreography for many popular music artists – such as Britney Spears, Cher, Beyoncé Knowles, and Mariah Carey – as well as for m ...

). He has appeared in Gap campaigns (with

Sarah Jessica Parker Sarah Jessica Parker (born March 25, 1965) is an American actress and television producer. She is the recipient of numerous accolades, including six Golden Globe Awards and two Primetime Emmy Awards. ''Time'' magazine named her one of the 1 ...

), and in advertisements for

iPod The iPod is a discontinued series of portable media players and multi-purpose mobile devices designed and marketed by Apple Inc. The first version was released on October 23, 2001, about months after the Macintosh version of iTunes ...

JCPenney Penney OpCo LLC, doing business as JCPenney and often abbreviated JCP, is a midscale American department store chain operating 667 stores across 49 U.S. states and Puerto Rico. Departments inside JCPenney stores include Mens, Womens, Boys, Gir ...

(which he also choreographed), and

Hummer Hummer (stylized as HUMMER) is a brand of pickups and SUVs that was first marketed in 1992 when AM General began selling a civilian version of the M998 Humvee. Although discontinued in 2010, Hummer returned as a sub-brand of GMC in 2020. ...

.CTV.ca , Blake McGrath
/ref> He has danced with stars such as

Madonna Madonna Louise Ciccone (; ; born August 16, 1958) is an American singer-songwriter and actress. Widely dubbed the " Queen of Pop", Madonna has been noted for her continual reinvention and versatility in music production, songwriting, a ...

Britney Spears Britney Jean Spears (born December 2, 1981) is an American singer. Often referred to as the " Princess of Pop", she is credited with influencing the revival of teen pop during the late 1990s and early 2000s. After appearing in stage productio ...

Kylie Minogue Kylie Ann Minogue (; born 28 May 1968) is an Australian singer, songwriter and actress. She is the highest-selling female Australian artist of all time, having sold over 80 million records worldwide. She has been recognised for reinve ...

Janet Jackson Janet Damita Jo Jackson (born May 16, 1966) is an American singer, songwriter, actress, and dancer. She is noted for her innovative, socially conscious and sexually provocative records, as well as elaborate stage shows. Her sound and choreog ...

Adam Lambert Adam Mitchel Lambert (born January 29, 1982) is an American singer and songwriter. Since 2009, he has sold over 3 million albums and 5 million singles worldwide. Lambert is known for his dynamic vocal performances that fuse his theatrical tra ...

, Ashanti,

Destiny's Child Destiny's Child was an American girl group whose final line-up comprised Beyoncé Knowles, Kelly Rowland, and Michelle Williams. The group began their musical career as Girl's Tyme, formed in 1990 in Houston, Texas. After years of limited ...

Katy Perry Katheryn Elizabeth Hudson (born October 25, 1984), known professionally as Katy Perry, is an American singer, songwriter, and television personality. Known for her influence on modern pop music and her Camp (style), campy style, she has been ...

Craig David Craig Ashley David (born 5 May 1981) is a British singer and songwriter who rose to fame in 1999, featuring on the single "Re-Rewind (The Crowd Say Bo Selecta), Re-Rewind" by Artful Dodger (UK band), Artful Dodger. David's debut studio album, ' ...

, and Jewel. In addition to his appearances on television shows, McGrath has also appeared in the films ''

Butterbox Babies ''Butterbox Babies'' is a film adapted from the book ''Butterbox Babies'' by Bette L. Cahill, which is based on the true story of the Ideal Maternity Home, a home for unwed pregnant mothers, during the Great Depression and Second World War. The ...

'', '' Life With Mikey'', ''

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

'', and ''

Rent Rent may refer to: Economics *Renting, an agreement where a payment is made for the temporary use of a good, service or property *Economic rent, any payment in excess of the cost of production *Rent-seeking, attempting to increase one's share of e ...

''. He was also featured as a dancer in ''

The Suite Life of Zack & Cody ''The Suite Life of Zack & Cody'' is an American sitcom created by Danny Kallis and Jim Geoghan. The series aired on Disney Channel from March 18, 2005, to September 1, 2008. The series was nominated for an Emmy Award three times and was also ...

'' in the episode Commercial Breaks. He was a waiter, and studied at Tiffany Dance Academy in Hamilton Ontario, Deborah Thomson School of Dance in Brampton, Ontario and Joanne Chapman School of Dance in Brampton, Ontario. He is owner of VIP Dance Events which tours major cities throughout Canada. 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 ''

''. He appeared in the 2007 reality TV show ''

'' produced by

Jennifer Lopez Jennifer Lynn Affleck (' Lopez; born July 24, 1969), also known as J.Lo, is an American singer, actress and dancer. In 1991, she began appearing as a Fly Girl dancer on the sketch comedy television series ''In Living Color'', where she rema ...

. In 2014, he appeared in the '' Lifetime'' hit ''

Dance Moms ''Dance Moms'' is an American reality television series that debuted on Lifetime on July 13, 2011. Created by Collins Avenue Productions, the show follows the training and careers of children in dance and show business under the tutelage of Abb ...

'' as a guest choreographer for the Candy Apples Dance Center (CADC), the main rival of the Abby Lee Dance Company.

Choreography in ''So You Think You Can Dance Canada'' series (2008-2010)

He is the lead

for the audition cities and alternating third judge on ''

So You Think You Can Dance Canada ''So You Think You Can Dance Canada'' is a dance competition and reality show that aired on CTV. Based on the original American TV show ''So You Think You Can Dance'', the Canadian series showcased the best in Canadian dancing talent. Each seas ...

''. He has had contributions for all three seasons to date of the Canadian series as follows:

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 Much (an abbreviation for its full name MuchMusic) is a Canadian English language specialty channel owned by BCE Inc. through its Bell Media subsidiary that airs programming aimed at teenagers and young adults. MuchMusic launched on August 31 ...

. He presented an award with

Girlicious Girlicious was an American girl group originally formed by Robin Antin, creator of the Pussycat Dolls, from The CW reality TV show ''Pussycat Dolls Present: Girlicious''. The group was originally signed to Geffen Records and composed of members ...

at the

2010 MuchMusic Video Awards The 2010 MuchMusic Video Awards were held in Toronto, Ontario, Canada at MuchMusic's headquarters on 20 June 2010. Along with the MuchMusic VJ's, it was confirmed on the MuchMusic website that Miley Cyrus will co-host the show. The artists with ...

on June 20, 2010. His follow-up single was

Relax Relax may refer to: Aviation * Roland Z-120 Relax, a German ultralight aircraft design for the 120 kg class Music Albums * ''Relax'' (Blank & Jones album), 2003 * ''Relax'' (Das Racist album), 2011 Songs * "Relax" (song), a 1983 song by Fran ...

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. * Blake's EP ‘’I am Blake McGrath was released in 2017 with the lead singles ‘Love Myself’ and 'Harder Than The First Time’. * Blake's third studio album ''‘’INNERvention’’'' was released on September 6, 2019 with the lead singles ‘Dive In The Water’, ‘Innervention’ and ‘Breakthrough’. The album debuted in the top 20 the first week of sales on the Billboard Christian/Gospel album chart.

Personal life

As of 2019, McGrath lives in

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

. McGrath acknowledged he was

bisexual Bisexuality is a romantic or sexual attraction or behavior toward both males and females, or to more than one gender. It may also be defined to include romantic or sexual attraction to people regardless of their sex or gender identity, whi ...

in a 2009 interview with the Canadian gay magazine '' fab''. "I've been attracted to men and attracted to women... My feelings change all the time. One day I can feel like I'm gay, another day like I'm straight. But I'm not just one or the other, I'm Blake McGrath and I'm attracted to somebody on the inside."

Discography

Studio albums

Extended plays

Singles

Tours

Stage Fright Tour (2011) *First tour for Blake McGrath's debut studio album "Time To Move"

Filmography

*1993: '' Life with Mikey'' as an acrobat *1995: ''

'' as Simon (age 7/8) *1995: '' Choices of the Heart: The Margaret Sanger Story'' as Stuart Sanger (TV movie) *1996: ''

'' as Casey Brewer (in 2 episodes in TV series) *2002: ''

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

'' as a male dancer *2004: '' Britney Spears Live from Miami'' as a dancer (TV movie) *2005: ''

'' as dancer (uncredited) *2007: ''

Dancelife ''DanceLife'' (also known as ''J.Lo's DanceLife'' in the UK) is a 2007 dance-oriented reality show, featuring and produced by Jennifer Lopez. The series follows the lives of seven dancers trying to break into the world of professional dance and ...

'' as himself *2013: ''

'' as himself

References

External links

McGrath's Official Twitter Page
* {{DEFAULTSORT:McGrath, Blake 1983 births Living people Canadian male dancers Canadian pop singers Musicians from Mississauga So You Think You Can Dance (American TV series) contestants Participants in Canadian reality television series So You Think You Can Dance Canada LGBT dancers LGBT entertainers from Canada 21st-century American dancers 21st-century Canadian dancers 21st-century Canadian male singers 21st-century LGBT people