Neil David Haskell (born April 16, 1987) is an American

contemporary dance Contemporary dance is a genre of dance performance that developed during the mid-twentieth century and has since grown to become one of the dominant genres for formally trained dancers throughout the world, with particularly strong popularity in ...

r and actor. He is best known as a contestant on ''

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 ...

'' where he finished third in the final four. On April 22, 2008, he began performing in the Off-Broadway musical

Altar Boyz ''Altar Boyz'' is a musical comedy with music and lyrics by Gary Adler and Michael Patrick Walker and book by Kevin Del Aguila (based on an idea by Marc J. Kessler and Ken Davenport). Centering on a fictitious Christian boy band from Ohio, the ...

as Luke. Neil later joined The West Side Story National Tour as Snowboy, and in spring 2012 began touring in the show Bring It On: The Musical as Steven. He also returned as an All-Star in

Season 7 A season is a division of the year based on changes in weather, ecology, and the number of daylight hours in a given region. On Earth, seasons are the result of the axial parallelism of Earth's tilted orbit around the Sun. In temperate and po ...

of SYTYCD. As of fall 2019, he plays King George in the national touring company of '' Hamilton: An American Musical''.

Early life and education

Haskell was born in

Buffalo, New York Buffalo is the second-largest city in the U.S. state of New York (behind only New York City) and the seat of Erie County. It is at the eastern end of Lake Erie, at the head of the Niagara River, and is across the Canadian border from South ...

and first started dancing at age five at the David DeMarie Dance Studio in

Clarence, New York Clarence is a town located in the northeastern part of Erie County, New York, United States, northeast of Buffalo. The population was 32,950 according to the 2020 census estimate. This represents an increase of 7.4% from the 2010 census figure. ...

and at the American Academy of Ballet in Williamsville, New York. He also had small roles in movies. At age 15, he began intensive training in

ballet Ballet () is a type of performance dance that originated during the Italian Renaissance in the fifteenth century and later developed into a concert dance form in France and Russia. It has since become a widespread and highly technical form of ...

at the

Chautauqua Institution The Chautauqua Institution ( ) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit education center and summer resort for adults and youth located on in Chautauqua, New York, northwest of Jamestown in the Western Southern Tier of New York State. Established in 1874, the ...

for three summers. Haskell was raised in

Clarence Center, New York Clarence Center is a hamlet and census-designated place (CDP) in the town of Clarence in Erie County, New York, United States. The population was 2,257 at the 2010 census. It is part of the Buffalo–Niagara Falls Metropolitan Statistical Area. ...

and graduated from

Clarence High School (Clarence, New York) Clarence High School, also known as Clarence Central High School or, formerly, Clarence Senior High School, is a public high school located in Clarence, Erie County, New York, United States. It is the only high school operated by the Clarence Cen ...

in 2005. He attended

Point Park University Point Park University is a private university in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Formerly known as Point Park College, the school name was revised in 2004 to reflect the number of graduate programs being offered. History Beginnings The university bega ...

for a year, majoring in dance. Haskell has described his dance style as

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a major ...

. He earned the title of "Male Dancer of the Year" at the American Dance Awards in 2005. He got his

Equity Equity may refer to: Finance, accounting and ownership * Equity (finance), ownership of assets that have liabilities attached to them ** Stock, equity based on original contributions of cash or other value to a business ** Home equity, the dif ...

card the summer before auditioning for ''

''.

Career

He has performed in the Twyla Tharp Broadway show '' The Times They Are A-Changin''', with music by

Bob Dylan Bob Dylan (legally Robert Dylan, born Robert Allen Zimmerman, May 24, 1941) is an American singer-songwriter. Often regarded as one of the greatest songwriters of all time, Dylan has been a major figure in popular culture during a career sp ...

, and in Pittsburgh Civic Light Opera's performances '' Grease'', '' 42nd Street'', ''

Seven Brides for Seven Brothers ''Seven Brides for Seven Brothers'' is a 1954 American musical film, directed by Stanley Donen, with music by Gene de Paul, lyrics by Johnny Mercer, and choreography by Michael Kidd. The screenplay, by Albert Hackett, Frances Goodrich, and Do ...

'', and ''

Beauty and the Beast ''Beauty and the Beast'' (french: La Belle et la Bête) is a fairy tale written by French novelist Gabrielle-Suzanne de Villeneuve, Gabrielle-Suzanne Barbot de Villeneuve and published in 1740 in ''La Jeune Américaine et les contes marins'' ( ...

''.Fox Broadcasting Company: So You Think You Can Dance
Haskell also landed a supporting role in

MTV MTV (Originally an initialism of Music Television) is an American cable channel that launched on August 1, 1981. Based in New York City, it serves as the flagship property of the MTV Entertainment Group, part of Paramount Media Networks, a di ...

's movie musical ''The American Mall'', which was broadcast and DVD released in summer 2008. In Spring 2008, Haskell, along with former SYTYCD contestants

Sabra Johnson Sabra Elise Johnson (born July 29, 1987) is an American dancer, choreographer, and actress from Roy, Utah and the Season 3 Champion of the Fox reality television show ''So You Think You Can Dance''. She was born in the Netherlands, lived nine ye ...

and

Danny Tidwell Daniel Arnold Tidwell (August 1, 1984 – March 6, 2020) was an American dancer and actor best known for being the runner-up on Fox's third season of ''So You Think You Can Dance'' in 2007. Tidwell began dancing as a child, at first focusing o ...

, was featured in ''

movmnt ''movmnt'' magazine was an urban-leaning lifestyle magazine which was co-founded in 2006 by David Benaym and Danny Tidwell. The magazine featured columns by Mario Spinetti, Mia Michaels, Robert Battle, Debbie Allen, Alisan Porter, Rasta Thoma ...

'' magazine's cover story to promote 'Keep it Real', the publication's awareness nonprofit organization. In April 2008 he began playing the role of "Luke" in the Off-Broadway musical ''

''. He continued playing the role of "Luke" until March 2009, and left to begin working on the new Dolly Parton musical ''

9 to 5 Working(laboring) time is the period of time that a person spends at paid Wage labour, labor. Unpaid work, Unpaid labor such as personal housework or caring for children or pets is not considered part of the working week. Many countries regula ...

''. Haskell was also cast to play the leading role of Jake in the musical ''F#@king Up Everything'' in the New York Musical Theater Festival (NYMF 2009), which performs at various times from October 6 through October 17. All performances sold out. In 2010-11, he returned to ''

'' Seasons 7 and 8 to dance as an All Star. He was also in the first national tour cast of ''

West Side Story ''West Side Story'' is a musical conceived by Jerome Robbins with music by Leonard Bernstein, lyrics by Stephen Sondheim, and a book by Arthur Laurents. Inspired by William Shakespeare's play ''Romeo and Juliet'', the story is set in the mid-1 ...

'' playing the role of Snowboy. After touring with the musical ''

Bring It On Bring It On may refer to: Books * ''Bring It On'' (book), by Pat Robertson * ''Bring It On!'' (manhwa), a romance manhwa by Baek Hye-Kyung Film and stage * ''Bring It On'' (film series), an American series of teen comedy cheerleading films capit ...

'' based on the movie of the same name, Haskell went on to originate the role of Steven on

Broadway Broadway may refer to: Theatre * Broadway Theatre (disambiguation) * Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S. ** Broadway (Manhattan), the street **Broadway Theatre (53rd Stree ...

at the St. James Theatre during the fall of 2012. Haskell also has a role in ''

The American Mall ''The American Mall'' is a 2008 MTV musical film that debuted on August 11, 2008. Overview Produced by the same team behind Disney's ''High School Musical'' film series, ''The American Mall'' is conceptually very similar, as it focuses on severa ...

''. He plays a night janitor at the mall who is also a member of a rock band, where he played guitar and keyboards. Haskell most recently was part of the original company of the hit Broadway musical, ''Hamilton''.

''So You Think You Can Dance''

Haskell was paired up with

contemporary Contemporary history, in English-language historiography, is a subset of modern history that describes the historical period from approximately 1945 to the present. Contemporary history is either a subset of the late modern period, or it is o ...

- hip hop dancer

Lauren Gottlieb Lauren Gottlieb (born June 8, 1988) is an American dancer and actress who works mainly in the Indian film industry. She was a contestant on the third season of the reality dance competition ''So You Think You Can Dance'' and played the lead role ...

. The couple danced together until Week 6, when the couples were assigned new partners. Haskell was then partnered with Sara Von Gillern, and debuted their

disco Disco is a genre of dance music and a subculture that emerged in the 1970s from the United States' urban nightlife scene. Its sound is typified by four-on-the-floor beats, syncopated basslines, string sections, brass and horns, electric pia ...

routine. Haskell noted that he wants to use his experience on the show as a "springboard for the rest of iscareer". After making it to the top 10 finalists, Haskell joined his fellow contestants in ''

s 2007 dance tour that concluded on November 30, 2007. On the August 7, 2008

Season 4 Season 4 may refer to: * "Season 4" (''30 Rock'' episode), an episode of ''30 Rock'' See also * * Season One (disambiguation) Season One may refer to: Albums * ''Season One'' (Suburban Legends album), 2004 * ''Season One'' (All Sons & Daughte ...

finale, Haskell, along with other finalists from seasons 1–3, joined Season 4's top 20 in a dance number. He also returned as an All-Star in

of ''SYTYCD'', and again in Season 8.

Broadway

In the summer of 2015, Haskell joined the company of ''

Hamilton Hamilton may refer to: People * Hamilton (name), a common British surname and occasional given name, usually of Scottish origin, including a list of persons with the surname ** The Duke of Hamilton, the premier peer of Scotland ** Lord Hamilt ...

'', the musical by

Lin-Manuel Miranda Lin-Manuel Miranda (; born January 16, 1980) is an American songwriter, actor, playwright and filmmaker. He is known for creating the Broadway musicals ''Hamilton'' (2015) and ''In the Heights'' (2005), and the soundtracks for the Disney animate ...

, for its Broadway transfer to the

Richard Rodgers Theatre The Richard Rodgers Theatre (formerly Chanin's 46th Street Theatre and the 46th Street Theatre) is a Broadway theater at 226 West 46th Street in the Theater District of Midtown Manhattan in New York City. Opened in 1925, it was designed by Herb ...

as a swing. He was also a member of the cast of the new Broadway musical, ''

Tuck Everlasting ''Tuck Everlasting'' is an American children's novel about immortality written by Natalie Babbitt and published by Farrar, Straus and Giroux in 1975. It has sold over 5 million copies and has been called a classic of modern children's literature ...

.''Tuck Everlasting

The Broadway League The Broadway League, formerly the League of American Theatres and Producers and League of New York Theatres and Producers, is the national trade association for the Broadway theatre industry based in New York, New York. Its members include thea ...

. 2016. Retrieved March 8, 2016 Haskell rejoined Hamilton soon after, and in June 2016 he replaced Jon Rua as Charles Lee in the show's Ensemble.

Filmography

Film

Television

References

External links

*
''So You Think You Can Dance'' FOX Biography

{{DEFAULTSORT:Haskell, Neil 1987 births Living people 21st-century American dancers American contemporary dancers American gymnasts American male dancers Dancers from New York (state) People from Buffalo, New York People from Clarence, New York Point Park University alumni So You Think You Can Dance (American TV series) contestants