Joshua Allen – who won season 4 of So You Think You Can Dance – has passed away at 36.
The professional dancer from Fort Worth, Texas died on Tuesday, September 30 as a family member has declined to comment to TMZ how he passed.
That same family member asked fans for ‘privacy and prayers.’
DailyMail.com has reached out to representatives for Allen and has yet to hear back.
Friend of the late dancer Emmanuel Hurd told the publication that he was ‘a very honest, real person.’
Hurd continued to TMZ: ‘He didn’t always do things the way that everybody thought he should, but that’s why he was a winner.’
Joshua Allen – who won season 4 of So You Think You Can Dance – has passed away at 36; he is pictured in Hollywood back in November 2014
He is best known for winning the reality dancing competition show in 2008
He is best known for winning the reality dancing competition show in 2008.
Allen actually won over Stephen ‘tWitch’ Boss who was runner up on the show and they became good friends.
Boss – who went on to become DJ and executive producer of The Ellen DeGeneres Show – died by suicide at age 40 in December 2022.
Of their relationship at the time Allen commented: ‘We were really happy for each other. We were two of the closest people there.’
Allen originally auditioned for SYTYCD in Dallas, Texas along with his friend and fellow contestant, Comfort Fedoke.
He ultimately was crowned on August 7, 2008 and earned the cash prize of $250,000.
After he secured the win, he disclosed that he had no formal dance training in his youth but had worked on a few things prior to his audition.
Allen mentioned to Entertainment Weekly: ‘I attended a few modern dance classes and ballet sessions because I believed that to become a superior dancer, I had to take various classes and broaden my scope in the dance field.’
‘I didn’t want to audition for the show not knowing anything.’
Allen (pictured in LA in February 2011) originally auditioned for SYTYCD in Dallas, Texas along with his friend and fellow contestant, Comfort Fedoke
Allen actually triumphed over Stephen ‘tWitch’ Boss (pictured right), who was the show’s runner-up, and they developed a strong friendship; they are seen here with fellow season 4 contestant Katee Shean in LA in May 2006.
He is pictured on SYTYCD with Virgil Gadson in September 2014
Upon winning, he reiterated that he lacked formal dance training in his youth but worked on a few skills before his audition (he is seen on SYTYCD in 2008).
After acing his audition, he had several months before relocating to Las Vegas for the live shows, during which he used the time wisely by taking ‘as many classes as I could,’ which ultimately paid off.
He remarked: ‘I wasn’t truly technically trained. In the summer, I would try to take classes, and during school time, I would take class, run track, and play football.’
‘I would always just train in the summer. So it was never hard training.’
He did find success on the big screen after his SYTYCD win as he was a featured dancer in 2010 flick Step Up 3D in addition to the Footloose remake in 2011.
He is pictured celebrating his 36th birthday back in March
Allen’s final Instagram post was a tribute post to The Cosby Show star Malcolm Jamal Warner who passed away in July at the age of 54
He also took part as a dancer and choreographer in Oxygen’s Dance Your Ass Off back in 2010 and even had acting roles on television shows Community and American Horror Story.
Allen made headlines again in 2016 for a domestic violence arrest involving an ex-girlfriend.
He was ultimately sentenced to one year in jail after pleading no contest to the charges and received five years probation in addition to one year of domestic violence counseling according to Deadline.
Allen’s final Instagram post was a tribute post to The Cosby Show star Malcolm Jamal Warner who passed away in July at the age of 54.
