To the dancing world he was simply known as tWitch. Dancer and choreographer Stephen “tWitch” Boss died December 13, 2022 in Los Angeles, California at the age of 40 as a result of a self inflicted gunshot wound.
He leaves behind a wife and three children – Weslie, Maddox, and Zaia. He and Allison recently celebrated their ninth wedding anniversary.
Allison spoke on her husband saying, “it is with the heaviest of hearts that I have to share my husband Stephen has left us. Stephen lit up every room he stepped into. He valued family, friends and community above all else and leading with love and light was everything to him. He was the backbone of our family, the best husband and father, and an inspiration to his fans.”
Ballroom dancer and “Dancing with the Stars” star Maksim Chmerikovskiy also spoke on tWitch saying, “Stephen ‘Twitch’ Boss was the only man I’ve met in the entire industry who was loved by absolutely everyone. Actor Kerry Washington also spoke on tWitch saying, “Twitch brought joy and love to people all over the world through music and through dance. My heart is heavy today for his family and all of those who knew and loved him.”
And “Dancing with the Stars” judge Carrie Ann Inaba said, “he was a special one. A good man, a husband, an artist, a dancer, an entertainer, a bright light…He was extraordinary. He could do anything and he did it with a joy and grace and some swagger
Twitch first appeared as a contestant of the dance reality competition series “So You Think You Can Dance” in 2005 in the third season of the show. After failing to make the top 20, he returned the next season to make it all the way to the finals where he was the runner up. He would return to the show several more times as an All Star and later as a judge. It is on SYTYCD where he met his wife Allison; the two were married in 2013.
n 2014 tWitch joined the cast of The Ellen Show” as a DJ and later was also named an executive producer.
As an actor, tWitch appeared in over two dozen productions including “Hairspray”, “Stomp the Yard 2: Homecoming”, “Step Up 3D”, “Step Up All In”, and “Step Up Revolution”, “The LXD: The Legion of Extraordinary Dancers” and “The LXD: The Secrets of the Ra”, “Magic Mike XXL”, and “Ghostbusters”.
As himself, tWitch appeared in dozens of productions including judging reality shows, talk and news shows, awards shows, and as the Dad in the new “The Hip Hop Nutcracker”. He also appeared as a contestant on “Star Search”.
He was born on September 29, 1982 in Montgomery, Alabama where he studied dance performance at Southern Union State Community College and Chapman University. He got his nickname tWtich as a child when he would popping and ticking instead of sitting still. His biggest dance idol was Gene Kelly; but was also a big fan of Fred Astaire.
Feature photo credit: Stephen Boss’s Facebook page