Neil Haskell
Born	April 16, 1987 (1987-04-16) (age 22) New York, U.S.
Occupation	Contemporary dancer

Neil David Haskell (born April 16, 1987 in Clarence Center, New York) is an American contemporary dancer. He is best known as a contestant on So You Think You Can Dance where he finished third in the final four. On April 22, 2008, he began performing in the Off-Broadway musical Altar Boyz as Luke.^[1] Neil can currently be seen performing in the ensemble of the Broadway musical "9 to 5" at the Marquis Theater in NYC.

[edit] Biography

Neil is a dancer who first started dancing at age five at the David DeMarie Dance Studio in Clarence, New York, and American Academy of Ballet in Williamsville, NY. He also appeared in small roles in movies. At age 14, he began intensive training in ballet at the Chautauqua Institution for three summers. He attended Point Park University for a year, majoring in dance. Haskell has described his dance style as jazz/ballet. He earned the title of "Male Dancer of the Year" at the American Dance Awards in 2005. He got his Equity card the summer before auditioning for So You Think You Can Dance.

He has performed in the Twyla Tharp Broadway show The Times They Are A-Changin', with music by Bob Dylan, and in Pittsburgh Civic Light Opera's performances Grease, 42nd Street, Seven Brides for Seven Brothers, and Beauty and the Beast. ^[2] Neil recently landed a spot in MTV's new musical, The American Mall which will start filming in January 2008 for broadcast and DVD release in summer 2008.^[3] In Spring 2008, Haskell, along with former SYTYCD contestants Sabra Johnson and Danny Tidwell is featured in movmnt magazine's cover story to promote 'Keep it Real' the publication's awareness non for profit. ^[4] In April 2008 he began playing the role of "Luke" in the Off-Broadway musical Altar Boyz. He continued playing the role of "Luke" until March 2009, and left to begin working on the new Dolly Parton musical "9 to 5". Neil has been cast in F#@KING UP EVERYTHING which is part of the New York Musical Theater Festival (NYMF 2009) which performs at various times from Oct 6 through October 17 as Jake. All performances sold out.

[edit] So You Think You Can Dance

Haskell was paired up with contemporary/hip hop dancer, Lauren Gottlieb. 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 routine.

Haskell noted that he wants to use his experience on the show as a "springboard for the rest of [his] career". ^[2]

After making it to the top 10 finalists, Haskell joined his fellow contestants in So You Think You Can Dance's 2007 dance tour that concluded on November 30, 2007.

On the August 7, 2008 Season 4 finale, Haskell, along with other finalists from seasons 1-3, joined Season 4's top 20 in a dance number.

Note: Results highlighted in red indicate that contestants placed in the bottom dancers or couples, but may not have necessarily been eliminated.

[edit] Trivia

Lists of miscellaneous information should be avoided. Please relocate any relevant information into appropriate sections or articles. (November 2008)

• Haskell was MVP of his high school volleyball team in his junior and senior year.^[2]
• His favorite professional dancer is Charlie Hodges.^[2]
• He has a twin that took dance and gymnastics with him, but no longer does either. ^[5]
• Appeared in the soap opera One Life to Live for the "Prom Night: The Musical" storyline playing the part of a male dancer.
• Neil served as judge for the University of Pittsburgh's Greek Sing 2008.

[edit] The American Mall

Haskell also has a role in The American Mall. He plays a night janitor at the mall who is also a member of a rock band, where he played guitar & keyboards.

[edit] References and Notes

[edit] External links

• Neil Haskell at the Internet Movie Database
• So You Think You Can Dance FOX Biography
• NeilHaskell.Net

• Neil Haskell Feature on BestofOffBroadway.com