Early life and background

"I was born into the studio and all I really know is dance."

- Travis Wall

Wall was born and raised in Virginia Beach, Virginia. His mother, owner and operator of the eponymous Denise Wall's Dance Energy, recalls putting him in a walker and watching him imitate the dancers. He began dancing at the age of three, training at his mother's studio, and competing in a number of conventions.

Career

Early career and training

His professional career officially started at the age of nine when he appeared in a Dr. Pepper commercial. In 1999, he won the Junior National Outstanding Dancer Scholarship Award. On April 27, 2000, at age 12, he started a two-year run in The Music Man on Broadway, playing a resident of River City/Winthrop Paroo understudy. This gig led to him being chosen to perform at the 2000 New York City Dance Alliance's closing night gala. In 2006, New York City Dance Alliance awarded Wall its Teen Outstanding Dancer of the Year award and he toured with them for a year.

So You Think You Can Dance

In 2006, at the age of 18, Wall competed on the second season of the show So You Think You Can Dance (SYTYCD), making it to the final four contestants before placing second behind overall winner Benji Schwimmer. Wall was praised by the judges as the most technically talented dancer in the competition. Nigel Lythgoe and Adam Shankman have listed Wall, his brother Danny Tidwell, Season 4's Will Wingfield and Season 5's Kayla Radomski as the most talented dancers on the show, later adding Season 6's Billy Bell and Jakob Karr to that list.

While on the show, Wall danced in Mia Michaels' The Bench routine for which she later won an Emmy for Outstanding Choreography. During the Fall of 2006, Wall toured the United States with the top 10 dancers from the So You Think You Can Dance competition. He returned to the show in 2008 during the Season 4 auditions to teach choreography. He did a surprise audition on the 4th episode as "Danielle Chorizo".

On July 23, 2009, Wall returned to So You Think You Can Dance along with fellow Season 2 contestant Heidi Groskreutz on the 100th episode of the show, to perform the Emmy award winning piece The Bench, choreographed by Mia Michaels.

Week	Partner	Style	Song	Choreographer(s)	Result
1	Martha Nichols	Broadway	"Steam Heat"— The Pointer Sisters	Tyce Diorio	Safe
2		Krump	"Clap Back"—Ja Rule	Lil' C	Safe
3		Hip-Hop	"Just Fine"—Chris Brown	Todd Sams	Safe
4		Salsa	"Tanga"—Machito and His Afro-Cubans	Ron Montez	Safe
5		Foxtrot	"Witchcraft"—Steve Tyrell	Jean-Marc Généreux	Bottom 3
	Result Show Solo		""The Blower's Daughter"—Damien Rice		Safe
6	Heidi Groskreutz	Paso Doble	"The Plaza of Execution" from The Mask of Zorro	Mary Murphy	Safe
		Contemporary	"Calling You"—Celine Dion	Mia Michaels
	Solo		"Belief"—Gavin DeGraw
7	Donyelle Jones	Hip Hop	"London Bridge"—Fergie	Shane Sparks	Bottom 4
		Quickstep	"Dancin' Fool"—Barry Manilow	Glenn Weiss
	Result Show Solo		"Gotta Get Thru This (Acoustic)"—Daniel Bedingfield		Safe
8	Heidi Groskreutz	Smooth Waltz	"Flying"—Cait Agus Sean	Ron Montez	Safe
		Afro Pop	"W'Happy Mama"—Zap Mama	Wade Robson
	Solo		"You And Me"—Lifehouse
	Results show solo		"Flying Without Wings (A Capella version)"—Westlife
9	Heidi Groskreutz	Disco	"Shake Your Groove Thing"—Peaches & Herb	Doriana Sanchez	Runner-Up
	Benji Schwimmer	Hip Hop	"Gyrate"—Da Muzicianz feat. Mr. Collipark	Shane Sparks
	Donyelle Jones	Contemporary	"Georgia On My Mind"—Ray Charles	Mia Michaels
	Solo		"Konstantine"—Something Corporate

Post-SYTYCD

Wall danced on the October 16, 2007 Dancing with the Stars results show, in a piece choreographed by and starring Wade Robson. Wall, along with Tidwell and many previous finalists of So You Think You Can Dance, performed during the second annual Idol Gives Back charity event on April 9, 2008. Nigel Lythgoe produced both shows at the time.

Wall performs regularly with American Dance Artists, in Delmarva, as well as for Evolution dance company in Los Angeles, California. He teaches students contemporary dance at NUVO, a dance convention that tours the nation. In 2007, Wall and Ivan Koumaev made a dance video called Its About Time designed to be for the viewer's entertainment rather than for instructional purposes like most dance videos.

Wall was in the 2008 Disney movie Bedtime Stories, starring Adam Sandler, alongside SYTYCD Season 3 contestant, Lacey Schwimmer. In 2010 Wall worked as an assistant choreographer for the Academy Awards, alongside Mia Michaels and Brian Friedman.

So You Think You Can Dance Get Fit: Cardio Funk was one of two home exercise videos released by the producers of SYTYCD. Wall choreographed a contemporary dance and corresponding cool-down routine for the video.

Wall choreographed and performed in an ensemble piece featuring New York City Ballet principal ballerina Tiler Peck to a piece by Nuttin' But Stringz for ABC's Dancing with the Stars April 13, 2010 episode in a feature called "Macy's Stars of Dance".

In 2010, Wall choreographed several numbers for the VMA's.

In 2011, Wall choreographed a floor exercise routine for Olympic All-Around Champion Nastia Liukin which she will use to try to earn a spot on the 2012 Olympic USA Gymnastics team.

Wall will be starring in a new reality show "All the Right Moves" with Teddy Forance, Nick Lazzarini, and Kyle Robinson. The four men are launching their own dance company called Shaping Sound.

Choreography for So You Think You Can Dance

Wall earned 2011 and 2013 Emmy nominations for his contemporary choreography in seasons 7 and 9. He won a 2015 Emmy for routines he choreographed for season 11. (See SYTYCD Emmy Awards for details.)

Season	Week	Dancers	Style	Song	Note
3	5	Jaimie Goodwin Hokuto "Hok" Konishi	Broadway	"Mr. Bojangles"—Fosse	by Tyce Diorio Travis Wall assisting
5	6	Jeanine Mason Jason Glover	Contemporary	"If It Kills Me"(The Casa Nova Sessions)—Jason Mraz
	7	Top 8	Jazz	"Let It Rock"—Kevin Rudolf feat. Lil Wayne
6	1	Bianca Revels Victor Smalley	Contemporary	"Wasted Time"—Me'shell Ndegeocello
	4	Ellenore Scott Ryan Di Lello		"Your Ex-Lover Is Dead"—Stars
	7	Ellenore Scott Jonathan "Legacy" Perez		"Machine Gun"—Portishead
	8	Ashleigh Di Lello Ryan Di Lello		"I'm There Too"—Michelle Featherstone
7	LVW	All dancers		"A Beautiful Mess"—Jason Mraz
	MT11	Kent Boyd Lauren Froderman Mark Kanemura Kathryn McCormick	Jazz	"Paris is Burning"—St. Vincent
	1	Adéchiké Torbert Kathryn McCormick		"Addicted to Love"—Florence and the Machine
	2	Ashley Galvan Mark Kanemura		"Wonderful"—Annie Lennox
	4	Lauren Froderman Kent Boyd	Contemporary	"Collide" (acoustic version)—Howie Day
	5	Robert Roldan Allison Holker		"Fix You"—Coldplay
	8	Kent Boyd Neil Haskell		"How It Ends"—DeVotchKa
8	LVW	All dancers		"Yellow"—Vitamin String Quartet
	MT20	Alexander Fost Mitchell Kelly Caitlynn Lawson Ryan Ramirez Ashley Rich		"Moth's Wings"—Passion Pit
	1	Sasha Mallory Alexander Fost		"Stupid "—Sarah McLachlan
		Melanie Moore Marko Germar		"Turn to stone"—Ingrid Michaelson
	5	Jordan Casanova Tadd Gadduang		"Brotsjór"—Ólafur Arnalds
		Caitlynn Lawson Mitchell Kelly	Jazz	"Piece of My Heart"—Janis Joplin
	8	Kent Boyd Lauren Froderman	Contemporary	"Collide"—Howie Day	Guest Dancers
9	LVW	All Dancers		"I Won't Give Up"—Jason Mraz
	MT20	Top 10 girls		"Where the Light Gets In"—Sennen
	1	Audrey Case Matthew Kazmierczak		"Unchained Melody"—The Righteous Brothers
	5	Witney Carson Nick Lazzarini	Jazz	"Sing It Back"—Moloko
		Jaimie Goodwin Cyrus "Glitch" Spencer	Contemporary	"Outro"—M83
	8	Eliana Girard Alex Wong		"Without You"—Harry Nilsson
10	1	Jasmine Mason Alan Bersten		"Can't Help Falling in Love" (Live at Daytrotter)—Ingrid Michaelson
		Malece Miller Jade Zuberi	Jazz	"Silver Screen Shower Scene"—Felix da Housecat
	4	Jenna Johnson Tucker Knox	Contemporary	"Hangin' By a Thread"—Jann Arden
	7	Tucker Knox Robert Roldan		"Medicine"—Daughter
	8	Amy Yakima Travis Wall		"Wicked Game" (Live at Kilkenny Arts Festival, Ireland 2011)—James Vincent McMorrow
	10	Jasmine Harper Fik-Shun		"Spiegel im Spiegel"—Arvo Pärt, performed by Angela Yoffe & Vadim Gluzman
11	LVW	All Dancers		"Lay Me Down"—Sam Smith
	1	Emily James Casey Askew		"All of Me"(Live from Spotify)—John Legend
	2	Valerie Rockey Ricky Ubeda		"Oh Darling"—Gossling
	4	Bridget Whitman Emilio Dosal		"The Leaving Song"—Chris Garneau
		Bridget Whitman Carly Blaney Jacque LeWarne Jessica Richens Marcquet Hill Ricky Ubeda Rudy Abreu Teddy Coffey	Jazz	"Love Runs Out"—OneRepublic
	5	Jessica Richens Casey Askew	Contemporary	"Like Real People Do"—Hozier
		Top 7 Guys		"Wave"—Beck
	6	Jacque LeWarne Chehon Wespi-Tschopp	Contemporary ballet	"Adagio for TRON"—Daft Punk
	7	Ricky Ubeda Jaimie Goodwin	Contemporary	"Smile"—Michael Jackson	with All-Star
	9	Top 4		"Wind Beneath My Wings"—RyanDan
		Jessica Richens Robert Roldan		"When I Go"—Over the Rhine
12	TBA	TBA	TBA	TBA

Danced as Guest or All-Star for So You Think You Can Dance

Season	Week	partner(s)	Style	Song	Choreographer(s)	Note
4	9	Earlier contestants	Discoswing	"Don't Stop the Music"—Rihanna		as Guest
5	7 RS	Heidi Groskreutz	Contemporary	"Calling You"—Celine Dion	Mia Michaels
10	8	Amy Yakima		"Wicked Game" (Live at Kilkenny Arts Festival, Ireland 2011)—James Vincent McMorrow	Travis Wall	As All-Star

Publications

In February 2007, Wall was featured in a fashion/dance spread in movmnt magazine (which Tidwell co-founded). The following June, Wall interviewed Whoopi Goldberg for the magazine.

Wall was featured in the photography book Moving Still: a Life Performance by David Benaym.

Personal life

In 2007, his adoptive brother Danny Tidwell was a runner-up of the third season of So You Think You Can Dance. He, too, had trained with their mother Denise Wall, who also trained Jaimie Goodwin, a Season 3 contestant. Wall is openly gay.

[ Source: Wikipedia ]