Exclusive: Stephen “tWitch” Boss Talks ‘Step Up All In’Posted by Wilson Morales
August 6, 2014
Coming out this week is ‘Step Up All In,’ the fifth installment of the ‘Step Up’ franchise where all-stars from previous installments come together in glittering Las Vegas, battling for a victory that could define their dreams and their careers.
Directed by Trish Sie, the film stars Ryan Guzman, Briana Evigan, Stephen “tWitch” Boss, Misha Gabriel, Izabella Miko, Alyson Stoner, and Adam Sevani.
One of the most popular dance franchises in film history takes competition to astonishing new heights in Step Up All In. Miami street dancer Sean Asa (Ryan Guzman) moves to Hollywood with visions of fame and fortune, only to discover the almost insurmountable odds of making it in the professional dance world. But when the new dance crew he forms with the beautiful and headstrong Andie West (Briana Evigan) reaches the final rounds of a high-stakes reality TV competition in glittering Las Vegas, he has a shot at finally making his dreams come true—if he can set aside old loyalties and long-time rivalries and just do what he loves most: dance.
Back for the third time as Jason is Stephen “tWitch” Boss, who starred in both 2010’s Step Up 3D and 2012’s Step Up Revolution.
A former contestant on Season four of So You Think You Can Dance, the Alabame native was also invited back for a special All-Star Season 7. Boss’ other film credits include Stomp the Yard 2: Homecoming and Hairspray. When he’s not dancing, Boss is a reoccurring guest DJ on “Ellen” serving as Ellen DeGeneres’ side kick on the show multiple times per week.
You’re back for a third time in the franchise, how does it feel?
Stephen “tWitch” Boss: Man, it feels good. As crazy as it sounds, it feels just as good as the first time I found out I was part of it and the second time when I found out they were bringing me back, and this one too! Especially with the capacity I’m brought back for, it’s not just for some finale. I’m reprising my role and given ome pivotal moments in the movie so it’s incredible.
How has Jason evolved as a character?
BOSS: Jason has seen a lot of life, he’s seen a lot of struggle, ’cause one of the most special things about Jason is, ironically, he’s always been on the winning team but somehow ends up in struggle. With that it does mirror similarities of pursuing a life in professional entertainment. You can have these huge, life-changing, career altering gigs and then after that it’s over. You’re gonna have nothing for awhile. With Jason from “Step-Up 3-D” winning the World Jam, having his inventions make a great impact on how the crew won to then have to move back to Miami to struggle again. Then this big Nike deal that takes them out to Los Angeles, which is where we pick up in “Step Up All In” to then struggling again to where he’s down to nothing where he doesn’t have any of his gadgets, he doesn’t have his lab, he’s put all that away so he can come out to Los Angeles with the crew and put all that together. With that I still approached him with a lot of faith that things do work out, but this is one of the hardest times of struggle he’s been in.
Part of the allure of this film is that they bring back not just you but people from the other films. How was it reuniting with those you’ve worked with before and meeting new people?
BOSS: Both of them are absolutely incredible because even the new people I’ve worked with before even if it wasn’t on “Step Up.” I’ve worked with them on “So You Think You Can Dance”, or just a random side gig. Right now even the international waters are quite small because of YouTube and things with social media. We’re seeing what dancers across the seas are doing so we’re connected like that. It was really nice to see all those top of the line athletes/dancers in one room and just down for the cause to make a good product and not necessarily competitive about how much face time they’re gonna have or steal someone’s moment. There was none of that at all, it was just all love and all dance, so it was a good time.
You mentioned “So You Think You Can Dance” which is very close to the plot of this movie. How close to heart was it?
BOSS: It was very close to heart. I’d like to say that they reached out to people from that and “Dancing With the Stars” so they could base a lot of the script on it. That’s exactly how it is. Sometimes something like that can be such a ray of hope as far as an aspiring dancer’s life can go because it can literally change everything. You can go from eating Top Ramen and cans of beans every night because that’s all you can afford while also taking classes and also saving up for a car to get to work, to getting to stability to make decisions. I was scrounging up and it’s not because I was any less talented than I am at this time, it’s just because the opportunities were not coming to me. With that, after the exposure, it gives you room to hit the ground running and really create opportunities for yourself as opposed to thinking ‘Oh my God, what am I gonna eat tonight? Oh my God, what am I gonna use to put gas in my car to get to the audition? How am I gonna get these headshots?” It opens up a new line of questions for your life.
What was it like working with Jamal Sims who’s worked on all five of the films?
BOSS: Working with Jamal Sims is such an incredible opportunity. Jamal is actually one of the people that gave me one of my first professional gigs in LA, an ADDIDAS industrial. We were doing this performance for ADDIDAS performance clothing. He hired me, and just the vibe he brings to rehearsal is super inspiring. Jamal is not one of the mean choreographers, the one that is yelling at his dancers, putting us down to bring us up. Jamal is honestly so cool. Jokes for days, stories for days, and when you bring that energy into a room in return the dancers want to work hard for him and give him the best product so he doesn’t have to give us long pep talks about us being focused because he already expects it and we expect to give that to him. Jamal started off as a dancer too. Jamal was in the Michael Jackson “Remember the Time” video and then he went to Usher and every “Step Up” film and now he’s working his way into directing and it’s a super inspiring path for a dancer to take.
Not only are you a dancer but you’re a DJ, you’ve been working with Ellen. How much fun is it to do something different?
BOSS: It’s essential to do something different. Not only is it fun it’s essential to do it because after awhile things get monotonous then nothing else is really significant. Therefore to provide yourself with variety in life is just awesome. DJing on “The Ellen Show” is hilarious because she’s just funny, she’s a great person, very giving and generous, and she probably has one of the best audiences in TV. What you don’t get to see during commercial breaks is how loose these people get. They come to dance, they don’t have to be professionals, and the energy is super contagious.
At the end of the day, when people think about the “Step Up” series what’s a good reason to catch up on the previous four or see this movie?
BOSS: I’ll tell it like this: If you even remotely like dance, you like music, you’re a fan of art is some form or capacity, every “Step Up” movie is gonna offer you something different. Even if this is the first one you’re seeing it’s great because now you’re watching one that’s trying to trump the previous four, so you’re seeing effects with dancing that weren’t seen in four previous feature films. People are going all out to figure out how to make it that much more incredible. With this one it doesn’t have a very serious and dark tone to it, it’s actually quite comical. The opening scene is a ridiculous audition montage that sets the mood for the movie right there. It’s still very feel good, dancers have a lot of jokes. It’s a great ice breaker for those that haven’t seen a “Step Up” film before with great dancing to music you know, some that you don’t know, and then just sit back and forget what’s going on and watch people dance.
What’s next for you?
BOSS: I’m really focused on acting right now. I’m taking classes and building a foundation. When I got “Step Up 3-D” and “Stomp the Yard: Homecoming” I was going off raw talent. I didn’t know there were specific techniques. I thought Denzel and Will Smith just came on set and made it happen. Now I’m really focused on building my foundation, building characters, building environments, that’s just the way I learn, I put myself on a curriculum and that’s how I excel the most. I’m taking acting classes right now, still teaching hip hop on a convention named “24-7” and we’re going to 53 cities in this next year. Every single weekend I’ll be teaching hip hop next to people teaching contemporary. Also I’m working on a fitness DVD line that I’m really excited about. There’s not going to be anything like it and I’m super passionate about it.
