Marty Dew

Artice published in Dance Spirit Magazine (March 2003)

Twenty-one-year-old Marty Dew arrived in Los Angeles two years ago with a few suitcases, and a dream. Growing up in Conway, SC, Marty trained hard in ballet, jazz and tap. On weekends, he hit the convention circuit, getting a taste of hip hop, the discipline that soon became his true love. "Why do I love hip hop? It's the groove, the vibe, the free expression-anything goes," he explains.

To develop his own style, Marty moved to L.A., where he initially stayed with friends and followed their lead, which meant going to lots of classes. Class time is still one of Marty's priorities (he regularly studies at L.A.'s EDGE and Millennium studios), but he admits that his biggest challenge is getting himself back to class right after an audition.

On the day of his first audition, he overslept. "It was five minutes before I had to be there, so I just rolled out of bed, put a beanie on my head and went," he says. A day that started out frazzled turned into the first of Marty's professional career. He got the job and became so close with the choreographer, GEO (who has danced with J-Lo, Britney and Pink), that they now consider each other brothers. "Basically, every big job I have done is with him," Marty says.

Not every audition has turned out so well for Marty, however. His most disappointing moment came after a four-hour audition for the *NSYNC music video Dirty Pop. Marty remembers, "I made it all the way to the end and the director came in and said, 'If you're still standing here, you have the job.' " But the feeling of bliss didn't last long. A couple of days later, Marty's agent broke the news: Management's decision to downsize the video had cut Marty out completely.

The setback didn't dampen his drive. He booked a later gig with *NSYNC, an experience he recalls fondly: "My most fun job was performing with *NSYNC at the MTV Awards in New York City. That's something I had dreamed of doing. My eyes were the size of baseballs." Marty also danced in a series of six Pepsi commercials with Britney and, at presstime, was shooting another Pepsi commercial with Beyoncé that was scheduled to air at the Super Bowl.

This year Marty's aspirations include booking a world tour. "I want to work with Usher," he says. He'd also like to share the stage with Justin Timberlake, Christina Aguilera and Janet Jackson: "Every dancer wants to dance with Janet," Marty says. He also hopes to continue to build a close relationship with his agents at Kazarian/Spencer & Associates. "I'm excited to do commercials, music videos, movies-anything and everything," he says. "Dance is my life."

Stay tuned this year and watch Dew get his due, as we check in with him each issue.