Napoleon and Tabitha D'umo facts for kids
Napoleon Buddy D'umo (born October 17, 1968) and Tabitha A. D'umo (born September 11, 1973) are a husband-and-wife team. They are famous choreographers, often called Nappytabs. They are known for creating a dance style called lyrical hip-hop. They have worked together in dance since 1996. They are most famous for their dances on the TV show So You Think You Can Dance. They were nominated for an Emmy Award in 2009 for their amazing work on the show. Napoleon and Tabitha also helped lead the choreography for MTV's America's Best Dance Crew for its first five seasons.
Napoleon and Tabitha started their careers in Las Vegas while still in college. They created dances for shows put on by big companies. After moving to Los Angeles, they began teaching hip-hop dance. They also choreographed for professional sports teams, like the Orlando Magic and the Dallas Cowboys. Their work grew to include music videos, commercials, movies, and concerts. They have worked with stars like Missy Elliott, Celine Dion, Kanye West, Ricky Martin, and Jennifer Lopez. They have also created dances for Cirque Du Soleil shows. Besides dancing and teaching, they direct concert tours and live events. They even have their own dance clothing line called Nappytabs.
Contents
Early Life and Dance Beginnings
Napoleon's Journey to Dance
Napoleon grew up in Victorville, California. He learned to dance by traveling to Los Angeles and spending time with b-boys. These are dancers who perform breakdancing. In 1984, he was even an extra in the movie Breakin' 2: Electric Boogaloo. After high school, Napoleon joined the US military and went to Germany. When he finished his military service, he went to the University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV). He studied a science subject called molecular biology. In college, Napoleon started taking jazz and modern dance classes. He later earned a full scholarship to join the university's dance team.
Tabitha's Dance Path
Tabitha grew up in Galloway, New Jersey. Her mother enrolled her in jazz dance classes when she was young. Since there were no hip-hop classes, Tabitha learned by watching music videos. She also joined her high school's cheer and dance teams. She says Michael Jackson, Janet Jackson, and Paula Abdul were big influences on her. After high school, Tabitha moved to Nevada to attend UNLV. She studied communications and began taking hip-hop dance classes. This is where she met Napoleon, her future husband.
Starting Their Dance Partnership
Tabitha and Napoleon began working together professionally in 1996. They were still in college and part of a dance group called Culture Shock. With Culture Shock, they choreographed many "industrial musicals." These were shows for employees of companies like Nike and Levi. They were meant to entertain and motivate the workers. Tabitha had planned to work in public relations, and Napoleon wanted to go to medical school. But when they graduated, they both decided to follow a career in dance instead.
Nappytabs' Amazing Career
Creating Dances for Stars
Napoleon and Tabitha have created dances for many sports teams, movies, and TV shows. They have choreographed for NFL and NBA dance teams. These include the Dallas Cowboys, Denver Broncos, Chicago Bulls, and Orlando Magic. They have also worked with famous people like Sean Kingston, Jennifer Lopez, Carrie Underwood, Celine Dion, Missy Elliott, Destiny's Child, and Timbaland.
From 2008 to 2010, Napoleon and Tabitha were the main choreographers for America's Best Dance Crew. In 2008, they also joined the dance team for Fox's So You Think You Can Dance (SYTYCD). It was on this show that their special lyrical hip-hop style became very popular. The term "lyrical hip-hop" was first used by SYTYCD judge Adam Shankman. He used it after seeing a dance by Napoleon and Tabitha to Leona Lewis' song "Bleeding Love".
The great thing about this show is that we've really explored a totally new thing which is lyrical hip-hop and [Tabitha and Napoleon] nail it. This show has shown that hip-hop is just a completely legitimate beautiful genre in and of its own and you can tell such beautiful and heart breaking stories.
—Adam Shankman
This "Bleeding Love" dance was nominated for an Emmy Award in 2009. Tabitha once said that they always create dances with a story in mind. The story helps them decide the movements and feelings they want to show. She explained, "We listen to the song over and over and over and finally we find that skeleton and then we can start preparing some steps."
In April 2009, they choreographed three dances for So You Think You Can Dance Australia. A judge on that show called their "Dead and Gone" lyrical hip-hop routine the best of the season. Later that year, they created the opening dance for The Ellen DeGeneres Show. This performance featured Ellen DeGeneres herself and the top 10 dancers from SYTYCD season five.
In February 2010, Tabitha and Napoleon choreographed the Viva ELVIS show for Cirque Du Soleil in Las Vegas. They also choreographed a hip-hop routine for a concert in Seattle. In September, they choreographed a TV show pilot called MOBBED. The next year, MOBBED became a full series, and they choreographed ten more episodes.
Teaching Dance to Others
Napoleon and Tabitha spend a lot of time teaching dance classes. They teach at dance studios and at big dance events called conventions. They have taught hip-hop dance at places like Millennium Dance Complex and the Edge Performing Arts Center. They have also taught at major dance conventions like Monsters of Hip Hop. They were even guest teachers in Moscow, Russia, and judges at the 2009 Australian Hip Hop Championships in Sydney.
Directing Big Shows
Most of Napoleon and Tabitha's work is in choreography and teaching. But they also help direct tours and live events. Creative directors are in charge of the overall design, vision, and theme of a show. In 2006 and 2007, they were assistant creative directors for Christina Aguilera’s Back to Basics Tour. They also worked on Ricky Martin’s Black and White Tour. In 2008, they helped direct Celine Dion's Taking Chances Tour and Kanye West’s Glow in the Dark Tour. They were the lead creative directors for Monsters of Hip Hop: The Show, the So You Think You Can Dance Tour, and America's Best Dance Crew Live.
In 2009, they directed the second So You Think You Can Dance Tour. In 2010, they directed the Jabbawockeez' MÜS.I.C show in Las Vegas. In 2013, Tabitha and Napoleon directed a new show for the Jabbawockeez called PRiSM.
Special Projects and Products
Napoleon and Tabitha have their own dance clothing line called Nappytabs. It was one of the first clothing lines made just for hip-hop dancers. They created it because there weren't many good dance clothes for urban hip-hop dancers. You can buy Nappytabs clothing at certain dance stores, big dance conventions, online, and at their store and dance studio in North Hollywood.
In 2007, Tabitha hosted an exercise DVD called Drop it with Dance. The video has six 10-minute routines that get harder as you go. All the moves are combined in the final "Showtime" part. Tabitha also appeared in Rock Your Body, a dance/fitness DVD hosted by choreographer Jamie King.
Napoleon and Tabitha were also in a dance documentary called MOVE. This movie is about dance as an art form. It shows how famous choreographers turned their dance hobby into a career. Over fifty dance professionals were in this movie, including director Kenny Ortega.
Awards and Special Recognition
In 2009, Tabitha and Napoleon were nominated for an Emmy Award. This was for their lyrical hip-hop dance "Bleeding Love" on So You Think You Can Dance. On September 10, 2011, they won an Emmy Award! They won for three dances they choreographed on season seven: "Scars", "Fallin'", and "Outta Your Mind". Three months before that, Entertainment Weekly magazine listed their four dances as some of the "25 Best Performances Ever" on the show.
On July 3, 2013, Tabitha and Napoleon won a Dancers' Choice Award. This was for their work on the TV shows Mobbed, American Idol, and So You Think You Can Dance. In the same month, they were nominated for another Emmy Award. This time it was for three dances on season nine of So You Think You Can Dance: "Love Cats", "Beautiful People", and "Call Of The Wild".
On August 17, 2014, they won their second Emmy Award. This was for their amazing work on season ten of So You Think You Can Dance.
Images for kids
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The original Nappytabs dancewear logo.
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Tabitha and Napoleon in 2011 at the world premiere of Iris by Cirque du Soleil.
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K-pop singer BoA performing in 2009 at San Francisco Pride.
