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28 March 2024

'So You Think You Can Dance' winner jailed for domestic abuse

Photo: Getty Images

Published
By AFP

A winner of Fox's "So You Think You Can Dance" was jailed for a year Thursday for attacking his girlfriend and throwing a glass vase at another woman, prosecutors said.

Joshua Allen, 28, of North Hollywood, pleaded no contest to felony counts of willfully injuring his girlfriend after a prior conviction and assault with a deadly weapon, the Los Angeles County district attorney's office said in a statement which did not name the victims.

The 28-year-old dancer, who lives in North Hollywood, was sentenced to 12 months in a county jail with five years of formal probation. He was ordered to undergo a year of domestic violence counseling and to stay away from the victims for 10 years.

Allen was arrested for partially strangling his ex-girlfriend on April 13 last year, and two months later, while facing prosecution over the attack, chased her into a coffee shop as she was trying to get away from him.

He threw a glass vase at a woman who attempted to help his girlfriend and attacked another man who tried to intervene. The statement did not say whether the vase made contact or if either "good Samaritan" was wounded.

Allen, whose middle name is Demon, set about trashing the coffee shop until he was finally subdued by other onlookers, the prosecutor said.

The Texan native began dancing at the age of eight, perfecting pop legend Michael Jackson's iconic moonwalk.

He sailed through the final stages of season four of "So You Think You Can Dance" in 2008, performing in a range of styles, from hip-hop, samba and rumba to disco and jive.

Part of his prize was a role as a dancer in 2010 film "Step Up 3D" and he also appeared in the 2011 remake of dance movie "Footloose" as well as several commercials and TV shows including "Community" and "American Horror Story."