By now, you’ve probably heard the news that Stephen “tWitch” Boss has died at 40. To be honest, I’ve been grappling with it for hours. Because I don’t know how to write this. I don’t know how to say what this man’s art meant to me, much less so many others. And I don’t know how to even begin to express condolences, or sympathy, or concern…or anything, really, for the family he’s left behind. Especially not when that family includes a wife whose art, for the past 17 years (what even is time?) since she became a part of the So You Think You Can Dance legacy, has also been a lifeline to so many.
But I know what I’m damned well not going to do. I know what absolutely zero of us should be doing. And yet, there are far too many articles out here doing exactly all the wrong things. No, we’re not reducing man, this husband, this father, this dancer, this absolute lover of dance and pure joy to experience cheering on other dancers…down to “Ellen DeGeneres’ DJ.”
And we’re also not going to sensationalize his death and report on far too many details of it. Here’s to side-eyeing a certain gossip site that always absolutely has to be first with celebrity death news…
But this is also not the time or the place for a conversation about those people. Nope.
So, here’s what we’re going to do instead.
We’re going to tell you that tWitch was a shining example of what it is to be a dancer. To express so many things through the art, through your body, and with absolutely every element of your soul left screaming and raw for others to witness. Of what it is to hear “no, not this time” and come back, better than ever, to not only hear “yes. Congratulations” but to also steal the show. Not just the show you auditioned for…but many, many years of shows after that.
And I’m going to tell you, even on one of the roughest seasons of SYTCYD to date, tWitch made it worth tuning in week after week. Why? Because there was nothing like hearing him get excited about what other dancers were doing. There was nothing like watching him, unable to stop his body from moving and just destined and inspired to dance along.
There was no one like him, in so many ways. And that’s coming from someone who only ever “knew” him through his art. Only knowing that piece of him is enough to be deeply saddened by this loss, to know that SYTYCD and a number of other spaces may never be the same.
I can’t fathom what it’s like right now to have really known him. And I can’t begin to imagine what his light was like, how brightly it might have burned, up close.
There may never be real answers on what caused that light to burn out. Nor is it the public’s place to come up with a theory for clicks.
Instead, what we should do is simply this: Check out literally any of his performances on SYTCYD. Or on his TikTok profile (for as long as it may stay up). Get festive with tWitch, Allison, and so many other familiar faces in Disney+’s The Hip Hop Nutcracker. Read the words of people who actually knew him or, at the very least, the people who knew he wasn’t just Ellen’s DJ.
And grab onto those little moments that bring you joy, those little moments where you hit that groove. Then, hold on tight. Try not to let go.
Whenever I see someone just…loving dance, I’ll think of Stephen “tWitch” Boss. And whenever I see something innovative that blows my mind, I’ll know he would’ve been the first one to cheer that artist on.
If you, or someone you know, is in need of help. Please reach out. In the U.S., dial the “988” for the National Suicide & Crisis Lifeline, or visit any of these additional resources.