Feature On CSUN Dancer

Antioch native dances into pop culture
By Jennifer Birkland
Brentwood Press

Antioch’s Tiffani Grant is no stranger to the stage. A dancer since age 8, she climbed the ranks in the distinguished Deer Valley High School dance program before graduating in 2004, is currently a member of the Cal State Northridge dance team, and is a working actor.

But recently, the 21-year-old danced her way onto the biggest stage of her career, landing a spot on the hit MTV series “Randy Jackson Presents: America’s Best Dance Crew 2.” She and her seven-person hip hop dance troop “Fanny Pak” are one of 10 crews from around the country vying for the title of “America’s Best Dance Crew” and a $100,000 cash prize.
Each week, crews battle it out live at Warner Brothers’ Studios in an effort to win over judges and the American public, whose votes decide who stays and who goes.

Grant, who majors in kinesiology at Cal State Northridge, is unavailable for comment until the show ends or her crew is eliminated. Every Thursday night her family and friends gather to watch her compete.

“It’s been so thrilling to watch her on TV,” said Grant’s mother, Dena. “She’s been working so hard for so long and it’s just great to see it all pay off. I’m so happy she’s living out her dream.”

Grant and her fellow Fanny Pak-ers met while taking dance classes together in Southern California and it wasn’t long before they were choreographing their own routines. Sporting their signature accessory, the fanny pack, and bright ’80s-style clothes, the dancers’ unique hip-hop style caught the attention of the judges, who selected their crew out of hundreds that auditioned.

In the show’s first episode, Fanny Pak found itself in the bottom two crews, in danger of elimination, but was spared by the judges.

To prevent another close-call, Grant’s family and friends are voting as often as possible once the live show ends.

In support of Grant, who choreographs all of her crew’s routines, the Deer Valley High School cheerleaders are enlisting the help of students to call, text or go online to vote for Fanny Pak.

“America’s Best Dance Crew 2” airs Thursdays at 10 p.m. on MTV. To vote or for more information about the show, visit www.mtv.com.