“When I dance, I’m telling the audience what’s going on in my mind,” said Mitchell. “It feels like a rush like when you are going on a ride. It’s like ‘Aagghh!’ I’m at my happiest point when I’m on the stage.”
Mitchell will perform on a national stage July 11 as he competes against 19 other contestants on the ninth season of the FOX reality series, “So You Think You Can Dance.” Following weeks of auditions, Mitchell was selected as one of the top 20 following a nationwide search. For the competition, Mitchell’s dance specialty is stepping.
“I love entertaining people and making them happy,” said Mitchell, a member of the Beta Nu Chapter of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity Inc. “You never know how you can make someone’s day. I feel like this is my purpose —to be out here and to touch people’s lives.”
Mitchell earned his bachelor’s degree in computer information systems in 2009.
“FAMU taught me that it’s really not about what you are doing, but how you are doing it, the legacy that you leave and the impact that you make on the community,” said Mitchell, a former member of the FAMU Strikers. “Students should know not to take anything for granted at FAMU. Everything you get from there, you will take in your field.”
A native of Kansas City, Kan., Mitchell said he discovered his potential in the art form in the sixth grade. He said he is humbled to go from where he started to where he is today. Mitchell cited his father for blessing him with his dancing ability, and praised his mother for the way she raised the family.
Mitchell, who has worked with singers Ciara, Kelly Rowland, Keyshia Cole and Jennifer Lopez, will appear in the upcoming movie, “Step Up Revolution.”
“So You Think You Can Dance” airs Wednesday, July 11, at 8 p.m., Eastern Standard Time. Following the weekly airing, viewers will have the opportunity to vote for their favorite dancers via telephone, text and online. The following week, on July 18, the three guys and three girls with the lowest number of votes will be revealed and the judges will decide which two dancers will be eliminated. In the end, the best male and female dancer will be crowned the season nine champs.