Justin M. Lewis, a master tap choreographer, paired up with his student, then six-year-old Luke Spring for a tap-dancing routine. Luke, who is a dance prodigy, outshined his partner at the 2011 D.C. Tap Festival.
Justin M. Lewis and Luke Spring are a teacher-student duo who have been tap dancing together for years. They started training together back in 2009 and have been an item ever since.
According to this website, Justin decided to be a dancer when he was 5 years old, after watching the 1989 movie Tap with his grandfather. He went on to win many awards for his choreography, including being nominated for “Best Tap Routine of the Year” in 2014. He was also awarded the honor to have his choreography performed at the “Young Choreographers Festival”, in 2015, among many others.
When Justin was first introduced to Luke, he asked:
“How do I teach a prodigy and make him better than he already is? That has been an age-old question.”
Luke is from Ashburn, Virginia. According to The Washington Post, Luke is one of the best dancers in North America. Like Justing, he discovered his passion at a young age— while visiting his older sisters’ dance studio. He is currently 15 years-old.
For this performance at the 2011 D.C. Tap Festival, the two wore matching outfits: white button-downs, black pants, and black ties. The well-dressed gentlemen shook hands and began their incredible routine which got the crowd cheering almost instantly.
About a minute into their routine, they broke into a call-and-response segment where the two would take turns to dance to one another as if they were communicating with their tapping
The consensus is that Luke had won that round, especially since he is dancing alongside his teacher, who is much older than he is. Nonetheless, it was a display of great teamwork between master and protege.
Justin says he plans to continue spreading the love and joy for tap dance in efforts to make it a stronger, more innovative art form.