Essence Wilmington is fresh off the latest season (season 17) of the hit television show So You Think You Can Dance, placing 3rd. Essence, dancer and choreographer, started her training at the age of 9 taking mostly hip-hop courses. Growing up in a small town did not present many dance opportunities so Essence continued her dance journey being self taught online and by attending large hip-hop dance conventions in bigger cities around the country. The passion Essence had for hip-hop dance gave her the burning desire to start her own classes at the age of 12. She taught and choreographed for local dance students around her community and branded her dance team “Essence W. Dance”, that is still ran by Essence today. Essence helps introduce her dance students to the hip-hop dance world by taking them to national hip-hop conventions to take class from industry teachers and compete againt other great dancers around the country. She has and continues to work with many choreographers in the industry that have worked with huge music artist such as Chris Brown, Beyoncé, Nicki Minaj, and many more. Essence continues to make her mark on the dance world one step at a time.