Dance | Shaping Sound

A battle of dark and light, portrayed through dance.

The camera pans over a backstage dressing room. Suddenly, two dancers glide into the frame, twirling into the hallway. Following through the backstage maze of The Ellen DeGeneres Show, incredibly flexible and energetic members of the Shaping Sound dance company lead us out to the set where DeGeneres is waiting.

"I got to do a tilt move behind Ellen's chair. I was so close, I could smell her hair," says Ricky Ubeda, the show's newest male cast member, taking a break from rehearsal in Los Angeles.

Last week on daytime television, the contemporary dance company showed just a glimmer of the moves they're bringing on tour — including a stop in Spokane on Friday. Of course, the company is used to being on TV. Oxygen's All the Right Moves showcased the inception of the talented crew following the lives of its four founders: Travis Wall (who won a choreography Emmy this year), Teddy Forance, Nick Lazzarini and Kyle Robinson.

Ubeda, the 2014 winner of So You Think You Can Dance, fresh from a run of On the Town on Broadway, says he was more than excited to join the group when Wall asked. That doesn't mean he isn't a little intimidated.

"Every member, these are people I've been inspired by," says Ubeda, originally from Miami. "I've taken classes from some of them since I was 12. I'm constantly inspired. Every time I watch the show, I fall in love with them."

At just 19, Ubeda is the baby of the crew, but there are many other SYTYCD alums to keep him company. Wall was a runner-up in Season 2 of the show and Lazzarini won the whole thing in the first season. This run of the tour features Kathryn McCormick, who took third place on Season 6, as the show's female lead.

The last few weeks have been packed with all-day rehearsals, perfecting choreography for the road show. Ubeda describes the performance as something out of a dream. There's a battle of dark and light, and the story moves from inspirational to sexy. But the show won't leave viewers in the dark for long.

"I'm not going to give it away, but it has a happy ending," Ubeda says.