MANILA, Philippines - Second chances are hard to come by and no one knows this more than final four contender in Fox’s So You Think You Can Dance, 22-year-old Marko Germar. In 2009, his life took a sudden turn when he got shot while being robbed at gunpoint. “Me getting shot, it changed my life,” he says.
Some journeys start on a rough step and Marko’s dance origins were no exception. “I was a street hip-hop dancer at about seven years old and I learned most of my tricks on pebbles and concrete and had many different injuries and stitches from it.”
At the age of 10, he took his act from the streets to the DANZJAZZ studio in Guam where he honed his skills in the art of ballet and jazz. In eighth grade, he chanced upon season one of So You Think You Can Dance. “I remember sitting on my bed doing my homework back in Guam and surfing through the channels and I came across this show and I remember seeing Blake McGrath doing his solo and Nick Lazzarini and seeing judges like Brian Friedman and Mia Michaels and I was like, ‘Wow.’” Both McGrath and Lazzarini were SYTYCD’s season one contestants; Friedman and Michaels, on the other hand, are both accomplished choreographers and dancers. “I was telling myself, ‘How cool would it be if one day I could be on this show?’ So eight years later, here I am (laughs). It’s been a dream come true.”
From the small island of Guam, he moved to L.A. in 2008 to pursue his dance career. When he was shot a year later in 2009, Marko says that traumatic experience gave him a better perspective on life. “The best way I could explain it is, imagine yourself in a car and you’re driving a straight path and outside is a lot of bad traffic; it’s raining, your windshield is foggy and it’s hard to see. Getting shot was finally turning my wipers on. There’s still traffic and rain outside, but I see things clearer now. I have a better view of where I’m going, so it definitely changed my life in that sense.” The bullet is still lodged in his arm, but he says that won’t ever stop him from dancing. In 2011, his path led him to a spot in season eight of So You Think You Can Dance.
There was no stopping Marko, who took the competition by storm. Him and his dance partner, Melanie Moore, were the only pair who made it in the top four and never dropped to bottom two status. Marko also became a season highlight with his top eight dance with SYTYCD season two dancer, Allison Holker. The emotional performance brought not only the audience to tears, but guest judge Lady Gaga as well.
“(The dance was) about feeling guilty for all the bad things that you’ve done in your life and my back story was saying sorry for not always being the best kid to my mom. It just so happened that my mom came and watched and it was all about her. I prayed before I went onstage with my partner Allison, and we just talked about the things that we’re grateful for and the things that we’re sorry for.” The choreographers and dancers had no idea that Marko’s mother would be watching his performance live for the first time that day. “I kept telling her [Holker] that I’m so so happy that my mom could get to watch this.”
It’s been a long journey for Marko, but he’s grateful for every minute of it, gushing that life is his ultimate muse. “If you ask me what one thing inspires me, it’s life. The good, the bad, the great and the worst.” With a strong spirit like Marko’s, it’s safe to say that this dancer extraordinaire won’t exit stage left anytime soon.