Kyle Van Newkirk of Henry, Nebraska is the young tap dancer competing on Jennifer Lopez’s televised dance competition World of Dance. Van Newkirk has already proved he has what it takes to win – he won the World Championships of Tap Dance in 2015. He says competing on World of Dance with the world’s greatest dancers of his generation was “absolutely ridiculous.” Van Newkirk also admits that of all three World of Dance judges — JLo, Ne-Yo, and Derek Hough — Hough is “most definitely” his favorite.
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It’s no wonder that Van Newkirk favors Derek Hough as a judge — Hough has a background in tap which he shows off in his “Kairos” video featuring violinist Lindsey Stirling. (See below.) World of Dance airs Tuesdays at 10pm on NBC.