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Orlando Lucas has been dancing through life since before he even reached double digits, and it didn’t take long for him to turn that passion into a career. It’s not exactly easy to wade through the waters of Hollywood and professionally dance as a kid, but Lucas was up for the challenge.
Since his break(dance)through, the professional dancer, actor, and social media influencer has amassed a significant amount of international experience, viral success, and notable appearances in film and TV alongside award-winning actors. It’s always refreshing to see a child star thrive years later in such a difficult industry, and that’s precisely what Lucas is doing.
Lucas’ dance, dance evolution
During Lucas’ impressive dance career, he honed his skills in hip hop, Afro, breaking, popping, lightfeet, house, and freestyle dance. Along with his social media dance work, Lucas has been with the New Zealand-based Identity Dance Company (IDCO) since 2024.
There, he won gold medals at international dance competitions such as the World Dance Crew Championships Pacific Qualifiers and the Upgrade Australia Competition. Lucas along with his crew is representing New Zealand at the upcoming World Dance Crew Championship finals taking place in Auckland from April 14th to 19th. He also performed during the opening and closing showcases at the World of Dance Finals, Flip the Switch in Los Angeles, and danced several numbers at the Identity Dance Company show in Gold Coast, Australia.
Of course, to become the best, you have to be trained by the best. Lucas has worked with a slew of high-profile choreographers like Riley Bourne, Kirsten Dodgen, and Joshua Cesan throughout his career. Training is never done for a dancer, and these experts have helped him continually hone and grow his skills.
Before Lucas’ time with IDCO, he had several other dance affiliations, including Vancouver’s Fresh Groove Productions, where he trained under the tutelage of Mark Dogillo and Travis Lim to become a two-time finalist at Hip Hop International. With the New York-based Apollo Theater, Lucas was a backup dancer for Showtime at the Apollo during a performance by Capri Everitt.
The big and small screen
On top of dancing, Lucas has a wide array of acting credits under his belt, with his resume amassing numerous titles at just 8 years old. Notably, Lucas played the son of Vincent D’Onofrio and Academy Award-winning actress Viola Davis alongside Sandra Bullock in Netflix’s The Unforgivable.
He also had appearances in Altered Carbon, Big Sky River, iZombie, and Zoo. In addition to his live-action experience, Lucas has flexed his voice-acting skills in animated shows like StarBeam, The Hollow, and Powerbirds.
Becoming a social media icon
Lucas’ on-screen success also includes phone screens. The dancer and actor has amassed 1.8 M+ followers on TikTok and 163K+ on Instagram, where he collaborates with other influencers and creates viral choreography.
The actor, dancer, and social media savant doesn’t just create dance content, brand collaborations, and promotional campaigns on social channels. He also publicizes press from film premieres and promotes upcoming productions. Additionally, Lucas is a dance ambassador for Shluv Academy in collaboration with Michael Le. Together, the duo contributes to dance education and community engagement.
It’s integral for young people to have a positive role model to look up to. With Lucas’ dance, film, TV, and social media success, kids can learn from his initiative and follow their own dreams and passions.
