Eighteen year old Israel Donowa from Hackney in East London is one of the dancers selected by the So You Think You Can Dance judges as one of the top 10 guys to go through to the live shows on Saturday nights.

Israel auditioned as a street/hip hop dancer and for us, he has been the biggest surprise package of all the dancers in the competition this year. For a hip hop dancer he adapted surprisingly well to all the different style of dancing the judges threw at him at choreography camp.

Israel is currently in his third year at URDANG Academy, West London. Although he’s still training, he feels this shouldn’t stop him from taking every opportunity to audition or work and, as a result, Israel has already performed alongside big names including Flo Rida and Whitney Houston.

Israel shares a birthday with Michael Jackson, and is inspired by both his music and dancing. He was even cast in the Thriller tour but had to turn it down due to college commitments.

For us Israel is definitely one to watch this season. See him in action this Saturday evening on BBC 1.