25 Facts About Lil Buck

Charles "Lil Buck" Riley was born on May 25,1988 and is an American dancer, actor and model from Memphis, Tennessee who specializes in a style of street dance called jookin.

Lil Buck gained popularity after director Spike Jonze used his cell phone to record an interpretive performance of "The Dying Swan" by Lil Buck and Yo-Yo Ma.

Lil Buck was born in Chicago and raised in Memphis.

Lil Buck discovered jookin when he was 12 years old after his older sister showed him some basic jookin dance moves in their living room.

Lil Buck studied ballet for two years while on scholarship at the New Ballet Ensemble in Memphis.

Lil Buck accepted the scholarship under the condition that he would not have to wear tights, but he eventually relented so that he could perform with the company.

Lil Buck explained the background of the piece on the way to a NBE school performance in West Memphis, Arkansas.

Lil Buck moved to Los Angeles when he was 19 to pursue a career in dance.

In 2011, director and former ballet dancer Damian Woetzel met Lil Buck and paired him with Yo-Yo Ma in "The Swan" performance that went viral on YouTube.

Woetzel invited Lil Buck to be the artist in residence at the 2011 Vail International Dance Festival.

Lil Buck paired Lil Buck with Yo-Yo Ma again for a performance at the 2011 US-China Forum on the Arts and Culture in Beijing.

Lil Buck was the first person in his family to travel outside of the United States.

Lil Buck's trip was documented in a short independent film titled Lil Buck Goes to China.

Lil Buck eventually joined The MDNA Tour as one of 22 dancers.

In 2012, Lil Buck was named one of Dance Magazine's "25 to Watch".

Lil Buck spent most of 2013 dancing in the Cirque du Soleil show Michael Jackson: One.

Lil Buck modeled men's clothing in an 8-page spread in GQ magazine titled "How to Kick Your Jeans Habit".

Lil Buck appeared on The Colbert Report and spoke at the Aspen Ideas Festival.

Lil Buck performed with Yo-Yo Ma a third time at an event directed by Woetzel and held at Poisson Rouge in New York City.

In March 2014, Lil Buck performed at the TEDxTeen conference in New York City.

Lil Buck was a guest judge on season 11 of So You Think You Can Dance.

Lil Buck performed in the opening credits for Spike Lee's 2014 film, Da Sweet Blood of Jesus.

Lil Buck modeled for French jeans retailer Kaporal and partnered with Versace to create a line of sneakers exclusively available online and at Versace's New York City store.

In 2016, Lil Buck collaborated with dancer Jon Boogz and artist Alexa Meade to create "Color of Reality", a video addressing gun violence.

Lil Buck is vegan and has seven brothers and sisters.