Dover's dancing airman is Air Force Entertainer of the Year

Marcus Ward started dancing when he was 7 years old when he'd try to emulate in front of a mirror the dancers he'd seen on TV.

Two decades later, that love of dancing has turned into something more than a hobby for the senior airman at Dover Air Force Base.

Ward's dance moves – seen by thousands of people online – earned the 27-year-old the title of 2017 Air Force Entertainer of the Year.

The dancing airman said he really doesn't have a signature move, but just follows his own thing.

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That path led to a $5,000 payday for Ward, who is with the 436th Aircraft Maintenance Squadron working on communication and navigation systems on C-5 aircraft.

"My style is abstract because I really don't focus on any certain style," he said. "There are moves I do all of the time, but there is no coined signature move."

His moves choreographed to the song "Walking with the Elephants" performed by Shakka featuring Frisco Rollin' were viewed by thousands online during the nationwide talent contest sponsored by the Air Force Services Activity.

The winner was chosen via online voting.

The video was shot in Graffiti Alley, a hidden alley in Baltimore that is a haven for graffiti artists. Ward and videographer David Greeves, whom the airman knew from school in his hometown of Arlington, Virginia, thought the location was perfect.

"I thought it would be a good background for the dance I was doing," Ward said.

Ward said it was interesting doing the video in such a public place because he had three wardrobe changes during the shoot.

"It was complicated because it was an alleyway and people would walk through," he said. "Some would stop and watch. One family gave me the thumbs up." 

The first round of the competition featured several categories in three groups. A panel of three entertainment industry professionals judged each act on technical excellence, showmanship and treatment and interpretation of the material. They selected category winners and runners-up as well as the three group winners.

AFSVA awarded each first-place act $1,000, and each second-place act $500. The group winners became the finalists, competing for a $3,000 prize.

The dancing airman said he wasn’t really surprised when it was announced he was the entertainer of the year because he knew with the kind of work he put in there would be positive results.

"I was excited, but a lot of other people were more excited for me," said Ward, who entered the contest last year and took home a $1,000 prize. "Last year, I didn’t put as much effort into it. This year, I was more focused on doing the best I can and it happened that way."

Ward said he didn't realize how big a deal winning was when he found out, but thinking about it since then, he realized it was a win for Dover Air Force Base.

"It's a big deal," he said. "Putting your base, or your squadron for that matter, on the map is a big deal because it gives light to the kind of people the squadron has and the people the base has. It was a good thing to be able to do that."

Now Ward says everywhere he goes people say, "Hey, aren't you the guy who won the contest?"

Tom Edwards, chief, Air Force Entertainment and a past winner in Air Force-level competitions as a dancer, said in a release that Ward is a strong contemporary dancer who utilizes numerous variations of today’s dance.

He said the dancing airman does about six different kinds of dance in his video, something the average viewer might not recognize.

At the beginning of the video, Ward is seen walking into Graffiti Alley listening to music on headphones and checking out his surroundings. Then suddenly, he breaks into a two-minute dance with his "non-signature" signature moves.

The video ends with a quote from the dancing airman: "It is common for men to walk amongst men, but few can walk amongst the elephants."

“The video was extremely creative," Edwards said in the release. "He incorporated multiple styles of music and dance into a performance that would appeal to the masses rather than one particular group. His performance was well thought out and deserving of entertainer of the year and video of the year."

Ward was up against two other finalists from bases in Texas and South Dakota. The competition was open to active-duty airmen, Air National Guardsmen, Air Force Reserve members, and members of their immediate families.

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Ward said he is already making plans to make another video and enter other competitions, perhaps ones on a national scale that could launch a professional dance career.

"I'll maybe look at competitions in New Jersey and D.C.," he said. "People have mentioned to me 'So You Think You Can Dance' and 'America’s Got Talent' and things like that. I’ve thought about those, but I just never have found time to do it. But if I focus on it and actually put my mind to it, I probably could be competitive there as well."

As for turning professional, Ward said he's been trying to do that for a while now. He's not sure if he wants to have his own studio or work for an artist as a backup dancer.

"It's hard to get into that realm without a background in dance," he said. "That's what I'm doing now." 

Ward said right now he is just happy to be able to perform and express his "God-given" talent and abilities. As for who he would like to dance with or for, his answer is simple.

"When the opportunity comes, if I get it, it doesn’t matter who it is. I’ll take it," he said.

Reach Jerry Smith at jsmith17@delawareonline.com. Follow him on Twitter at @JerrySmithTNJ.