Kherington Payne

Kherington Taylor Payne (born January 26, 1990) is an American dancer and actress who came to prominence as a Top 10 Finalist in Season 4 of the hit reality-dance show So You Think You Can Dance and in a role in the 2009 reinvention of the movie Fame. She has been a principal dancer for Katy Perry, and was a lead cast member on E! reality docu-drama The Dance Scene. Payne was also briefly a member of the third line-up of the girl group The Pussycat Dolls. She was a choreographer on the YouTube show Dance Showdown. Personal life Payne was born in Whittier, California and raised in Placentia, California. She is the daughter of Sheri Ashe (née Bigcraft), an elementary school teacher. Her parents divorced when she was young, and her mother remarried. She has one younger half-sister, Delaney. She has been taking formal dance lessons since she was 2 years old at Dance Precisions, located in Placentia. She graduated from El Dorado High School on June 10, 2008 and now lives in Placentia, California while pursuing her dance career. Payne specializes in contemporary jazz, and is also trained in lyrical, ballet, pointe and gymnastics. Apart from dance, she is also an avid soccer fan who has played for many years. Career So You Think You Can Dance In 2008, Payne competed on Season 4 of the hit reality-dance show So You Think You Can Dance. After being the youngest competitor selected to be a part of the Top 20 that year, the then 18-year-old contemporary/jazz dancer was paired up with hip-hop dancer Stephen 'tWitch' Boss. The duo, also known as "Twitchington", performed many memorable routines and were extremely popular with audiences. Having made the Top 10, Payne later toured the country that fall with her fellow season 4 "IV REAL" finalists. Post-SYTYCD After the show she went on to play a reform school girl with fellow Season 4 contestants Katee Shean and Comfort Fedoke in the "Bootylicious" number in the "Hairography" episode of the television show Glee. She later starred as Alice Ellerton in the 2009 reinvention of the movie Fame, which opened in theaters in September 2009. Payne also appeared as a checkout girl in the indie-movie musical Leading Ladies, starring Melanie LaPatin and Benji Schwimmer. In early 2010, Payne performed as a backup dancer for Katy Perry at the 2010 MTV Movie Awards, and was also featured prominently in the music video for Perry's summer smash-hit 'California Gurls' as the 'Peppermint Girl'. In May, Payne was announced as a new member of the Pussycat Dolls, but her absence during later shows led many to believe that she'd left the group. In June, Payne played the role of Potiphar's wife. in a production of Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, at the Lincoln Theater in Napa Valley. In early August, Payne danced with Diddy-Dirty Money at the Teen Choice Awards, to their hit track 'Hello Good Morning'.