THE DANCING DIVA : Lauren Gottlieb

JUDGE, GRAND FINALE

Have you ever seen someone dance and been so mesmerized that you have had to stop and wonder, “How do they do that?” That's the feeling one gets when they watch Lauren Gottlieb dance gracefully (almost poetically) on stage. The charming and the extremely-talented dance diva, Lauren Gottlieb is one of the three grand finale judges for the second season of McDonald's Dance USA Dance.

Lauren's journey in the world of dance is nothing less than extraordinary. It all started with season 3 of 'So You Think You Can Dance', a dance competition reality show in the United States that airs on Fox. That is when the mass television audience of America and the world witnessed a rising star who not only captivated the viewers with the charisma of her dance moves but also her personality, equipped with expressions hinting a seasoned actor soon to be unleashed.  Amidst all the much-deserved applauses and accolades, she made it to the final six contestants of that season.

Lauren's contribution to SYTYCD was much more than just being a contestant. Her remarkable association with the show spanned eight years(2005 to 2012). Before participating as a contestant for season 3, Lauren was an assistant to choreographer Tyce Diorio during the second season too. She further assisted Tyce Diorio, Tabitha and Napoleon D'umo, and Mia Michaels during seasons four, five, and six respectively. For the season five audition tour, she traveled as the choreographer for the "choreography round". Calling no halt, the show observed her return as an 'All Star' dancer for seasons 7, 8 and 9.

During this period which established her as a noted contemporary dancer, she also performed with famed billboard names like Shakira, Enrique Iglesias, Britney Spears, Rihanna, Willow Smith, Mariah Carey, Carrie Underwood and Sean Kingston.

As a professional dancer and choreographer, Gottlieb trained Tom Cruise for the American Music Awards. However, this was not her first time with the actor. In the past, she gave private dance lessons to Cruise and his then wife, Katie Holmes. She has also been a trainer to Tobey Maguire. From cameos and guest appearances to more notable roles, Lauren featured in Ghost Whisperer. This was her first T.V. show as an actor in 2005, followed by Make it or break it (2009) and CSI: Crime Scene Investigation(2010). She was seen as a dancer in another show Glee (2009). From 2008 to 2011, she acted in movies like Disaster Movie (2008), Bring It On: Fight to the Finish (2009), Hannah Montana: The Movie (2009), Alvin and the Chipmunks: Chip Wrecked (2011).

Adept in jazz, contemporary, hip-hop, ballroom and a few more styles, Lauren came to India in March 2012 and spent a couple of months learning Hindi and dance forms prevalent in Bollywood. Gottlieb appeared in the 6th season of an Indian dance reality show called Jhalak Dikhla Jaa (2013). This was the Indian version of American T.V. series 'Dancing With the Stars'. Partnering with choreographer Punit Pathak, she was the runner-up of that season. She also participated in season 7 of another Indian dance reality show, Jhalak Dikhla Jaa (2014) with Salman Yusuff Khan. But it was finally with the 3D dance film 'ABCD: Any Body Can Dance' in 2013, when Lauren became a celebrated icon of dance, nationwide. Directed by choreographer Remo D'Souza, she played the lead role in the movie. Lauren also made a name for herself in the seventh season of 'Bigg Boss', an Indian TV reality series.