Jeffrey Vinokur
Encyclopedia
Jeffrey Vinokur who also goes by the stage name The Dancing Scientist, is an American science educator
known for combining the hip hop dance genre of popping
with live science demonstrations. He has performed his science and dance act on America's Got Talent
and at venues such as the Liberty Science Center
, the Maryland Science Center
, the Saint Louis Science Center, the World Science Festival
, and the grand opening of the Wisconsin Institutes for Discovery
. He has also appeared on CW 11 News
CBS News
, and Fox 2 News
. His mentors include physicist Clint Sprott
. In 2009 he founded the Madison Dance Conference at the University of Wisconsin–Madison, and his online Popping videos have accumulated over 10 million hits.
to Russian
parents. He developed an interest in science while attending school, first at Fieldstone Middle School
and then Pascack Hills High School
.
While a senior in high school he began watching online videos and DVDs on hip hop dancing, and after six months of practice traveled to New York City
, where he learned the sub-genre of hip-hop dancing "popping
" from dancers such as Jazzy J of The Electric Boogaloos, Dementia of ABM Crew, Future Ninja of House of Ninja, and Hit Master Fish of G-Style. Afterwards he began posting instructional dance videos on YouTube
under the username "TheRussianTiger," and the videos have since garnered millions of views.
In 2008 Vinokur began attending the University of Wisconsin–Madison as a biochemistry
major. While in college he founded the dance group Freestyle Funk Sessions, began leading the campus dance crew Rhythm Per Second, and in fall of 2009 founded the Madison Dance Conference.
professor Bassam Shakhashiri
for help creating a safe performance, and within two weeks developed an act to audition for the fifth season
of America's Got Talent
. Vinokur also consulted with chemist Jim Maynard on how to safely incorporate features such as hydrogen
-filled balloons that explode near a flame.
Vinokur successfully auditioned in front of the executive producers in Atlanta
, being called back to perform his routine in Chicago
. After making the top 100, he performed on air in front of Howie Mandel
, Sharon Osbourne
, and Piers Morgan
in Las Vegas. He appeared in episodes 508, 511, and 512.
in New Jersey
, Maryland Science Center
in Baltimore, Maryland, the Saint Louis Science Center in Saint Louis, MO, and over twenty schools. He also performed at the World Science Festival
on June 5, 2011 in Washington Square Park
, and at the grand opening of the Wisconsin Institutes for Discovery
. He was also featured in a "Wonder of Physics" show put on by UW Physics
professor and mentor Clint Sprott
.
in Saint Louis
, CBS News
in Milwaukee, Wisconsin
, and Fox 2 News
in Saint Louis. He also performs a monthly segment on the CBS News in Madison, Wisconsin.
, polymers, careers in science, acids and bases, and others. Common demonstrations involved adding catalysts to make hydrogen peroxide
burst into foam, dancing on a mixture of cornstarch
and water, using an Airzooka to demonstrate air movement with rings of fog, exploding balloons, glow in the dark hands to illustrate chemiluminescence.
at the University of Wisconsin–Madison.
Science education
Science education is the field concerned with sharing science content and process with individuals not traditionally considered part of the scientific community. The target individuals may be children, college students, or adults within the general public. The field of science education comprises...
known for combining the hip hop dance genre of popping
Popping
Popping is a street dance and one of the original funk styles that came from California during the 1960s-70s. It is based on the technique of quickly contracting and relaxing muscles to cause a jerk in the dancer's body, referred to as a pop or a hit...
with live science demonstrations. He has performed his science and dance act on America's Got Talent
America's Got Talent (season 5)
The fifth season of America's Got Talent, an American television reality show talent competition, premiered in the United States on the NBC network and on Canada's Global on June 1, 2010...
and at venues such as the Liberty Science Center
Liberty Science Center
Liberty Science Center is an interactive science museum and learning center located in Liberty State Park in Jersey City, New Jersey.The center, which first opened in 1993 as New Jersey's first major state science museum, has science exhibits, the largest IMAX Dome theater in the United States,...
, the Maryland Science Center
Maryland Science Center
The Maryland Science Center, located in Baltimore's Inner Harbor, opened to the public in 1976. It includes three levels of exhibits, a planetarium, and an observatory. It was one of the original structures that drove the revitalization of the Baltimore Inner Harbor from its industrial roots to a...
, the Saint Louis Science Center, the World Science Festival
World Science Festival
The World Science Festival is a science festival held in New York City that is held annually in the summer. The 2008 inaugural festival was held May 28 – June 1 and consisted mainly of panel discussions and on-stage conversations, accompanied by multimedia presentations.The festival was the...
, and the grand opening of the Wisconsin Institutes for Discovery
Wisconsin Institutes for Discovery
The Wisconsin Institutes for Discovery is a public-private biomedical research partnership that is located on the University of Wisconsin–Madison campus. It consists of two institutions: the privately funded Morgridge Institute for Research, and the publicly funded Wisconsin Institute for...
. He has also appeared on CW 11 News
KPLR-TV
KPLR-TV, channel 11, is a television station in St. Louis, Missouri. KPLR is owned by the Tribune Company, and is an affiliate of The CW Television Network. The station's studios are located in Maryland Heights, Missouri, in Northwest St. Louis County KPLR-TV, channel 11, is a television station...
CBS News
CBS News
CBS News is the news division of American television and radio network CBS. The current chairman is Jeff Fager who is also the executive producer of 60 Minutes, while the current president of CBS News is David Rhodes. CBS News' flagship program is the CBS Evening News, hosted by the network's main...
, and Fox 2 News
KTVI
KTVI, virtual channel 2, is the Fox-affiliated television station serving the St. Louis, Missouri, designated market area. The station is owned by Local TV LLC, the media arm of private equity firm Oak Hill Capital Partners, under a local marketing agreement with Tribune-owned CW affiliate KPLR...
. His mentors include physicist Clint Sprott
Clint Sprott
Julien Clinton Sprott is a professor of physics who teaches at the University of Wisconsin–Madison.- Biography :Clint Sprott was born on 16 September 1942 in Memphis, Tennessee. He earned his bachelor's degree from MIT in 1964 and his Ph.D. in physics from the University of Wisconsin–Madison in 1969...
. In 2009 he founded the Madison Dance Conference at the University of Wisconsin–Madison, and his online Popping videos have accumulated over 10 million hits.
Early life
Jeffrey Vinokur was born in 1990 and raised in Montvale, New JerseyMontvale, New Jersey
Montvale is a borough in Bergen County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the borough population was 7,844.Montvale was incorporated as a borough on August 31, 1894, from portions of Orvil Township and Washington Township, at the height of the "Boroughitis" craze then...
to Russian
Russians
The Russian people are an East Slavic ethnic group native to Russia, speaking the Russian language and primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries....
parents. He developed an interest in science while attending school, first at Fieldstone Middle School
Montvale Public Schools
The Montvale Public Schools are a comprehensive community public School district that serves students in pre-Kindergarten through eighth grade in Montvale, in Bergen County, New Jersey, United States....
and then Pascack Hills High School
Pascack Hills High School
Pascack Hills High School is a four-year comprehensive public high school, one of two high schools that are part of the Pascack Valley Regional High School District in Bergen County, New Jersey. PHHS serves the residents of both Montvale, where the campus is located, and the neighboring community...
.
While a senior in high school he began watching online videos and DVDs on hip hop dancing, and after six months of practice traveled to New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
, where he learned the sub-genre of hip-hop dancing "popping
Popping
Popping is a street dance and one of the original funk styles that came from California during the 1960s-70s. It is based on the technique of quickly contracting and relaxing muscles to cause a jerk in the dancer's body, referred to as a pop or a hit...
" from dancers such as Jazzy J of The Electric Boogaloos, Dementia of ABM Crew, Future Ninja of House of Ninja, and Hit Master Fish of G-Style. Afterwards he began posting instructional dance videos on YouTube
YouTube
YouTube is a video-sharing website, created by three former PayPal employees in February 2005, on which users can upload, view and share videos....
under the username "TheRussianTiger," and the videos have since garnered millions of views.
In 2008 Vinokur began attending the University of Wisconsin–Madison as a biochemistry
Biochemistry
Biochemistry, sometimes called biological chemistry, is the study of chemical processes in living organisms, including, but not limited to, living matter. Biochemistry governs all living organisms and living processes...
major. While in college he founded the dance group Freestyle Funk Sessions, began leading the campus dance crew Rhythm Per Second, and in fall of 2009 founded the Madison Dance Conference.
Science shows
In January 2010 he was given the idea to combine science demonstrations and hip hop dancing into a stage show by a stranger on an airplane. Vinokur contacted UW ChemistryChemistry
Chemistry is the science of matter, especially its chemical reactions, but also its composition, structure and properties. Chemistry is concerned with atoms and their interactions with other atoms, and particularly with the properties of chemical bonds....
professor Bassam Shakhashiri
Bassam Shakhashiri
Bassam Shakhashiri is a professor of Chemistry at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, and the author of multiple books of chemical demonstrations.-Early years:...
for help creating a safe performance, and within two weeks developed an act to audition for the fifth season
America's Got Talent (season 5)
The fifth season of America's Got Talent, an American television reality show talent competition, premiered in the United States on the NBC network and on Canada's Global on June 1, 2010...
of America's Got Talent
America's Got Talent
America's Got Talent is an American reality television series on the NBC television network, and part of the global British Got Talent franchise. It is a talent show that features singers, dancers, magicians, comedians, and other performers of all ages competing for the advertised top prize of...
. Vinokur also consulted with chemist Jim Maynard on how to safely incorporate features such as hydrogen
Hydrogen
Hydrogen is the chemical element with atomic number 1. It is represented by the symbol H. With an average atomic weight of , hydrogen is the lightest and most abundant chemical element, constituting roughly 75% of the Universe's chemical elemental mass. Stars in the main sequence are mainly...
-filled balloons that explode near a flame.
Vinokur successfully auditioned in front of the executive producers in Atlanta
Atlanta, Georgia
Atlanta is the capital and most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia. According to the 2010 census, Atlanta's population is 420,003. Atlanta is the cultural and economic center of the Atlanta metropolitan area, which is home to 5,268,860 people and is the ninth largest metropolitan area in...
, being called back to perform his routine in Chicago
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
. After making the top 100, he performed on air in front of Howie Mandel
Howie Mandel
Howard Michael "Howie" Mandel is a Canadian stand-up comedian, television host, and actor. He is well known as host of the NBC game show Deal or No Deal, as well as the show's daytime and Canadian-English counterparts. Before his career as a game show host, Mandel was best known for his role on...
, Sharon Osbourne
Sharon Osbourne
Sharon Rachel Osbourne is an English television host, author, music manager, businesswoman and promoter as well as the wife of heavy metal singer-songwriter Ozzy Osbourne....
, and Piers Morgan
Piers Morgan
Piers Stefan Pughe-Morgan , known professionally as Piers Morgan, is a British journalist and television presenter. He is editorial director of First News, a national newspaper for children....
in Las Vegas. He appeared in episodes 508, 511, and 512.
Touring
In May 2011 Vinokur embarked on a nation-wide tour of his show dubbed "So You Think You Can Do Science?" The tour was sponsored by the science company Fotodyne Inc. Stops included the Liberty Science CenterLiberty Science Center
Liberty Science Center is an interactive science museum and learning center located in Liberty State Park in Jersey City, New Jersey.The center, which first opened in 1993 as New Jersey's first major state science museum, has science exhibits, the largest IMAX Dome theater in the United States,...
in New Jersey
New Jersey
New Jersey is a state in the Northeastern and Middle Atlantic regions of the United States. , its population was 8,791,894. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York, on the southeast and south by the Atlantic Ocean, on the west by Pennsylvania and on the southwest by Delaware...
, Maryland Science Center
Maryland Science Center
The Maryland Science Center, located in Baltimore's Inner Harbor, opened to the public in 1976. It includes three levels of exhibits, a planetarium, and an observatory. It was one of the original structures that drove the revitalization of the Baltimore Inner Harbor from its industrial roots to a...
in Baltimore, Maryland, the Saint Louis Science Center in Saint Louis, MO, and over twenty schools. He also performed at the World Science Festival
World Science Festival
The World Science Festival is a science festival held in New York City that is held annually in the summer. The 2008 inaugural festival was held May 28 – June 1 and consisted mainly of panel discussions and on-stage conversations, accompanied by multimedia presentations.The festival was the...
on June 5, 2011 in Washington Square Park
Washington Square Park
Washington Square Park is one of the best-known of New York City's 1,900 public parks. At 9.75 acres , it is a landmark in the Manhattan neighborhood of Greenwich Village, as well as a meeting place and center for cultural activity...
, and at the grand opening of the Wisconsin Institutes for Discovery
Wisconsin Institutes for Discovery
The Wisconsin Institutes for Discovery is a public-private biomedical research partnership that is located on the University of Wisconsin–Madison campus. It consists of two institutions: the privately funded Morgridge Institute for Research, and the publicly funded Wisconsin Institute for...
. He was also featured in a "Wonder of Physics" show put on by UW Physics
Physics
Physics is a natural science that involves the study of matter and its motion through spacetime, along with related concepts such as energy and force. More broadly, it is the general analysis of nature, conducted in order to understand how the universe behaves.Physics is one of the oldest academic...
professor and mentor Clint Sprott
Clint Sprott
Julien Clinton Sprott is a professor of physics who teaches at the University of Wisconsin–Madison.- Biography :Clint Sprott was born on 16 September 1942 in Memphis, Tennessee. He earned his bachelor's degree from MIT in 1964 and his Ph.D. in physics from the University of Wisconsin–Madison in 1969...
.
News spots
Since 2010, Vinokur has performed on television programs such as CW 11 NewsKPLR-TV
KPLR-TV, channel 11, is a television station in St. Louis, Missouri. KPLR is owned by the Tribune Company, and is an affiliate of The CW Television Network. The station's studios are located in Maryland Heights, Missouri, in Northwest St. Louis County KPLR-TV, channel 11, is a television station...
in Saint Louis
St. Louis, Missouri
St. Louis is an independent city on the eastern border of Missouri, United States. With a population of 319,294, it was the 58th-largest U.S. city at the 2010 U.S. Census. The Greater St...
, CBS News
CBS News
CBS News is the news division of American television and radio network CBS. The current chairman is Jeff Fager who is also the executive producer of 60 Minutes, while the current president of CBS News is David Rhodes. CBS News' flagship program is the CBS Evening News, hosted by the network's main...
in Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Milwaukee is the largest city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin, the 28th most populous city in the United States and 39th most populous region in the United States. It is the county seat of Milwaukee County and is located on the southwestern shore of Lake Michigan. According to 2010 census data, the...
, and Fox 2 News
KTVI
KTVI, virtual channel 2, is the Fox-affiliated television station serving the St. Louis, Missouri, designated market area. The station is owned by Local TV LLC, the media arm of private equity firm Oak Hill Capital Partners, under a local marketing agreement with Tribune-owned CW affiliate KPLR...
in Saint Louis. He also performs a monthly segment on the CBS News in Madison, Wisconsin.
Show description
Features he has incorporated into his show include a live DJ playing hip hop music, dancing, and science demonstrations. The show covers topics such as alternative energyAlternative energy
Alternative energy is an umbrella term that refers to any source of usable energy intended to replace fuel sources without the undesired consequences of the replaced fuels....
, polymers, careers in science, acids and bases, and others. Common demonstrations involved adding catalysts to make hydrogen peroxide
Hydrogen peroxide
Hydrogen peroxide is the simplest peroxide and an oxidizer. Hydrogen peroxide is a clear liquid, slightly more viscous than water. In dilute solution, it appears colorless. With its oxidizing properties, hydrogen peroxide is often used as a bleach or cleaning agent...
burst into foam, dancing on a mixture of cornstarch
Cornstarch
Corn starch, cornstarch, cornflour or maize starch is the starch of the corn grain obtained from the endosperm of the corn kernel.-History:...
and water, using an Airzooka to demonstrate air movement with rings of fog, exploding balloons, glow in the dark hands to illustrate chemiluminescence.
Personal life
Vinokur continues to study biochemistryBiochemistry
Biochemistry, sometimes called biological chemistry, is the study of chemical processes in living organisms, including, but not limited to, living matter. Biochemistry governs all living organisms and living processes...
at the University of Wisconsin–Madison.
External links
- Jeffrey Vinokur on TwitterTwitterTwitter is an online social networking and microblogging service that enables its users to send and read text-based posts of up to 140 characters, informally known as "tweets".Twitter was created in March 2006 by Jack Dorsey and launched that July...
- TheRussianTiger on YouTubeYouTubeYouTube is a video-sharing website, created by three former PayPal employees in February 2005, on which users can upload, view and share videos....
- DancingScientist on YouTubeYouTubeYouTube is a video-sharing website, created by three former PayPal employees in February 2005, on which users can upload, view and share videos....