Jashun Judge flew through the opening, soared into the air, did an aerial, then triumphantly thrust up his right arm.
No, the Bayshore High running back wasn’t exuberantly punctuating a touchdown against some Bruins’ opponent at Balvanz Stadium in Bradenton.
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It was Judge’s grand entrance on stage at the Bayshore Theater during a crowd pleasing dance number with the Honeybears at the dance team’s Spring Showcase.
Ace Sanders was impressed.
Judge, who goes 5-feet-11, 200 pounds and doubles at linebacker on defense for the Bruins, will be one of the football team's senior weapons this season.
“I watched him on stage and didn’t realize he was this athletic,” the Bruins head football coach said, grinning.
Oh, yeah.
Judge was Bayshore’s Athlete of the Year his junior year for good reason.
An A student, he also plays tennis, baseball and runs track for Bayshore.
And dancing with the high school dance team, too?
That is some repertoire.
“It’s crazy,” Judge said, chuckling. “I’ve been dancing since I was a boy — dipping, diving, moving and grooving. But being the only guy among these dancers? Yes, I’m up there, but I share the stage with them. At first you’re nervous, but as you go on you start to realize to embrace yourself and the moments on the stage.”
Which he does with flair.
“He has a special talent,” said former captain Darcey Ductan, a 2026 Bayshore graduate. “To see him switch up like that — go into a football mode and see him as a dancer — is amazing. I’m proud of him.”
So is Melissa Wilson.
A dance instructor for more than four decades and now in her third year as Honeybears director, she recalls how she kept hearing about this Jashun Judge fellow from her dancers.
“The girls said he can really dance, and he loves to dance. I said bring him in,” she said.
Judge arrived with panache, too.
“He’s brought energy. We already have energy, but it’s nice to have male energy around supporting these things. He’s helped with choreography. He’s able to do more difficult lifts because he’s obviously stronger.
“One of the greatest things he’s brought is breaking the stereotype men don’t dance. He’s willing to show how much he loves dance at a high school level.”
Yes, indeed.
Even at 17, Judge is a poised young man.
“Yeah, that’s always a counter argument to dance. It’s somewhat known as feminine, but it’s being able to embrace your masculinity,” he said. “A lot of famous artists — Michael, Prince — they all danced and had fun up there, expressed their music, let their dance show.
“Many men think it’s more feminine, but I think if a man wants to go up there and dance he should go up there and dance.”
Former Bruins quarterback Jaydis Wiley won’t argue.
“Seeing a dude get up there in front of a crowd with the Honeybears and dance as good as him? It’s hard,” said the Bethune-Cookman University freshman. “It increased my respect for him 1,000 percent.
“Jashun is one of a kind.”
Bayshore baseball coach Mike Rupp was blown away, too.
“Oh, man. Was he good! Incredible!” he said of his first baseman’s performance on stage. “To have that courage to dance in front of his peers and all his teammates? And for them to give him the props he deserves? That describes who he is as a person.”
Sanders knows what Rupp means.
“Most kids here may not look at it like it’s something cool to do,” he said. “We’re not talking being at the club dancing, either. We’re talking about him doing choreography and routines with other members of the school. Most kids would be nervous getting up on stage doing that. Not Jashun. He’s his own person. This is him.
“He’ll come to me, say, ‘Coach, I might be a little late today.’ Why? ‘Well, I got recital.’ A 4.0 (GPA) student? I’m not stopping him. He’s already headed in the right direction. He’s a good kid, man.”
How this all came about is remarkable.
When Judge attended Rowlett Middle he sang in the school choir, but couldn’t help noticing the activity nearby.
“Dance was right next door,” he said. “I’d see them and thought that’s cool. So I had this move I’d show them and I choreographed a piece and the girls were like — we want you dancing with us!”
Ashley Hassler, Rowlett’s dance director and a dance educator for more than two decades, quickly saw what her girls were excited about.
“Jashun is just insanely talented,” she said. “After school, if he was done with his choir work, he would come over to the dance room, try things, come up with dance moves and choreograph. I would also have students working in the hallway, he’d talk to them, help them out with ideas. And he did perform in one of our shows. He choreographed a piece with the girls and I have a video of it.
“I’m so happy to hear he’s dancing still. You can’t forget that kid.”
How Judge got the Honeybears’ attention as a Bayshore sophomore was fortuitous.
“I was in seventh period, just dancing and having fun and they recruited me for a hip-hop piece. They wanted a strong male. Then this year the captains (Gigi Ramirez and Ductan) said we have these three dances we think you would look good in and I said yes.”
Of course, Judge was cognizant he was on the Honeybears’ turf and respected that.
“I’m not a studio trained dancer, but when I come in and dance they’re like, ‘We want to teach you this,’ break it down and teach it to me as if I am one of the other girls, like I’m just a normal person in the class. If I need a correction I can ask any of them.
“That’s one of the best parts of being on this dance team. Yes, I’m up there, but I share the stage and share the moment with them. I may dance as a solo, but we’re all in this act together, and we want to make sure everybody looks clean. I can give my empathy to them, and they give it back to me.”
Their chemistry shows, too, especially in “Candy Man,” a lively 1940ish swing jazz number.
“I can feel their emotion and it makes me smile. I consider them like my sisters.”
Judge has since realized how much dance would be integral to his improvement as a running back. He rushed for 400 yards last season, helping Bayshore make the state playoffs and beat Tampa Chamberlain in the first round.
“Cutting. Running. Being able to control your body. You control your body on the stage, you can control your body on the field. You do a lot of things on the balls of your feet and it’s the same way in dance. If I want to elevate, I’m on my tippy toes. It’s the same thing as if I’m planting off my outside foot, on the balls of my foot, going back to where I need to be.
“If I want to go one way and have them thinking I’m going another, I need to be able to control my body to show them one way, knowing I’m going another.”
Judge also found out how much a role dance plays in him staying relatively healthy as a football player.
“It helps a lot with injury recovery and preventing injury. Just being more limber on the field and being able to bounce back. When I hurt my ACL and PCL I still went to dance every day and that motion and mobility in my knee came back.”
His ankles, too.
“They’re always telling me, ‘Point your feet! Point your feet!’ That’s been a hard thing for me to do with my previous ankle injuries, but dance helps with my ankle stiffness. I credit dance with a lot of that.”
Wilson agreed.
“A lot of athletes use ballet and different facets of dance,” she said. “It increases balance, footwork, jumps, agility and strengthening your core. One benefit of studying movement, dance and yoga, because of the technique they’re less likely to get injured. They’re more agile, they can jump higher, they get tight footwork in there.”
Wilson brought up another facet of dance, combined with football, that is fascinating.
“They’re also even more aware of the things around them because when you’re dancing you have to be aware of the people around you and be conscious of their moves. It’s almost like a ‘reading each other’s minds’ type of thing. You know what they’re going to do beforehand because there are no words. It has to be nonverbal communication in dance, typically.”
Sanders sees that skill manifested in Judge.
“Jashun can feel the contact, where it’s coming from and they’re not knocking him down,” he said. “He’s running and they’re just pinballing him. He just learns how to take the hit and keep going. His balance is really good, he’s actually a lot stronger on his feet and that goes a long way.
“Him doing all these spins, pliés and jumps, learning how to be graceful, helps with how he plays the game. You’re talking about making people miss and being able to slip out of tackles. It’s all right there when you watch him perform.”
On the field.
On the stage.
This article originally appeared on Sarasota Herald-Tribune: Bayshore High football star finds rhythm on dance stage and field
