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Mega dance company bred culture of sex, silence, dancers say

Gary Schaufeld pauses as he describes his time performing in dance competitions as a young performer, Thursday, Feb. 10, 2022, at his home in Port Jefferson, N.Y. Schaufeld stopped dancing years ago and has no plans to return to the studio. “It was my church,” he said, but now “the whole dance scene feels dirty and tainted.” (AP Photo/John Minchillo) Gary Schaufeld displays images from his time performing in youth dance competitions, Thursday, Feb. 10, 2022, at his home in Port Jefferson, N.Y. A secret ate away at him. His mental health deteriorated. He stopped eating and sleeping, and suffered from panic attacks, he says. In 2018, 14 years after the incident, he decided to tell his family, and confront tap dancer Danny Wallace directly. (AP Photo/John Minchillo) Gary Schaufeld holds his old tap shoes as he stands for a portrait at his home, Thursday, Feb. 10, 2022, in Port Jefferson, N.Y. Schaufeld stopped dancing years ago and has no plans to return to the studio. “It was my church,” he said, but now “the whole dance scene feels dirty and tainted.” (AP Photo/John Minchillo) Gary Schaufeld shows a video of him winning a dance competition in his youth as he describes his time performing, Thursday, Feb. 10, 2022, at his home in Port Jefferson, N.Y. A secret ate away at him. His mental health deteriorated. He stopped eating and sleeping, and suffered from panic attacks, he says. In 2018, 14 years after the incident, he decided to tell his family, and confront tap dancer Danny Wallace directly. (AP Photo/John Minchillo) Gary Schaufeld wipes a tear from his eyes as he shows pictures from his youth of him performing in dance competitions, Thursday, Feb. 10, 2022, at his home in Port Jefferson, N.Y. Schaufeld stopped dancing years ago and has no plans to return to the studio. “It was my church,” he said, but now “the whole dance scene feels dirty and tainted.” (AP Photo/John Minchillo) Gary Schaufeld stands for a portrait at his home, Thursday, Feb. 10, 2022, in Port Jefferson, N.Y. He was a teen in 2004, assisting a successful tap dancer named Danny Wallace. Schaufeld had fallen in love with tap at 7 years old, and assisting Wallace offered a chance to raise his profile and learn from one of the best. (AP Photo/John Minchillo) FILE - Nick Lazzarini, left, and Travis Wall pose for a photo in Los Angeles on Wednesday, Sept. 5, 2012. Televised dance shows brought fame to Lazzarini and Wall, who became big name attractions as Break The Floor instructors. Each of them has since been fired amid allegations of sexual misconduct. (AP Photo/Richard Vogel, File) A sign points attendees to a RADIX competition room in Rosemont, Ill., on Feb. 4, 2022. Break The Floor hosts conventions in cities across North America, putting on events in hotel ballrooms every weekend over the course of a six-month season. Hundreds of studios and schools from smaller communities bring teams of dancers to the events, branded as JUMP, NUVO, 24seven, RADIX and DancerPalooza. (AP Photo/Teresa Crawford) Old tap shoes rest on a chair as Gary Schaufeld describes his time as a young performer in dance competitions, Thursday, Feb. 10, 2022, at his home in Port Jefferson, N.Y. He was a teen in 2004, assisting a successful tap dancer named Danny Wallace. Schaufeld had fallen in love with tap at 7 years old, and assisting Wallace offered a chance to raise his profile and learn from one of the best. (AP Photo/John Minchillo)