
| QUOTE (NBC) |
| Nickname: "Boy-band Danny" Occupation: Teacher Hometown: Foster City, CA Age: 31 Audition City: Los Angeles TRAINING: Vocal: 5 years Dance: 9 years of jazz and ballroom Acting: 5 years - BFA in Musical Theater from BYU FUN FACTS: Middle of 7 children and he is a Scorpio. He is also the tallest Danny in the competition. Jason was only 12 years old when his father passed away leaving his mother to raise seven children on her own. Being the middle child with a hard-working mother, Jason wanted to separate himself from the pact and so he began to act and sing for more attention. He also discovered they brought joy back into his life. Musicals played a big part in the Celaya kids' together time and Grease was their favorite above all others...they would sing the various songs as a group taking turns in the lead roles…Jason tended to play Danny the most often, saying, "The others knew it was my part." Jason's quiet confidence can be a bit intimidating for some, but he is a big kid at heart. He loves Disney movies, Mary Poppins, Saved by the Bell (really) and Justin Timberlake and Christina Aguilera. Currently working freelance as a dance instructor, Jason travels the country teaching, in the past he has worked summer stock at Robert Redford's Sundance Theatre in Park Lake City, Utah. He would love to bring the Fred Astaire & Gene Kelly glory days back. The only person he has told about this competition has been his older sister, Jessica (Miss Teen California 1991), who is living vicariously through his success. Jason says that his Grease experience has been amazing. Now that he's made his original goal of making it to the final twelve, he's going to re-focus his goals on winning the entire competition. During the Academy, he was on pins and needles the entire time, completely stressed out wondering what the judges were going to decide. Having made it this far in the competition, he feels as though he has been waiting and training for so long...nurturing his talent and now he's prepared to step forward and shine. When asked what he thinks of when he thinks of a Broadway stage, he says, "home." FAVORITES: What genre of movies do you enjoy? Action, Disney movies (like The Lion King) Favorite Actor: Johnny Depp Favorite Performer: Justin Timberlake Favorite Singer: Christina Aguilera or Mariah Carey Favorite Group: New Edition Favorite Musical: Les Miserables Favorite TV show: Sportscenter, So You Think You Can Dance, Saved by the Bell Favorite Food: Pizza and Mexican (all types) Favorite Color: Blue |