It’s impossible to talk about School of Cinematic Arts alumni Jon M. Chu ‘03 and Hieu Ho ‘07  without talking about dance. Between the two of them, they have worked on films and projects including The Legion of Extraordinary Dancers (LXD), Step Up 2, Step Up 3D and Chu's iconic USC student thesis film When the Kids Are Away, which employed dozens of dancers and advanced choreography. This summer, the two partners will be teaming up with Google to create a new YouTube original channel, DS2DIO (pronounced D-Studio).

“Around the world, in every country and culture, dance is a beloved universal language that speaks to our shared humanity,” said Chu. “With DS2DIO, we highlight how dance is a part of our lives with a diverse range of programming from short films to music to fashion and beyond.”

DS2DIO will launch on June 18th with three shows; REMIXED, S2DIO CITY and MASTER CLASS, and will serve as a global dance lifestyle destination with several more shows added throughout the year. The channel will be a community for not only dancers but everyone who loves to experience dance. While the new venture is ambitious, Hieu Ho credits their time at USC with providing the foundation that allows them to be innovative in digital media.

"Creativity doesn't cost money. In film school, we learned how to maximize limited resources and build incredible teams that allowed us to tell the best possible story," said Ho. "With DS2DIO, our goal is to lead and set the bar on producing cinematic content that is a part of a holistic narrative experience... utilizing both social media and new technology.  And the lessons, along with the relationships we forged at USC were crucial in giving us the understanding and inspiration to pursue this path."

For more information, please visit: http://www.DS2DIO.com