Artistic directors and choreographers, Christopher “Pharside” Jennings and Krystal “Phoenix” Meraz are most recently known for their hard-hitting choreography and the latest additions to the Emmy award-winning “So You Think You Can Dance” family. This soon to be husband and wife team believes that, “Though their works can speak volumes by what they can provide on any stage, Pharside and Phoenix pride themselves on their out of the box concepts, jaw dropping stunts, and high energy choreography that not only bring vision to life but also tells a story.”

Their love story began when Christopher and Krystal met as performers at San Francisco Hip Hop Dancefest where he was a freestyle dancer and she was a member of a dance group. Krystal introduced Chris to the choreography scene and inspired him to enter a world with new possibilities and opportunities. In 2009, this creative powerhouse duo founded the world renowned performance group, “Pharside and Phoenix."
Christopher was influenced by the pioneers of styles such as popping, hip hop, krump, and strutting which allowed him to have a solid foundation to train and grow from in his dance career. After years of battling, he became one of the top freestylers in the nation winning over 40 titles and also helped form the group “Supreme Soul” who made it to the top 5 of MTV’s “America’s Best Dance Crew.” Krystal who has always been determined to pursue a career in dance started dancing at 6 years old when she was diagnosed with slight scoliosis and her mom placed her in ballet to hopefully be the solution to help her posture. Facing that obstacle taught her determination and perseverance and decided to elevate her dance journey and took on other styles of dance that included modern, jazz, international Latin, Afro-Haitian, and of course hip hop. To date, they now have four companies that have not only become huge entities in the dance community but who have also won several titles and awards under their leadership and direction.

Upon moving to Los Angeles in 2013 to further advance their careers as choreographers, they have choreographed several times for the television program, “So You Think You Can Dance,” co-produced and choreographed live performance shows for Elvira at Knott’s Scary Farm, and also won Breakthrough Choreographers of the Year at the 2015 World of Dance Industry Awards.