9-1-1 star Ryan Guzman pays tribute to late friend tWitch with dancing video

So You Think You Can Dance star tWitch may no longer be with us, but his spirit is still inspiring others to dance.

On Sunday, Ryan Guzman, who currently stars on 9-1-1 as Eddie Diaz, posted a video to his Instagram featuring him popping and locking and dancing in his living room. Guzman called the moment a tribute to Stephen 'tWitch' Boss, whom he befriended while working on 2012's Step Up: Revolution and 2014's Step Up: All In.

Guzman also opened up about his own complicated feelings about calling tWitch a friend. The dancer died by suicide in December 2022.

"Thank you, Twitch!" Guzman wrote alongside the video. "You changed my life without getting the proper feedback from me. I've felt imposter syndrome to the umpteenth degree for calling you a brother but not being more involved in your life, and to that fact, you've changed the definition of connection for me. Now, I aim to connect deep with those I love. Showing all my sides and not just the bright ones. I wouldn't have made that leap without you. I know your spirit is still present, and your essence still lives on in the hearts of many."

Though Guzman danced in the Step Up films, he wasn't a dancer by trade — and he admitted in the post that he had been afraid to dance for years since making the movies. "Quick confession," he continued. "Since Step Up, I've been so afraid to dance. For fear of being judged on the principle, I played a professional dancer in a movie and was held to a standard of dance I couldn't uphold."

He credits his relationship with tWitch for making him dance again. "It was Twitches [sic] voice in my head that reminded me to get out of my head and dance for the fun of it," he concluded. "Laugh at yourself. Be goofy. Mess up. But most of all, be vulnerable and feel the music. In your honor Twitch, I danced for the first time in a long time n let go of the fear. God bless you, brother."

Guzman's Eddie has had an eventful season on 9-1-1, from being a stalwart friend to Buck (Oliver Stark) through his coming out journey to his own relationship developments with Marisol (Edy Ganem). He recently told Entertainment Weekly that he hopes to continue to see growth for his character on season 7.

"With Marisol and Eddie, their relationship is strengthening, but there's so many traumatic moments that Eddie still has yet to answer for himself in his own past," he said. "So how that plays into this present moment is a balancing act. And what I'd like to see is him handle it with ease, but that doesn't offer great TV. So yeah, he's going to be a mess just as much as he was — as we all are, really."

Maybe he can dance it out.

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