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The Honolulu Advertiser
Posted on: Friday, July 13, 2001

J. Lo, dancer ratchet up romance

USA Today

LOS ANGELES — It was Cris Judd's moment in the spotlight.

How, he was asked by eager reporters at a party thrown by FHM last month, did it feel to be dating the magazine's "Sexiest Woman in the World"?

"I don't look at it that way," said Judd, who has lived in Hawai'i and visited frequently, dancing and teaching in the Islands. "She's the best. She's great. She's beautiful."

It was an answer that might make any woman swoon, even Jennifer Lopez.

The media-savvy superstar had her own snappy rejoinder. "He's not fazed by any of this," she said. "We'd rather be home in bed."

That may be, but Lopez and the guy who replaced Sean "Puffy" Combs have been out and about since the Academy Awards, and lately they've been starring in the tabloids, which have breathlessly reported their engagement and printed rumors that she's pregnant. (Lopez hasn't confirmed she's altar-bound, but she sported a diamond engagement ring during the Memorial Day weekend, when she was spotted ducking into Rafinity, a Santa Monica jewelry store.)

But other than Judd's almost starstruck description of Lopez, we've heard little from the man who may soon wed one of the world's most famous women.

What's Cris Judd got that Puffy doesn't? "He's not anything like Puffy," says William Milsten, a friend from college. "He's nice and friendly and loves everybody. If she was looking for a good person, she found him. I told him that she's lucky, because he's a real nice person."

The actress and the dancer met late last year when they worked together on her "Love Don't Cost a Thing" video.

Judd, 31, is accustomed to working with stars, from Michael Jackson to Diana Ross to Jordan Knight, formerly of New Kids on the Block. He danced on Knight's 1999 tour and choreographed several numbers for his 2000 Summer Tour.

Dancing was always his thing. Today, Judd and his choreographer partner Eddie Garcia travel the country giving lessons, and they have a Web site, laclubfeet.com.

A military brat, Judd was born in Abilene, Texas, and lived in Hawai'i and the Philippines before moving to Florida.

At Okaloosa-Walton Community College in Niceville, Fla., he danced in "West Side Story" and often would come to school and ask his friends to watch a move he saw on MTV.

Judd's name is familiar to many Hawai'i residents: After he met Hawai'i-born choreographer Marian Jay Morrison in Florida, he became a regular at her annual Hip-Hop Expo in Honolulu, where he taught hundreds of local students.

Judd's big break came in 1995 when he was hired to dance with Jackson on the MTV Video Awards and then toured with the Gloved One on his "HIStory" tour. From there it was on to other tours, award shows, films such as "Three to Tango" and music videos, including the fateful J. Lo gig.

Judd hasn't had much to say when the camera has been on him, because he has let Lopez be the focus.

"He's definitely not quiet," Knight says. "He likes to joke around and tell stories. ... When he's in his dance world, he's very outgoing, talking to everybody and smacking people on the back — really hard."