Nashaun, 8, is the son of Amber Auger and Parrish Butler of Lynn and the grandson of Sherie Auger.  He started dancing when he was three years old and joined Phunk Phenomenon, a dance school in Everett owned by former New England Patriots cheerleader Reia Briggs Connor, in 2006. But it’s been the summer of 2009 when Nashaun Butler has become a nationally acclaimed dancer. He hopes to be a professional dancer one day and the competition in Las Vegas, which drew 1,700 dancers, was a good start.

Butler strutted his hip hop talents as the youngest member of the L’il Phunk Boyz, joining seven other boys, ages 8 to 13, on the dance team. He and his teammates performed four two-minute routines, the last two in front of a huge crowd and a panel of eight judges at the Orleans Arena inside the Orleans Hotel. Butler gets some of the inspiration for his dance moves from the late Michael Jackson. “He loves Michael Jackson,” says his grandmother, Sherie Auger. “He can do a lot of moves.”

At the finals in Vegas, Butler performed to Jackson’s hit, “The Way You Make Me Feel,” and to other songs by James Brown, New Kids on the Block, and Aisha. The 4-foot-5-inch, 54-pound Butler has shown the ability to execute cartwheels, back hand springs, back flips, and jumps while executing his dance routines. Butler and his team took home a silver medal in the U.S. portion of the competition and a gold medal in the world hip hop finals – meaning that at the age of eight, Butler can call himself a world champion.

“I was nervous when there were two teams left and they were about to announce the winner,” related Butler. “When they called out our team as the winner, it was so exciting. We were so happy.” After winning the title, Butler was interviewed by Fox5 News, the Las Vegas affiliate of the Fox Television Network.

Practice made perfect for Butler and the Boyz. After making it through the auditions, Butler practiced his dance moves two to fours a day for three months leading up to the international competition. Butler said it was fun to don the costume for the performances. “We wore black jeans with silver chains on each side, white tank tops, black jackets,  and the dancing shoes had red, white, and blue laces.”

Butler was scheduled to appear on the Fox Channel 25 Morning Show today, hosted by Gene Lavanchy and Swampscott’s Kim Kerrigan. He is also a finalist for the L’il Phunk Phenomenon team that performs at twelve Boston Celtics home games. In the meantime, Butler has begun practices with the East Lynn Pop Warner ‘E’ squad. He is a wingback with good speed.

Butler said he couldn’t have won the world dance title without the support of his parents and his grandmother. “My nonni [grandmother] supported me to try out for the dance team and she believed that I would make it – and I made it,” said Nashaun. “She also believed we would win the championship and we did that. My grandmother inspires me.”

Sherie Auger says of her newly crowned world champion grandson, “I’m very proud of Nashaun. He’s a very talented kid and very intelligent.”