By MARTA HEPLER DRAHOS
TRAVERSE CITY -- Pre-rush hour on Monday afternoon. The traffic light at the corner of Front and Garfield turns red and the cars pile up to wait it out.
On the south side of the street, Jacob Clinton Shonk goes into high gear, spinning, sliding, popping and locking to a tune on his iPod, shaking a sign announcing the day's Domino's Pizza special. Intrigued, drivers peer through their windows for a better look. The light changes and traffic begins to move again. Several cars honk their appreciation as they pass by. Shonk lifts his fingers in a peace sign and keeps on dancing.
Since May 2008 Shonk has been attracting attention -- and customers -- with his energetic performances at street corners all over Traverse City. Known by various names including Jacob-Moon Breaker, Death Machine and The Domino Dancer, the Traverse City College Preparatory Academy grad also has been popping up with regularity on YouTube videos.
"He takes his job seriously," said Rick Carmean, owner of the Top Drawer complex at Eighth and Garfield, where Shonk dances on Fridays between 3 and 5 p.m. "Everybody knows him, everybody loves him. I can hear people honking from here."
For the Domino's Pizza franchise on the opposite corner, Shonk just may be the best thing since shredded cheese. General Manager Dave Orwig gave the teen his start and said Shonk has increased business by as much as 25 percent during a time when they weren't getting as many orders. Once the pizzeria sold 50 pizzas in three hours as a result of Shonk's antics, fueled by hot coffee, chai and mocha.
"He took a break through wintertime last year but this year he says he wants to dance all winter," said Orwig, who employs Shonk four days a week. "He dances so it keeps him warm. Usually he doesn't dance during storms, that's all."
Shonk, 19, began dancing publicly in the sixth grade, when he performed Michael Jackson's "Billie Jean" at a Bellaire school talent show. Eventually, he said, he'd like to be a choreographer or dance teacher.
But it wasn't until he grew bored and sore standing in one place with a sign that he decided to incorporate dance into his job with the help of an MP3 player and his favorite tunes.
"I just did this," he said, demonstrating a simple dance step, "and all of the sudden a car honked."
Now he has a repertoire of six routines and 24 mostly original moves -- with names like "jester" and "skater" -- designed to make drivers sit up and take notice. Although he won't divulge his dance music, he said many of the steps are inspired by Jackson, recreational athletes and capoeira, a Brazilian art form that combines elements of martial arts, music and dance.
The performances have given the teen, who struggled with social and other issues in school, a new-found confidence and some unexpected gigs. Besides being featured on a local TV news broadcast and YouTube videos like "The Domino Dancer" and "Uncle Kracker and the Pizza Guy," he opened for Traverse City shows by Kracker and Keller Williams.
"As soon as he got on stage you could feel the energy in the room skyrocket," said concert promoter and youth advocate Sam Porter, whose Porterhouse Productions is raising money for a 1980s "boom box" for Shonk's Friday Night Live performances.
While he likes the honks, waves and applause, Shonk said he'd rather people show their appreciation for his work by buying pizza.
"That's why I'm here: to make the sign noticed," he said. "And I try to make people happy and forget about all the trouble in the world."
