A standing back flip flowing into a dance known as "The Worm" might be all it takes for Carbondale to be the dancing hub of the Midwest, at least for this week.

Willow Street Dance Studio is holding a weeklong hip-hop workshop featuring one of the dance world's youngest up-and-coming stars.

Tucker Barkley, 16, of North Hollywood, Calif., on loan from Monsters of Hip-hop, is teaching a hip-hop dance class at the Carbondale studio.

Barkley, who is a dance instructor at the Millennium Dance Complex in Los Angeles, has recently danced in music videos for Sean Paul, Keyshia Cole and Omarion. He has also been featured in commercials for Shoe Carnival and Blue Man Group.

Barkley said he has been teaching at the California studio for about nine months and said it is rare for a person his age to be teaching professional classes. He said his dancing style has allowed him to be successful.

"I have taken from everyone and I can mix a bunch of different styles into one," Barkley said.

He said his mother owned dance studios in Texas and Kansas while he was growing up, so he started dancing as soon as he could walk. He said he started hip-hop about five years ago.

Barkley's dedication to his craft has caught the eye of dancers all over the country, including one in Carbondale.

Susan Barnes, owner of the Willow Street Dance Studio, said she first saw Barkley at a Monsters of Hip-hop workshop in St. Louis. She said he stood out among the other 25 dancers on stage while she was there.

"He moves in such a fluid way and combines it with incredible sharpness and exactness," Barnes said.

She said she was blown away by his performance and learned that hip-hop is a very broad genre that includes such styles as African and street.

Barnes said she approached Andy Funk at Monsters of Hip-hop and booked Barkley to teach a class at her studio. She said small towns don't normally have dancers of Barkley's quality, so this opportunity is a good one for local dancers.

Barkley said the students in Carbondale have picked up the moves quickly, and said he is teaching at almost the same pace as he does in Los Angeles. He said he breaks down the routine into smaller parts so the students can master each section before putting it all together for the full routine.

Nicole Scheer, 19, of Carterville and a sophomore at John A. Logan College, said she has been dancing at the studio for about a year. She said she mainly takes hip-hop and jazz classes.

She said she has attended workshops and learned that dancing requires a lot of energy. She said Barkley is an amazing dancer and she is learning a lot from him.

The students at the studio are not the only ones benefiting from Barkley's presence.

Daniel Baine, 18, of Desoto and a freshman at John A. Logan College, is the hip-hip director at the Willow Street Dance Studio. He said he is able to learn a lot from workshops like this one, and said Barkley is an outstanding dancer.

"He is awesome," Baine said. "He's one of the ones right under the main choreographers."

Barkley said he hopes to be a top choreographer someday, and is already on track to attain his goal. He said he was a finalist to choreograph a Janet Jackson tour, but didn't get the job. He said he would probably be in one of her music videos, however.

He said he still lives with relative anonymity, but hopes that will change.

"I'm still kind of anonymous because I haven't done anything huge, huge yet," Barkley said. "But we'll get there."