Discover the Dance World: 9 Fascinating Fun Facts About Choreographers You Need to Know

1. Michael Peters: The Balanchine of MTV

Before moonwalking was even a thing, one man moonwalked his way into the hearts of millions with dance moves that would make both Balanchine and MTV blush: Michael Peters, dubbed the "Balanchine of MTV," choreographed for eminent music icons such as Donna Summer, Lionel Richie, and Pat Benatar, revolutionizing music videos and campaigning for an Oscar category in choreography before his untimely death in 1994.
Source => en.wikipedia.org

2. Jerome Robbins: Rumbling in Ballet

Ready for a rumble and a jeté? Jerome Robbins was a man of many talents who didn't just choreograph the famous finger-snapping street battles in the 1957 Broadway rendition of "West Side Story" but also took those power-packed pirouettes and pas de deux to the ballet stage as well: His critically acclaimed "West Side Story Suite" premiered in 1995 for the New York City Ballet, featuring six excerpts from his earlier work Jerome Robbins' Broadway and the addition of the classic number, "Something's Coming." This tuneful, toe-tapping ballet has been performed by numerous companies, and even demands singing auditions for the three vocal roles that accompany the dancers.
Source => en.wikipedia.org

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=> Fun Facts about Dance

3. Bob Fosse: Triple Threat Sandwich

If Bob Fosse were a triple threat sandwich, he'd be a hefty, award-winning sub with a side of extra jazzy sauce: In one sensational year, Fosse whipped up a Tony for Pippin, an Emmy for Liza with a Z, and an Oscar for directing Cabaret, all while cultivating an enduring partnership with the Queen of Broadway, Gwen Verdon, who was not only his muse, but also the jazz hands behind his success.
Source => hollywoodreporter.com

4. Twyla Tharp: One-Woman Band on Dance Steroids

Twyla Tharp: a human smorgasbord of talents, whose menu of skills must have broken the back of the proverbial camel, more like a one-woman-band on rapid-fire dance steroids: Born with a mother of unrealistically prodigious expectations, young Twyla was showered with lessons in piano, baton, drums, violin, viola, painting, shorthand, French, and German, effectively making her a polyglot performer in the dance world! Who knew having a tiger mother could result in a choreographing powerhouse that created over 160 works, fluttered masterfully between shorter dance pieces to evening-length ballets, and dabbled deliciously in 12 television specials, four Broadway shows, and six feature films?
Source => achievement.org

5. Pina Bausch: German Dance Engineering

If you thought German engineering was limited to cars, prepare to dance your way to enlightenment: Pina Bausch pioneered a dance style that mixed movement, sound design, and elaborate stage sets, which intensely focused on trauma, relationships, and male-female interactions, making her work both impactful and distinctly German in origin.
Source => en.wikipedia.org

6. Wayne McGregor: Google's Dance Partner

Wayne McGregor, the British choreographer, pirouetted straight out of a sci-fi flick when he dared to ask, "Hey Google, can you do the robot?": In a fascinating twist, McGregor collaborated with Google Arts & Culture to create "Living Archive," an AI-powered tool that generates original dance moves based on his unique choreographic style. By studying thousands of hours of video footage from his previous works, the system can suggest new dance sequences in real-time, becoming a predictive text of sorts for dancers while capturing the very essence of their movement. It's a dazzling pas de deux between the world of dance and technology!
Source => latimes.com

7. Fatima Robinson: Choreographer to the Stars

From moonwalking with the King of Pop to rocking boats with Aaliyah, Fatima Robinson has a dance resume livelier than a Black Eyed Peas party: This award-winning choreographer's fancy footwork graces Michael Jackson's "Remember the Time," Aaliyah's "Rock the Boat," and Mary J. Blige's iconic "Family Affair," as well as films like Save the Last Dance, Dreamgirls, and Cheetah Girls: One World.
Source => en.wikipedia.org

8. Alonzo King: Nature & Jazz Ballet Fusion

Imagine if Swan Lake had a love affair with the sounds of nature and classic jazz – you'd get sweaty ballerinas gracefully wooing audiences with their sultry, serpentine ballet moves: This is the essence of Alonzo King's choreography for the Lines Ballet Company, which premiered at the Ferst Center for the Arts on Jan. 14, successfully captivating both dancers and art enthusiasts from various backgrounds with its unique fusion of diverse music and skillful ballet technique.
Source => nique.net

9. George Balanchine: God's Hype Man in Dance

If God was a world-renowned DJ spinning celestial tracks, George Balanchine would have been his tireless hype man with a mean record collection: The man himself believed that "God creates, I assemble," and churned out 465 choreographed dances in his life, with his most famed moves lighting up the stage at the New York City Ballet and captivating audiences across the globe.
Source => kennedy-center.org