Zoï Tatopoulos wearing a white wrapped top, with tattoos and messy hair.

Meet Zoï Tatopoulos, the Commercial Choreographer Pushing Boundaries with “Alien” Contortions

Zoï Tatopoulos’ choreography gets called a lot of things, but the one label that she keeps hearing is “alien.” As seen in her choreography for FKA twigs’ 2024 music video “Eusexua,” Tatopoulos’ approach to dance—writhing, crawling, contorting, and entirely mesmerizing—is challenging the possibilities of the body in commercial choreography. Role: Independent choreographer, represented by McDonald/Selznick […]

Jakevis Thomason jumping in the air against a dark green backdrop.

Meet Beyoncé’s “Black Parade” Choreographer, Jakevis Thomason

Just a few years after his graduation from the Glorya Kaufman School of Dance at the University of Southern California, Jakevis Thomason booked the dream gig for many a commercial dancemaker: choreographing for Beyoncé. After making a viral dance video to Queen Bey’s “Black Parade,” Thomason was approached by the artist’s team to set the […]

Dancing on Both Coasts: AMDA’s Dual Presence in NYC and L.A. Prepares Students for Broadway and Commercial Dance

Whether AMDA students are attending school at its Los Angeles campus or its New York campus, they are immersed in each city’s performing arts industry from day one. The Los Angeles campus, based in Hollywood, sits directly across from the historic Capitol Records Building, while the New York City campus, located on Manhattan’s Upper West […]

a male dancer with his arms spread wide to the side while dancing in a room with other performers

Get to Know Commercial Dancer Will West, a “Once-in-a-Generation-Talent”

Featured in two of the past year’s most viral music videos—Jungle’s “Back On 74” and Ariana Grande’s “yes, and?”—Will West transitions seamlessly, sometimes instantly, from style to style. He can accelerate from total stillness to a full flare in a split second, then downshift to a Fosse frug before coolly strolling out of frame. The young Brit spoke with Dance Magazine while shooting a Verizon commercial in Mexico City before continuing south to another gig, in Santiago, Chile. Part of the live-action remake of Disney’s Alladin in 2019, West returns to the big screen this fall as a dancer and stunt performer in Wicked, which stars Grande as Glinda.

Kyle Hanagami looks curiously up at the camera as he climbs a white-painted fire escape, people and cars visible in the background far below.

Kyle Hanagami, A Viral Sensation Across Multiple Forms of Media, Has Built a Dance Empire From the Ground Up

Even a glance at Kyle Hanagami’s resumé is enough to leave you short of breath. The 37-year-old choreographer has worked with everyone from Jennifer Lopez to Alicia Keys to Ariana Grande to BLACKPINK. He created the dances for this year’s box-office smash “Mean Girls.” And he’s amassed nearly 8 million followers and more than a billion video views on his social media accounts.

a shirtless male dancer leaning backwards on a subway platform

Meet Rising Commercial Star, Jaxon Willard

When Jaxon Willard dances, he soars through the air and glides along the floor, and his transitions are equal parts surprising and seamless. Willard’s flexibility, strength, and raw passion allow him to layer a spectrum of aesthetics, from expansive and powerful to graceful and soft.

Ezra Sosa is a young man with a medium complexion, wearing a colorful vest with sparkle lapels, white sparkle pants and yellow sneakers. He leans toward the right and gestures to JoJo Siwa, who wears a rainbow sparkle crop top and miniskirt and sings into a microphone.

The Scoop on Backup Dancing: Four Dancers Dish on Tour Life

Touring with a major recording artist is at the top of most commercial dancers’ bucket lists. What could be more exciting than getting paid to dance, travel the world and work with mega-talented celebrity musicians? It looks glamorous, but most dancers don’t actually know what the job truly entails until they’ve booked it. Is it as […]

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