Mia Michaels (born February 22, 1966) is an American choreographer best known for her judging and contemporary choreography on the TV show So You Think You Can Dance (SYTYCD). She has worked with musical artists such as Celine Dion, Madonna, Tom Cruise, Catherine Zeta-Jones, Ricky Martin, Gloria Estefan, and Prince. In 2005 she choreographed Cirque du Soleil's world tour, "Delirium" as well as Celine Dion's Las Vegas show "A New Day..." for which she was later nominated for Emmy. In 2007 she won an Emmy Award for Outstanding Choreography for her "Calling You" routine on season 2 of So You Think You Can Dance; she won again in 2010 for her work on season 5. She was a main judge of So You Think You Can Dance together with Adam Shankman and Nigel Lythgoe for season 7. She choreographed the dance sequence of "Get Happy" in Season 7 Episode 15 of the "House" episode "Bombshells".
Being passionate - it's such a huge, huge part of our being. I'm one of those people who's an 'all or nothing' kind of person. So, when I teach, my philosophy is so not about the steps. It's about the soul of the movement. Your movement is your vocabulary, it's your voice for your body. So I'm very passionate about it.
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People always say that I can be difficult because I expect the most of you and I'm relentless about making people step to the next level. And I think that's a great quality.
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[on choreographing the film version of 'Rock of Ages'] When Adam [Shankman] and I decided to do this it was very important for me to respect the time of the '80s. It was about Rock and Roll, and I had to stay gritty and raw. It was a big deal for me to keep it from turning into a typical musical. My job was to keep it real, and I did.
4
I've always been with men. But I am also a very free spirit and I believe that who we fall for is more about the human spirit and not sexuality. I've been with men because that's who I have connected to at this point in my life. But who's to say? I have no idea what tomorrow will bring or who I'm going to meet. That's just how I look at it.
5
RAW was a dance company I created in New York. It lasted for two years. It was at a time when I really found myself and understood my movement.... RAW is about me not conforming to the commercialism. I stay true to what my vision and instincts are. I am very proud of that.
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Fact
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Daughter of Broadway actor Joe Michaels. Dance teacher of Laurah Guillén in the 1980s.
$250,000
