Biographie

22 février 1966 · Coconut Grove, Floride, États-Unis

Daughter of Broadway actor Joe Michaels. Dance teacher of Ishah Laurah Wright in the 1980s.

Dance teacher of David Guillen.

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.

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.

[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.

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.

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.