Kenny Ortega

Known as The Quintessential Music Man, Ortega has directed, choreographed, and created some of the most beloved cultural touchstones of all time, including Dirty Dancing, Newsies, Hocus Pocus, and the High School Musical and The Descendants franchises, among many others. Ortega also discovered and platformed the careers of stars such as young Christian Bale, Zac Efron, Vanessa Hudgens, Dove Cameron, Sofia Carson, Charlie Gillespie, among others, as well as worked with Miley Cyrus, The Cheetah Girls and The Jonas Brothers. A protégé of Gene Kelly, he began his career choreographing for music legends, including The Tubes, Elton John, Cher, Gloria Estefan, The Pointer Sisters, Gladys Knight, Fleetwood Mac and Diana Ross, before also moving into film and television. He served as Michael Jackson’s longtime creative partner and concert director, shaping some of pop’s most iconic performances and inspiring an unprecedented global community of fans of all ages throughout his career.  Ortega has been hailed as the “Billion Dollar Maestro” by Variety and, in addition to countless international accolades, has received three Emmy Awards, two Directors Guild Awards, and the prestigious Disney Legends Award.