We continue with these little pieces on the personalities that form a huge chunk of So You Think You Can Dance: the judges, the choreographers, and of course, the host.  This time, we put the spotlight on the only person who can make magic out of a stand-alone door, a bench, and a woman's posterior: Mia Michaels.

Being the So You Think You Can Dance newbie last year, one of the first things I thought I had to watch out for was any routine by Mia Michaels.  I always had this feeling that she was behind many of the show's most memorable routines.  And then I saw the butt dance--I'm referencing it again, sorry Randi!--and my life was changed, so to speak.

So a look back at Mia's best-known routines on the show--from its first season in 2005--unlocked a Pandora's box of sorts.  I only saw a few, and I was convinced.  Lacey and Neil's "Time" routine, that quirky bit of fairy-tale-like imagery.  Katee and Twitch's "Mercy".  Heidi and Travis' "Calling You" routine, the one that won her an Emmy.  Maybe it's my bias, but one season of SYTYCD later, some of my favorite routines were choreographed by Mia Michaels: Kayla and Kupono's addiction piece, and Jeanine and Kayla's finale piece.

A dig through her official website revealed that Mia actually has a mean creative streak.  Who would've thought that she writes poetry?  The site had scans of a fashion editorial Mia did for Movmnt magazine, and the concept and words were all hers.  ("I will swallow the gift of now and marinate," she wrote.)  No wonder there's something offbeat with her dances.

I was scouring YouTube for Mia's works outside SYTYCD, and there's her work for Celine Dion's A New Day shows in Las Vegas, which eventually earned her an Emmy nomination.  While inevitably the focus here is Celine's singing, you'll notice, even if barely, the Mia-ness of the dancers:


I think that explains her Celine Dion love.

She's also worked for a handful of music videos, including this one for Ricky Martin--a good excuse for watching a Ricky Martin music video is saying that you're watching Mia's choreography.  Anyway, here's the music video for "Loaded", and although you might not notice it, a much closer look gives you something:


Although, of course, she shines on SYTYCD, and perhaps for her works on stage musicals and performances by different dance groups.  Perhaps you've also seen her dance company, RAW, perform.  I haven't, but mostly because I've never been to New York, where the group is based.  She founded the group in 1997 and remains its artistic director to its day.

I guess it's what you get when you grow in a pretty good environment: she was born to a family of dancers, and was exposed to jazz, tap, and contemporary dance throughout her early years in Coconut Grove, Florida.  See what I did there?  A reverse biography of sorts.


Other pocket guides:
Adam Shankman
Cat Deeley
Nigel Lythgoe
Mary Murphy


- Henrik Batallones, BuddyTV Staff Columnist
(Image courtesy of PR Photos)