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Al Blackstone
Al Blackstone (he/him) is an Emmy Award-winning director, choreographer, and educator. His passion for theatrical jazz dance enriches his unique approach to storytelling. A former Broadway performer (Wicked the Musical), he is sought after all over the world for his unique teaching style and passion for connecting dancers to their love of movement and community.
Known for his witty and emotional dances on the television show So You Think You Can Dance, Al was honored to win the 2020 Emmy Award for Best Choreography in Variety or Reality Programming. Recently his music video to queer indie-rock band The Ballet's At the Bathhouse was an official selection of the Dance on Camera Film Festival. In 2023 he was Mandy Moore's Associate Choreographer for the feature film IF directed by John Krasinski and starring Ryan Reynolds and in 2020, he and his class at Steps on Broadway were featured in the acclaimed jazz dance documentary Uprooted.
As a director/choreographer of musical theater, he has created for The Cape Playhouse, Music Theater Wichita, Maltz Jupiter Theater (Carbonel Winner, Best Choreography 2018), Axelrod Performing Arts Center, The Village Theater, and Off Broadway in The View Upstairs, an original musical by Max Vernon. In 2011 Al was the recipient of the Capezio A.C.E. Award for Choreographic Excellence and this launched his career as a creator of new and original dance narratives. These include Happy We'll Be (Roseland Ballroom), Elephant in the Room (Arts on Site), Show on the Road (Arts on Site) and Freddie Falls in Love which had a two week run at the world renowned Joyce Theater in New York City. His choreography for the show Born to Dance (produced by Stephen Schwartz) can currently be enjoyed on Princess Cruises around the world.
Al has been commissioned to make work for dance companies such as Giordano Dance Chicago, 10 Hairy Legs and various universities including Point Park University, Pace University, Marymount Manhattan College, and The University of the Arts. In 2019 he was commissioned by the Stage Directors and Choreographers Society to create a piece to honor Agnes de Mille at the Abbott Awards in New York City. He has choreographed for 5 seasons of the world-renowned Fire Island Dance Festival benefitting Dancers Responding to AIDS as well as the iconic Broadway Bares created by Jerry Mitchell and benefitting Broadway Cares/ Equity Fights AIDS.
As an educator, Al has has shared a joyful enthusiasm for theater jazz with dancers all over the world from the beginner to professional level. His classes at Steps on Broadway and The Broadway Dance Center are hubs for professional dancers in New York City and have helped inspire the next generation of young teacher/choreographers, He is proud to be on faculty at the world's largest dance convention, JUMP since 2012 and has been guest faculty at Juilliard, The University of Arizona, and Pace University. In 2020 he and his husband Abraham Lule co-founded MOMEN NYC which produces events for adult dancers to help them reconnect to their love of movement in a joyful and safe environment. He is a proud member of the Television Academy, The Screen Actors Guild,The Stage Directors and Choreographers Society, and a founding member of The Choreographers Guild.
Al (short for Albert) believes deeply in the power of dance, community, and kindness. He loves coffee and has kept a journal since he was twelve.