Christopher d'Amboise (born 1960) is an American danseur,

choreographer Choreography is the art or practice of designing sequences of movements of physical bodies (or their depictions) in which motion or form or both are specified. ''Choreography'' may also refer to the design itself. A choreographer is one who cr ...

writer A writer is a person who uses written words in different writing styles and techniques to communicate ideas. Writers produce different forms of literary art and creative writing such as novels, short stories, books, poetry, travelogues, p ...

, and theatre director. Born and raised in New York City, the son of dancers Jacques d'Amboise and

Carolyn George Carolyn George (September 6, 1927 – February 10, 2009) was an American ballerina, photographer, and dance instructor. Life and career Born in Dallas, Texas, George was descended from some of the first settlers in Waco, Texas. She studied a ...

, d'Amboise became a principal dancer in the

New York City Ballet New York City Ballet (NYCB) is a ballet company founded in 1948 by choreographer George Balanchine and Lincoln Kirstein. Balanchine and Jerome Robbins are considered the founding choreographers of the company. Léon Barzin was the company' ...

, where he worked closely with

George Balanchine George Balanchine (; Various sources: * * * * born Georgiy Melitonovich Balanchivadze; ka, გიორგი მელიტონის ძე ბალანჩივაძე; January 22, 1904 (O. S. January 9) – April 30, 1983) was ...

and

Jerome Robbins Jerome Robbins (born Jerome Wilson Rabinowitz; October 11, 1918 – July 29, 1998) was an American dancer, choreographer, film director, theatre director and producer who worked in classical ballet, on stage, film, and television. Among his nu ...

, dancing all the major roles as well as originating several new works. He quit the company in 1983 to pursue other interests, including the Broadway production of ''

Song and Dance ''Song and Dance'' is a musical comprising two acts, one told entirely in "Song" and one entirely in "Dance", tied together by a unifying love story. The "Song" act is ''Tell Me on a Sunday'', with lyrics by Don Black and music by Andrew Ll ...

'', which earned him a

Tony Award The Antoinette Perry Award for Excellence in Broadway Theatre, more commonly known as the Tony Award, recognizes excellence in live Broadway theatre. The awards are presented by the American Theatre Wing and The Broadway League at an annual cer ...

nomination for Best Featured Actor in a Musical for a role in which he only danced. From 1990-94, d'Amboise was the Artistic Director, President, and CEO of the Pennsylvania Ballet, where he presented classic repertoire as well as introduced new works by contemporary choreographers. As a choreographer, d'Amboise has created more than fifty ballets for numerous international companies, including those in

San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish language, Spanish for "Francis of Assisi, Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the List of Ca ...

Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Amstel'') is the Capital of the Netherlands, capital and Municipalities of the Netherlands, most populous city of the Netherlands, with The Hague being the seat of government. It has a population ...

, and

Flanders Flanders (, ; Dutch: ''Vlaanderen'' ) is the Flemish-speaking northern portion of Belgium and one of the communities, regions and language areas of Belgium. However, there are several overlapping definitions, including ones related to culture, ...

. For the

musical theatre Musical theatre is a form of theatrical performance that combines songs, spoken dialogue, acting and dance. The story and emotional content of a musical – humor, pathos, love, anger – are communicated through words, music, movemen ...

, he has choreographed productions of '' High Society'' and the rock musical '' William Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet'', a project conceived by his brother-in-law, Terrence Mann. Television credits include two appearances on the ''

Kennedy Center Honors The Kennedy Center Honors are annual honors given to those in the performing arts for their lifetime of contributions to American culture. They have been presented annually since 1978, culminating each December in a gala celebrating five hono ...

'', ''Live from Studio 8H'', and the

Emmy Award The Emmy Awards, or Emmys, are an extensive range of awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international television industry. A number of annual Emmy Award ceremonies are held throughout the calendar year, each with the ...

-winning documentary ''He Makes Me Feel Like Dancing''. In 2007, d'Amboise wrote, directed, and choreographed ''The Studio'', a "play with dance" about a

Manhattan Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the original counties of the U.S. state ...

-based choreographer with a public image larger than life, for South Coast Repertory. Currently, d'Amboise teaches dance at

George Mason University George Mason University (George Mason, Mason, or GMU) is a public research university in Fairfax County, Virginia with an independent City of Fairfax, Virginia postal address in the Washington, D.C. Metropolitan Area. The university was origin ...

and has been teaching unique

curricula In education, a curriculum (; : curricula or curriculums) is broadly defined as the totality of student experiences that occur in the educational process. The term often refers specifically to a planned sequence of instruction, or to a view ...

for aspiring professional dancers and choreographers, including Moving Story and other master's level classes. Conceived by d'Amboise prior to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...

, d'Amboise and the university launched the LIVE Center (also known as The Center for Live Interactive Virtual Education) in late 2020, during the height of the US COVID-19 resurgence, further uniting location-disparate and socially-distanced dancers and masters. Chris married a fellow dancer, Kelly Crandall, in late summer of 2008. His sister

Charlotte d'Amboise Charlotte d'Amboise (born May 11, 1964) is an American actress and dancer. She has played starring roles in musical theatre, and has been nominated for two Tony Awards and won the Los Angeles Ovation Awards for Best Leading Actress in a Musica ...

is also a professional dancer.

References

*''Leap Year: A Year in the Life of a Dancer'' by Christopher D'Amboise, published by Doubleday, 1982

External links

* * *
''The Studio''
at South Coast Repertory {{DEFAULTSORT:Amboise, Christopher D American male ballet dancers American choreographers Ballet choreographers American theatre directors 1960 births Living people New York City Ballet principal dancers New York City Ballet Diamond Project choreographers

Christopher d'Amboise Christopher d'Amboise (born 1960) is an American danseur, choreographer, writer, and theatre director. Born and raised in New York City, the son of dancers Jacques d'Amboise and Carolyn George, d'Amboise became a principal dancer in the New ...

Choreographers of New York City Ballet Christopher d'Amboise American people of Irish descent American people of French-Canadian descent Collegiate School (New York) alumni