Dan Knechtges () is a director and choreographer, for musicals, opera, television, film and music videos."Dan Knechtges biography"
wrightwaymasterclasses.com, retrieved April 21, 2010 He is Artistic Director of Theatre Under the Stars in

Houston Houston (; ) is the most populous city in Texas, the most populous city in the Southern United States, the fourth-most populous city in the United States, and the sixth-most populous city in North America, with a population of 2,304,580 in ...

, Texas.

Life and career

Knechtges is from

Grafton, Ohio Grafton is a village in Lorain County, Ohio, United States, along the East Branch of the Black River. The population was 6,636 at the 2010 census. The Lorain Correctional Institution and several other prisons are located in and near Grafton. Hi ...

and is a graduate of Midview High School and

Otterbein College Otterbein University is a private university in Westerville, Ohio. It offers 74 majors and 44 minors as well as eight graduate programs. The university was founded in 1847 by the Church of the United Brethren in Christ and named for United Bre ...

(1994), with a degree in musical theatre."Talking With Choreographer Dan Knechtges"
. Playhousesquare.org, retrieved April 21, 2010 As a child, he took dance lessons in

Elyria, Ohio Elyria ( ) is a city in the Greater Cleveland metropolitan statistical area and the county seat of Lorain County, Ohio, United States, located at the forks of the Black River in Northeast Ohio 23 miles southwest of Cleveland. As of the 2020 cen ...

, where his sister was taking lessons. Immediately after college, he moved to New York where he began to work as a dancer and teacher, and soon he was getting choreography jobs, including eight of the

Gilbert and Sullivan Gilbert and Sullivan was a Victorian era, Victorian-era theatrical partnership of the dramatist W. S. Gilbert (1836–1911) and the composer Arthur Sullivan (1842–1900), who jointly created fourteen comic operas between 1871 and 1896, of which ...

operas for the

Blue Hill Troupe The Blue Hill Troupe, Ltd. (often referred to as the Troupe or BHT), is a musical theatre performing company and charitable organization based in New York City. The Troupe is the only musical theatre company in the city that donates all the net pr ...

. Knechtges' work on

Broadway Broadway may refer to: Theatre * Broadway Theatre (disambiguation) * Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S. ** Broadway (Manhattan), the street **Broadway Theatre (53rd Stree ...

as choreographer includes the musicals ''

The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee ''The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee'' is a musical comedy with music and lyrics by William Finn, based on a book by Rachel Sheinkin, conceived by Rebecca Feldman with additional material by Jay Reiss. The show centers on a fictional spe ...

'' (2005), '' Xanadu'' (2007), '' 110 in the Shade'' (2007 revival), '' You May Now Worship Me'' (Special benefit concert, 2008), ''

Sondheim on Sondheim ''Sondheim on Sondheim'' is a musical revue consisting of music and lyrics written by Stephen Sondheim for his many shows. It is conceived and directed by James Lapine. The revue had a limited run on Broadway in 2010. Background The revue is b ...

'' (2010) and ''

Lysistrata Jones ''Lysistrata Jones'' is a musical comedy adaptation of Aristophanes' comedy ''Lysistrata''. The book is by Douglas Carter Beane and the score is by Lewis Flinn. After a critically acclaimed off-Broadway run with Transport Group Theatre Company ...

'' (2011).Gans, Andrew
"Theatre Under the Stars Welcomes New Artistic Director"
''Playbill'', August 15, 2017 He received nominations for the

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 ...

, Best Choreography and

Drama Desk Award The Drama Desk Award is an annual prize recognizing excellence in New York theatre. First bestowed in 1955 as the Vernon Rice Award, the prize initially honored Off-Broadway productions, as well as Off-off-Broadway, and those in the vicinity. Fo ...

, Outstanding Choreography for ''Xanadu''. Knechtges' choreography for ''Sondheim on Sondheim'' was praised for making "excellent use of multiple layers offered to him by set designer Beowulf Boritt." His

off-Broadway An off-Broadway theatre is any professional theatre venue in New York City with a seating capacity between 100 and 499, inclusive. These theatres are smaller than Broadway theatres, but larger than off-off-Broadway theatres, which seat fewer tha ...

work includes ''Nerds'' (2005); ''The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee'' (2005), for which he received the

Lucille Lortel Award The Lucille Lortel Awards recognize excellence in New York Off-Broadway theatre. The Awards are named for Lucille Lortel, an actress and theater producer, and have been awarded since 1986. They are produced by the League of Off-Broadway Theatre ...

nomination, Outstanding Choreographer; '' Vanities: A New Musical'' (2009) (also at Theatreworks, California); and ''Citizen Ruth'' (

New York International Fringe Festival The New York International Fringe Festival, or FringeNYC, was a fringe theater festival and one of the largest multi-arts events in North America. It took place over the course of a few weeks in October, spread on more than 20 stages across sev ...

, 2009). In regional theatre, he choreographed ''The Girl in the Frame'' at the

Norma Terris Theatre The Norma Terris Theatre is a theatre in Chester, Connecticut, and the second stage of Goodspeed Musicals. The theatre is dedicated to developing and presenting new musicals. Dedicated in 1984, the theatre is named in honor of the actress Norma T ...

Chester, Connecticut Chester is a town in Middlesex County, Connecticut, United States. The population was 3,749 at the 2020 census. The town center is defined by the U.S. Census Bureau as a census-designated place (CDP). The name is a transfer from Chester, in Engl ...

(2005) and both directed and choreographed ''Give It Up!'', with a book by

Douglas Carter Beane Douglas Carter Beane is an American playwright and screenwriter. Born in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania and raised in Wyomissing, Pennsylvania, Beane now lives in New York. His works include the screenplay of ''To Wong Foo, Thanks for Everything! J ...

at the

Dallas Theater Center The Dallas Theater Center is a major regional theater in Dallas, Texas, United States. It produces classic, contemporary and new plays and was the 2017 Tony Award recipient for Best Regional Theater. Dallas Theater Center produces its original w ...

Dallas Dallas () is the List of municipalities in Texas, third largest city in Texas and the largest city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of metropolitan statistical areas, fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States at 7.5 ...

, Texas (2010). Knechtges choreographed the music video for

Fatboy Slim Norman Quentin Cook (born Quentin Leo Cook, 31 July 1963), also known by his stage name Fatboy Slim, is an English musician, DJ, and record producer who helped to popularise the big beat genre in the 1990s. In the 1980s, Cook was the bassist f ...

's "It's a Wonderful Night. In 2008, in

Berlin, Germany Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constituent ...

, he choreographed a stage version of ''

Der Schuh des Manitu ''Der Schuh des Manitu'' (eng.: ''The Shoe of Manitou'') is a 2001 German Western (genre), Western Parody film, parody film. Directed by Michael Herbig, it is a film adaptation of the Winnetou sketches from his ProSieben television show ''Bullyp ...

''."Who's Who in the Cast: Dan Knechtges"
, Playbill.com, April 19, 2010, accessed May 26, 2015 He became the Artistic Director of Theatre Under the Stars in

, Texas in 2017.

References

External links

Official Site
*
Internet Off-Broadway Database listing"Otterbein College Dance Department 'Dance 2009'"
{{DEFAULTSORT:Knechtges, Dan American choreographers American musical theatre directors Living people People from Lorain County, Ohio Year of birth missing (living people)