Martha Nichols (born 1987)
is an American choreographer, dancer, and actress. She took first place in the
Capezio
Capezio is the trade name of Capezio Ballet Makers Inc., an American manufacturer of dance shoes, apparel and accessories.
History
In 1887, Salvatore Capezio, an Italian cobbler emigrated to the United States, opened a shoe repair shop near the ...
A.C.E. Awards in 2016 for her work ''Tilted''.
Early life
Nichols was born on , the daughter of Mary Jane Nichols. They lived in
Brooklyn, NY
Brooklyn () is a Boroughs of New York City, borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. Kings County is the most populous Administrative divisions of New York (state)#County, county i ...
, and moved to
Raleigh, NC
Raleigh (; ) is the capital city of the state of North Carolina and the seat of Wake County in the United States. It is the second-most populous city in North Carolina, after Charlotte. Raleigh is the tenth-most populous city in the Southea ...
when Martha was eight years old. Moved from Brooklyn NY to North Carolina when she was eight years old. Martha studied dance under Christy Curtis at the Pierrette Sadler Danceurs Studio in Raleigh, and later at Curtis's own CC & Company Dance Complex. Nichols mother, Mary Jane, died of a
heart attack
A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when blood flow decreases or stops to the coronary artery of the heart, causing damage to the heart muscle. The most common symptom is chest pain or discomfort which may tr ...
on June 1, 2005, shortly after Martha graduated from Millbrook High School.
She moved in with family friends after her mother's death.
At the age of eighteen, she was a guest teacher, performer and choreographer at the Burlington Academy of Dance & Arts in
Burlington, NC
Burlington is a city in Alamance and Guilford counties in the U.S. state of North Carolina. It is the principal city of the Burlington, North Carolina Metropolitan Statistical Area, which encompasses all of Alamance County, in which most of the ...
.
Career
Nichols appeared on Season 2 of
''So You Think You Can Dance'', which aired beginning in May 2006. She was one of approximately 2000 dancers who auditioned for the season, and was in the Top 20 who appeared on the program. A ''
USA Today
''USA Today'' (stylized in all uppercase) is an American daily middle-market newspaper and news broadcasting company. Founded by Al Neuharth on September 15, 1982, the newspaper operates from Gannett's corporate headquarters in Tysons, Virgini ...
'' article about the show described her as a "
contemporary
Contemporary history, in English-language historiography, is a subset of modern history that describes the historical period from approximately 1945 to the present. Contemporary history is either a subset of the late modern period, or it is o ...
/
hip-hop specialist." One of the show's judges, Nigel Lythgoe said "I don't think Martha's got a problem with her career. She's got great sophistication." She finished in the Top 10 for the season, and went on to tour with the other Top 10 finishers after the season finale.
Following her stint on ''So You Think You Can Dance'', Nichols spent two years dancing in
Cirque du Soleil's production ''
Criss Angel Believe
''Criss Angel Believe'' was the sixth Cirque du Soleil show in Las Vegas, which premiered at the 1,600-capacity Believe Theatre inside the Luxor hotel in Las Vegas in 2008. It is a theatrical production created in partnership of Cirque du Solei ...
.''
She also danced for a
Gap commercial
and
Rihanna's "Diamonds" tour,
and she danced and worked as an assistant choreographer on
Madonna's
Madonna Louise Ciccone (; ; born August 16, 1958) is an American singer-songwriter and actress. Widely dubbed the " Queen of Pop", Madonna has been noted for her continual reinvention and versatility in music production, songwriting, a ...
Rebel Heart Tour
The Rebel Heart Tour was the tenth concert tour by American singer Madonna, staged in support of her thirteenth studio album, ''Rebel Heart'' (2015). Comprising 82 shows, the tour visited North America, Asia, Europe and Oceania. It began on S ...
.
She danced in the 2016 musical film
La La Land
''La La Land'' is a 2016 American romantic musical comedy-drama film written and directed by Damien Chazelle. It stars Ryan Gosling and Emma Stone as a struggling jazz pianist and an aspiring actress, respectively, who meet and fall in love ...
and appeared as the "Woman in Gold" in the 2017 film
The Greatest Showman
''The Greatest Showman'' is a 2017 American biographical musical drama film directed by Michael Gracey in his directorial debut, written by Jenny Bicks and Bill Condon and starring Hugh Jackman, Zac Efron, Michelle Williams, Rebecca Ferguson, ...
. She formed her own dance company, the Martha Nichols Dance Company in 2016.
Her short work ''Tilted'' won first place at the 2016 Capezio A.C.E. Awards, which earned her a $15,000 prize and a subsequent performance of her piece. Dance journalist Rachel Rizzuto described ''Tilted'' as "funky-fabulous."
Nichols went on to choreograph a full-length work, ''The Wider Sun'', which saw its debut at the Beverly O'Neill Theater in
Long Beach, California
Long Beach is a city in Los Angeles County, California. It is the 42nd-most populous city in the United States, with a population of 466,742 as of 2020. A charter city, Long Beach is the seventh-most populous city in California.
Incorporate ...
in August 2017. ''The Wider Sun'' was her first major choreographic work.
She teaches at the
Broadway Dance Center
Broadway Dance Center is a dance school located at 322 West 45th Street west of Times Square in New York City. It was founded in 1984 as one of the first "drop-in" dance training schools in the world, offering classes in jazz, tap, ballet, conte ...
in
New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
.
Works
* ''Tilted''
video
* ''The Wider Sun'', 2017
See also
*
Martha Nichols on ''So You Think You Can Dance''
References
External links
Martha Nichols' YouTube channel- featuring her choreography
Solo performance by Martha Nichols at 2018 Dance Awards Orlando(video)
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Nichols, Martha
1987 births
21st-century American dancers
American women choreographers
American choreographers
American female dancers
Hip hop dancers
Contemporary dancers
Dancers from North Carolina
So You Think You Can Dance contestants
Living people
21st-century American women