Anthony Joseph Testa (born 31 March 1987) is an American choreographer, creative director, educator and dancer.
Early life
Testa started dancing at age eight in his hometown of
Fort Collins, Colorado at Westin Arts Academy & Artistic Fusion Dance Academy.
Testa married actress
Stefania Spampinato
Stefania Spampinato is an Italian actress. She is known for her role in ABC's ''Grey's Anatomy'' and the ''Grey's Anatomy'' spinoff ''Station 19'' as Dr. Carina DeLuca, a Sicilian OB-GYN.
Life and career
Born in Catania (Sicily), Stefania Spa ...
in May 2018. The divorce was finalized in December 2020.
Career
His career as a choreographer began when he made a demo reel using his mother's video camera. In 2002 Tony was picked by choreographer
Brian Friedman
Brian L. Friedman (born May 28, 1977) is an American dancer and choreographer.
Friedman has created the choreography for many popular music artists – such as Britney Spears, Cher, Beyoncé Knowles, and Mariah Carey – as well as for m ...
to tour with
Aaron Carter
Aaron Charles Carter (December 7, 1987November 5, 2022) was an American singer and rapper. He came to fame as a teen pop singer in the late 1990s, establishing himself as a star among preteen and teenage audiences during the first years of th ...
for his Jukebox tour. His demo reel was seen by
Janet Jackson, who hired him to choreograph for her promotional tour that year.
Testa has choreographed for
Britney Spears,
[Choreographer Tony Testa Checks Out 'Viva Elvis' , Las Vegas Review-Journal](_blank)
/ref>Nickelodeon
Nickelodeon (often shortened to Nick) is an American pay television channel which launched on April 1, 1979, as the first cable channel for children. It is run by Paramount Global through its networks division's Kids and Family Group. It ...
's ''Dance on Sunset
''Dance on Sunset'' is an American dance and music series hosted by Quddus (Benjamin Quddus Philippe) on Nickelodeon that featured dance routines, called the "Fresh-Squeezed Dance", designed to be performed by its preteen and teenage viewers. Ch ...
'' (2008).All The Lovers
"All the Lovers" is a song recorded by Australian recording artist Kylie Minogue for her eleventh studio album, ''Aphrodite'' (2010). It was released by Parlophone on 11 June 2010 as the lead single from the album. The song was written by Jim ...
", "Better Than Today
"Better Than Today" is a song recorded by Australian singer Kylie Minogue for her eleventh studio album, ''Aphrodite'' (2010). The track was originally written and produced by Nerina Pallot and Andy Chatterley for Pallot's 2009 extended play, ' ...
" and "Get Outta My Way
"Get Outta My Way" is a song recorded by Australian recording artist Kylie Minogue for her eleventh studio album ''Aphrodite'' (2010). "Get Outta My Way" was written and produced by Mich Hansen, Lucas Secon, Damon Sharpe, Peter Wallevik, Daniel ...
" music videos. He was the associate director and choreographer for her Aphrodite: Les Folies Tour (2011).
Testa was hired by director Kenny Ortega
Kenneth John Ortega (born April 18, 1950) is an American filmmaker, touring manager, and choreographer. He is known for directing the films '' Newsies'', '' Hocus Pocus'', ''The Cheetah Girls 2'', ''High School Musical'', '' Michael Jackson's T ...
as an associate choreographer for Michael Jackson
Michael Joseph Jackson (August 29, 1958 – June 25, 2009) was an American singer, songwriter, dancer, and philanthropist. Dubbed the "King of Pop", he is regarded as one of the most significant cultural figures of the 20th century. Over a ...
's final tour This Is It,Corbin Bleu
Corbin Bleu Reivers (; born February 21, 1989), known professionally as Corbin Bleu, is an American actor and singer. He made his acting debut in the 2004 adventure comedy film '' Catch That Kid''. He has since appeared in the Discovery Kids d ...
, ''The Rocky Horror Picture Show
''The Rocky Horror Picture Show'' is a 1975 musical comedy horror film by 20th Century Fox, produced by Lou Adler and Michael White and directed by Jim Sharman. The screenplay was written by Sharman and actor Richard O'Brien, who is also ...
'' benefit for The Painted Turtle, and the remake of ''Dirty Dancing
''Dirty Dancing'' is a 1987 American romantic drama dance film written by Eleanor Bergstein, produced by Linda Gottlieb, and directed by Emile Ardolino. Starring Patrick Swayze and Jennifer Grey, it tells the story of Frances "Baby" Houseman ...
''.American Music Awards
The American Music Awards (AMAs) is an annual American music awards show, generally held in the fall, created by Dick Clark in 1973 for ABC when the network's contract to air the Grammy Awards expired, and currently produced by Dick Clark Pro ...
with Wade Robson
Wade, WADE, or Wades may refer to:
Places in the United States
* Wade, California, a former settlement
* Wade, Maine, a town
* Wade, Mississippi, a census-designated place
* Wade, North Carolina, a town
* Wade, Ohio, an unincorporated commu ...
. Later that year he served as the Creative Director for Season 1 of ''The Voice UK
''The Voice UK'' is a British singing competition television series. Created by John de Mol, it premiered on BBC One during the spring television cycle on 24 March 2012. Based on the original '' The Voice of Holland'', and part of ''The Voice ...
'' and for One Direction
One Direction, often shortened to 1D, are an English-Irish pop boy band formed in London in 2010. The group are composed of Niall Horan, Liam Payne, Harry Styles, Louis Tomlinson, and previously Zayn Malik until his departure from the g ...
on ''Saturday Night Live
''Saturday Night Live'' (often abbreviated to ''SNL'') is an American late-night live television sketch comedy and variety show created by Lorne Michaels and developed by Dick Ebersol that airs on NBC and Peacock (streaming service), Peacock. ...
'' (Season 37, Episode 18).
In 2012, Testa choreographed for the K-pop band Shinee
Shinee ( ; ko, 샤이니, Syaini; ja, シャイニー, Shainī; stylized as SHINee) is a South Korean boy band formed by SM Entertainment in 2008. The group's musical impact in their native country has earned them numerous accolades and th ...
in their music video " Sherlock (Clue + Note)",TVXQ
TVXQ (stylized as TVXQ!), an initialism for Tong Vfang Xien Qi (), is a South Korean male pop duo consisting of U-Know Yunho and Max Changmin. They are known as in Japanese releases, and are sometimes referred to as DBSK, an abbreviation of ...
's " Catch Me" (known in Korea as "Hulk Dance") and "Something
Something may refer to:
Philosophy and language
*Something (concept)
*Something, an English indefinite pronoun
Music
Albums
* ''Something'' (Chairlift album), 2012
* ''Something'' (Shirley Bassey album), 1970
* ''Something'' (Shirley Scott ...
".
Testa choreographed Super Junior's " Mamacita" and "Super Clap". For Exo
Exo ( ko, 엑소; stylized in all caps) is a South Korean-Chinese boy band based in Seoul formed by SM Entertainment in 2011 and debuted in 2012. The group consists of nine members: Xiumin, Suho, Lay, Baekhyun, Chen, Chanyeol, D.O., Kai ...
, Testa choreographed the band's "Wolf
The wolf (''Canis lupus''; : wolves), also known as the gray wolf or grey wolf, is a large canine native to Eurasia and North America. More than thirty subspecies of ''Canis lupus'' have been recognized, and gray wolves, as popularly un ...
" and "Overdose
A drug overdose (overdose or OD) is the ingestion or application of a drug or other substance in quantities much greater than are recommended. ". He was the art director for Exo's first solo concert The Lost Planet.Cherry Bomb
A cherry bomb (also known as a globe salute or kraft salute) is an approximately spherical exploding firework, roughly resembling a cherry in size and shape (with the fuse resembling the cherry's stem). Cherry bombs range in size from in diamet ...
" by NCT.
Testa is a dance educator for both the New York City Dance Alliance
Choreography
*Concert tour for Demi Lovato - Choreographer (2011)
*Promotional Concert Tour for Britney Spears. - Choreographer (2008)
Director
*AMAs live performance by singer Nicki Minaj
Onika Tanya Maraj-Petty (; born December 8, 1982), known professionally as Nicki Minaj ( ), is a Trinidadian-born rapper based in the United States. She is known for her musical versatility, animated Flow (rapping), flow in her rapping, alter e ...
and DJ David Guetta
Pierre David Guetta ( , ; born 7 November 1967) is a French DJ and music producer. He has over 10 million album and 65 million single sales globally, with more than 10 billion streams. In 2011, 2020 and 2021, Guetta was voted the number one D ...
- Co-Creative Director & Choreographer (20 November 2011)
*Saturday Night Live for the band 1 Direction - Creative Director (7 April 2012)
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Testa, Tony
1987 births
Living people
American choreographers
American music video directors