Charles "Chucky" Klapow (born July 5, 1980) is an American choreographer and dance instructor who has performed and choreographed for various performers and several television and stage productions. He is also known for his teachings on the mental approach to dance. Klapow's mother is Filipino, and his father is European-American.

Life and career

Klapow began his dancing career aged 12, dancing for Patti LaBelle,

Celine Dion Céline Marie Claudette Dion ( ; born 30 March 1968) is a Canadian singer. Noted for her powerful and technically skilled vocals, Dion is the best-selling Canadian recording artist, and the best-selling French-language artist of all time. Her ...

, Sheila E., Salt-N-Pepa,

Melissa Etheridge Melissa Lou Etheridge (born May 29, 1961) is an American singer, songwriter, musician, and guitarist. Her eponymous debut album was released in 1988 and became an underground success. It peaked at No. 22 on the ''Billboard'' 200 and its lead ...

, and others in an all-star concert for the Pediatric AIDS Foundation. This included a dancing spot in the Paula Abdul music video "Zip-A-Dee-Doo-Dah". By the time he was 15, Charles was an assistant to choreographer and mentor

Marguerite Derricks Marguerite Pomerhn-Derricks (born 1961), professionally known as Marguerite Derricks, is a former ballerina and a multi award-winning choreographer from Buffalo, New York.Bob Thompson, "A woman on the Go Go: Catchy Gap ad, Austin Powers' moves mak ...

. He assisted Marguerite and danced in '' Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery'' (1997), '' 3rd Rock from the Sun'', ''Fame L.A.'', among others. Charles created a dance company with partner

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 ...

in the mid-1990s called L.A. Images. In the fall of 2000, Klapow started choreographing for the Swedish pop group the

A*Teens A-Teens (stylized as A★TEENS or A*Teens) were a Swedish pop music group from Stockholm, Sweden, formed by Niklas Berg in 1998 originally as an ABBA tribute band called ABBA-Teens and was later renamed A-Teens. The band members were Marie Serne ...

. He was their choreographer for music videos including "Floorfiller", "Halfway Around The World", "Sugar Rush", "Can't Help Falling In Love", and "I Promised Myself" as well as their tour director and choreographer from 2001–2003. These tours took Charles to Germany, Sweden and all over the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

, with additional spot dates in

Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-eig ...

, and

Denmark ) , song = ( en, "King Christian stood by the lofty mast") , song_type = National and royal anthem , image_map = EU-Denmark.svg , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of Denmark , establish ...

. Ever since the inaugural season of the WNBA Charles has been a choreographer for the "Sparkids", the hip hop squad which performs at all Los Angeles Sparks home games. In 2005, Klapow became co-director of the squad under the direction of Christy Buss, and he assumed most of the choreography duties for the Sparkids during the 2005 and 2006 seasons. Klapow was brought on board by

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 ...

(

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 ...

choreographer) to help choreograph ''

High School Musical ''High School Musical'' is a 2006 American musical television film directed by Kenny Ortega and written by Peter Barsocchini. The 63rd Disney Channel Original Movie (DCOM) and first installment of the ''High School Musical'' film series, ...

'' (2006), a

Disney Channel Original Movie Many television films have been produced for Disney Channel, an American family-oriented basic cable channel and former premium television channel since its launch on April 18, 1983. Until October 1997, films were released under the banner na ...

, with Bonnie Story. Very quickly, Ortega became another mentor to Klapow as they quickly developed a working chemistry together. Klapow served with Ortega and Story as a choreographer for the film's sequels, '' High School Musical 2'' and '' High School Musical 3: Senior Year''. He can be seen in all ''High School Musical'' movies as a dancer and member of the school basketball team as well. He also went on to choreograph the stage and ice tours. Klapow has choreographed commercials for companies including Gap Kids,

Old Navy Old Navy is an American clothing and accessories retailing company owned by multinational corporation Gap Inc. It has corporate operations in the Mission Bay neighborhood of San Francisco, California. The largest of the Old Navy stores are its ...

JCPenney Penney OpCo LLC, doing business as JCPenney and often abbreviated JCP, is a midscale American department store chain operating 667 stores across 49 U.S. states and Puerto Rico. Departments inside JCPenney stores include Mens, Womens, Boys, Gir ...

, Carl's Jr, and Disney's Friends for Change. He has also choreographed '' The Cheetah Girls'' and ''

The Cheetah Girls 2 ''The Cheetah Girls 2'' (also known as ''The Cheetah Girls: When In Spain'' in the working title) is a 2006 American film and the sequel to the Disney Channel Original Movie (DCOM), ''The Cheetah Girls.'' Directed by Kenny Ortega, the ...

'' films. In 2009, Klapow was asked by Ortega to be the choreographer for the '' 2011 movie musical remake of Footloose'' starring Kenny Wormald and

Julianne Hough Julianne Alexandra Hough (; born July 20, 1988) is an American dancer, actress, and singer. In 2007, she joined the cast of ABC's ''Dancing with the Stars'' as a professional dancer, winning two seasons with her celebrity partners. After leavin ...

, which Ortega directed, but Klapow turned it down, so that he could fulfill his dreams of dancing with

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 ...

on his comeback tour in London, which was announced in March. Ironically, Ortega was set to be the tour director of the shows. Klapow was one of twelve dancers picked for Michael Jackson's " This Is It" shows at

The O2 Arena The O2 Arena, commonly known as the O2 (stylised as The O2 arena), is a multi-purpose indoor arena in the centre of the O2 entertainment complex on the Greenwich Peninsula in southeast London. It opened in its present form in 2007. It has the s ...

London, England London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a major s ...

, which was set to begin July 13, 2009, through March 6, 2010, and produced by

AEG Live Allgemeine Elektricitäts-Gesellschaft AG (AEG; ) was a German producer of electrical equipment founded in Berlin as the ''Deutsche Edison-Gesellschaft für angewandte Elektricität'' in 1883 by Emil Rathenau. During the Second World War, AEG ...

. However, on June 25, 2009, just eighteen days before the first show, Michael Jackson died of a cardiac arrest.

cancelled the whole tour. On July 7, 2009, Klapow took part in the

Michael Jackson memorial service A public memorial service for Michael Jackson was held on July 7, 2009, at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, California, twelve days after his death. The event was preceded by a private family service at Forest Lawn Memorial Park's Hall of Li ...

at the Staples Center in

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, largest city in the U.S. state, state of California and the List of United States cities by population, sec ...

where days prior to Michael Jackson's death, Klapow, Michael and the whole ''This Is It'' crew rehearsed in preparations for the London concerts at the O2 Arena. Klapow took part in the performance of "

Will You Be There "Will You Be There" is a song by Michael Jackson which was released as a single on June 28, 1993. The song is the eighth single from the 1991 album '' Dangerous''. The song gained recognition for its appearance on the soundtrack to the film '' ...

" performed by

Jennifer Hudson Jennifer Kate Hudson (born September 12, 1981), also known by her nickname J.Hud, is an American singer, actress, and talk show host. Throughout her career, she has received various accolades for her works in recorded music, film, televisio ...

, where he, and the original eleven "This Is It" dancers were back-up dancers for the performance. It is said that this performance was how Michael Jackson was set to perform the song at his London concerts. Ortega was the director of the memorial service. Klapow recently finished his stint as judge in the Australian TV show ''

Young Talent Time ''Young Talent Time'' is an Australian television variety program produced by Lewis-Young Productions and screened on Network Ten. The original series ran from 1971 until 1988 and was hosted by singer-songwriter and record producer Johnny You ...

'' with Australian singer

Tina Arena Filippina Lydia "Tina" Arena (born 1 November 1967) is an Australian singer-songwriter, musician, musical theatre actress and record producer. She is one of Australia's highest-selling artists and has sold over 10 million records worldwid ...

. On July 6, 2011, Klapow choreographed Ricky and Ryan's Dance on ''So You Think You Can Dance''.

Selected filmography

Awards

*2006 - Emmy Award for Outstanding Choreography for "

" along with

and Bonnie Story.Academy of Television Arts & Sciences
Emmys.org (2012-08-11). Retrieved on 2012-08-22. *2007 - Choreography Media Honors Award for "

" along with

and Bonnie Story. *2007 - Outstanding Contribution to Dance Award from the Tremaine Dance Conventions *2008 - Choreography Media Honors Award for " High School Musical 2" along with

and Bonnie Story. *2008 - Emmy Award nomination for Outstanding Choreography for " High School Musical 2" along with

and Bonnie Story. *2009 - Astaire Awards nomination for Best Film Choreographer for " High School Musical 3: Senior Year" shared with

and Bonnie Story. *2012 - World Dance Award nomination for Outstanding Choreography Concert/Live Performance with Renee Roca *2015 - World Choreography Award for Outstanding Choreography Digital Format along with Paula Abdul, Renee Richie and Nakul Dev Mahajan. *2016 - Outstanding Alumni Award from the Tremaine Dance Conventions

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Klapow, Charles 1980 births American choreographers Dance teachers Primetime Emmy Award winners American dancers of Asian descent American people of Filipino descent Living people American people of Russian descent Australian people of Russian descent Australian people of American descent Australian people of Filipino descent