Frank Gatson Jr. is an American

director Director may refer to: Literature * ''Director'' (magazine), a British magazine * ''The Director'' (novel), a 1971 novel by Henry Denker * ''The Director'' (play), a 2000 play by Nancy Hasty Music * Director (band), an Irish rock band * ''D ...

and

choreographer Choreography is the art of designing sequences of movements of physical bodies (or their depictions) in which Motion (physics), motion or Visual appearance, form or both are specified. ''Choreography'' may also refer to the design itself. A chor ...

. He is the creative director for

En Vogue En Vogue is an American vocal girl group whose original lineup consisted of singers Terry Ellis, Dawn Robinson, Cindy Herron, and Maxine Jones. Formed in Oakland, California, in 1989, En Vogue reached No. 2 on the US Hot 100 with the singl ...

Brandy Brandy is a liquor produced by distilling wine. Brandy generally contains 35–60% alcohol by volume (70–120 US proof) and is typically consumed as an after-dinner digestif. Some brandies are aged in wooden casks. Others are coloured ...

, Muni Long, Tyrese Gibson,

Rihanna Robyn Rihanna Fenty ( ; born February 20, 1988) is a Barbadian singer, businesswoman, and actress. One of the List of music artists by net worth, wealthiest musicians in the world, List of awards and nominations received by Rihanna, her vario ...

and

Jennifer Lopez Jennifer Lynn Lopez (born July 24, 1969), also known by her nickname J.Lo, is an American singer, songwriter, actress, dancer and businesswoman. Lopez is regarded as one of the most influential entertainers of her time, credited with breaking ...

. He also is

Kelly Rowland Kelendria Trene Rowland (born February 11, 1981) is an American singer, actress, and television personality. She rose to fame in the late 1990s as a member of Destiny's Child, one of the world's List of best-selling girl groups, best-selling gir ...

's and

Beyoncé Beyoncé Giselle Knowles-Carter ( ; born September 4, 1981) is an American singer, songwriter, actress, and businesswoman. With a career spanning over three decades, she has established herself as one of the most Cultural impact of Beyoncé, ...

's main creative director and choreographer, a position he has held since her tenure with

Destiny's Child Destiny's Child was an American girl group whose final lineup comprised Beyoncé, Beyoncé Knowles, Kelly Rowland, and Michelle Williams (singer), Michelle Williams. The group began their musical career as Girl's Tyme, formed in 1990 in Hou ...

. He has also choreographed videos, routines and live performances for other artists including R. Kelly, Michael Jackson,

TLC TLC may refer to: Arts and entertainment Television * ''TLC'' (TV series), a 2002 British situational comedy television series that aired on BBC2 * TLC (TV network), formerly the Learning Channel, an American cable TV network ** TLC (Asia), an A ...

, Rihanna,

Fifth Harmony Fifth Harmony, often shortened to 5H, is an American girl group based in Miami, composed of Ally Brooke, Normani, Dinah Jane, Lauren Jauregui, and formerly Camila Cabello until her departure from the group in December 2016. The group signed a ...

, Destiny's Child,

Little Mix Little Mix are an English girl group that formed on the eighth series of ''The X Factor (British TV series), The X Factor.'' They are the first group and the only girl group to win the original UK series. The lineup consisted of Leigh-Anne Pin ...

Toni Braxton Toni Michele Braxton (born October 7, 1966) is an American singer, songwriter, actress and television personality. She has sold over 70 million records worldwide and is one of the best-selling female artists in history. Braxton has won seven ...

and Usher.

Early career

Gatson graduated from the

University of Wisconsin-Madison A university () is an institution of tertiary education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. ''University'' is derived from the Latin phrase , which roughly means "community of teachers and scholars". Uni ...

in 1980 and began dancing for

Up With People Up with People (UWP) is an American 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization. Up with People stages song and dance performances promoting themes such as multiculturalism, racial equality, and positive thinking. Critics, including some former Up with P ...

, an organization that performing at various types of venues, including several

Super Bowl The Super Bowl is the annual History of the NFL championship, league championship game of the National Football League (NFL) of the United States. It has served as the final game of every NFL season since 1966 NFL season, 1966 (with the excep ...

halftime performances. Eventually, he worked his way up to official 'dance captain' and began to manage the show itself. He later moved to New York to study at the Broadway Dance Center and

Alvin Ailey Alvin Ailey Jr. (January 5, 1931 – December 1, 1989) was an American dancer, director, choreographer, and activist who founded the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater (AAADT). He created AAADT and its affiliated Alvin Ailey American Dance Cent ...

Dance Center. After finishing his time at Ailey and Broadway Centers he returned to the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee and received a master's degree in Theatre and Dance. He received his first professional break when he danced in

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 Cultural impact of Michael Jackson, one of the most culturally significan ...

's " Smooth Criminal" video in 1988. In 2016, he hosted BET's Chasing Destiny alongside

. The pair formed an R&B girl group called

June's Diary June's Diary is an American girl group formed by singer Kelly Rowland and director/choreographer Frank Gatson Jr. on the American reality television docu-series ''Chasing Destiny (U.S. TV series), Chasing Destiny'' in 2016. The group consists of ...

which he now manages. Frank Gatson Jr. was the manager for Luke James and

Tyrese Gibson Tyrese Darnell Gibson (born December 30, 1978) is an American R&B singer and actor from Los Angeles, California. He signed with RCA Records in 1998, and released his debut single " Nobody Else" in August of that year. It peaked within the top ...

. Additionally, he served as choreographer for Disney's animated film ''Hercules'', providing choreography for The Muses.

Work with En Vogue

Music videos

Work with R. Kelly

Music videos

Tours and live performances

* Down Low Top Secret Tour (1996) (as director and choreographer) * 39th Annual Grammy Awards (1998) (as choreographer) * Get Up On a Room Tour (1999) (as director and choreographer) * Usher Raymond w/ Puffy "No Way Out Tour" (1998) (as director and choreographer) * TP-2.COM Tour (2001) (as choreographer) * 2005 MTV VMA's (2005) (as choreographer) * 2013 Beyonce's Super Bowl XLVII Halftime show (as creative director and choreographer) * 2015 Soul Train Awards (2015) (as choreographer) * The Buffet Tour (2016) (as director and choreographer)

Work with Beyoncé

Music videos

Tours and live performances

* The Beyoncé Experience (2007) (as show director, creative director and choreographer) * I Am... World Tour (2009) (as director, creative director and choreographer) *

The Mrs. Carter Show World Tour The Mrs. Carter Show World Tour was the fifth concert tour by American singer-songwriter Beyoncé. Announced in February 2013 with initial dates in Europe and North America, the tour contained seven legs and 132 shows. It began in Belgrade, Serb ...

(2013) (as director, creative director and choreographer)

Commercials

* '' True Star'' (2004) * ''

Samsung Samsung Group (; stylised as SΛMSUNG) is a South Korean Multinational corporation, multinational manufacturing Conglomerate (company), conglomerate headquartered in the Samsung Town office complex in Seoul. The group consists of numerous a ...

'' (2007) * '' Armani Diamonds'' (2007) * ''

American Express American Express Company or Amex is an American bank holding company and multinational financial services corporation that specializes in payment card industry, payment cards. It is headquartered at 200 Vesey Street, also known as American Expr ...

'' (2007) * '' L'Oreal'' (2007) * '' L'Oreal'' (2003) (with

) * ''Stella Rosa'' (2022) Brandy

Brandy Norwood Brandy Rayana Norwood (born February 11, 1979) is an American singer, songwriter, dancer, model and actress. Born into a musical family in McComb, Mississippi, Norwood was raised in Carson, California, beginning her career as a backing vocalist ...

Source:

Work with Usher

Music videos

Tours and live performances

* Share My World Tour (1997) (creative director) * No Way Out Tour (1997) (as choreographer) * 8701 Promo Tour (2001) (creative director) * One Night, One Star: Usher Live Showtime Special w/

(2005) (as choreographer)

References

External links

FRANK GATSON Jr. - Bio
Chokolate

Journal Sentinel, February 26, 2010 {{DEFAULTSORT:Gatson, Frank, Jr. American choreographers Artists from Milwaukee People from St. Landry Parish, Louisiana University of Wisconsin–Madison alumni University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee alumni Living people MTV Video Music Award winners Year of birth missing (living people)