John Selya is a professional

dancer Dance is an The arts, art form, consisting of sequences of body movements with aesthetic and often Symbol, symbolic value, either improvised or purposefully selected. Dance can be categorized and described by its choreography, by its repertoir ...

and choreographer. Selya was born in

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

and trained at the School of American Ballet. He joined the

American Ballet Theatre American Ballet Theatre (ABT) is a classical ballet company based in New York City. Founded in 1939 by Lucia Chase and Richard Pleasant. Through 2019, it had an annual eight-week season at the Metropolitan Opera House (Lincoln Center) in the spr ...

in 1988, where he danced roles such as Birbanto and Lankendem in ''Le Corsaire'', Lead Gypsy in ''Don Quixote'', Head Fakir in ''La Bayadere'', Dr. Coppelius in ''Coppelia'', and an Ugly Stepsister in Ben Stevenson's ''Cinderella''. He choreographed several ballets for the company, including ''Moondance'', ''Jack and Jill'', ''Don't Panic'', ''Turnstile'', and ''Disposition''. In 2000, Selya joined Twyla Tharp Dance. Selya appeared in the 2010 Broadway musical '' Come Fly Away'' in which Twyla Tharp choreographed songs sung by

Frank Sinatra Francis Albert Sinatra (; December 12, 1915 – May 14, 1998) was an American singer and actor. Honorific nicknames in popular music, Nicknamed the "Chairman of the Board" and "Ol' Blue Eyes", he is regarded as one of the Time 100: The Most I ...

. He previously appeared in the Broadway revival of ''

Guys and Dolls ''Guys and Dolls'' is a musical theater, musical with music and lyrics by Frank Loesser and book by Jo Swerling and Abe Burrows. It is based on "The Idyll of Miss Sarah Brown" (1933) and "Blood Pressure", which are two short stories by Damon Run ...

'' (2009) as Scranton Slim, in ''

Damn Yankees ''Damn Yankees'' is a 1955 musical comedy with a book by George Abbott and Douglass Wallop, music and lyrics by Richard Adler and Jerry Ross. The story is a modern retelling of the Faust legend set during the 1950s in Washington, D.C., d ...

'' as Eddie/Mambo Dancer (2008), and in ''The Times They Are A-Changin' ''as Lucibeal (2006). He played the character "Eddie" in the show '' Movin' Out'' for which he received the 2003 Tony and Drama Desk nominations for Best Male Dancer and Lead Actor in a musical and won the 2003 TDF/Astaire Award for Best Male Dancer in a Musical and the Theater World Award.

Choreography

In the spring of 2008, Selya premiered two works, "Tweaker" and " La Voix humaine" (after Cocteau's play) at the Joyce SoHo, where he was awarded a choreographic residency.

References

External links

*
John Selya and Ashley Tuttle: ''Downstage Center'' 2004 interview

American Theatre Wing The American Theatre Wing (the Wing for short) is a New York City–based non-profit organization "dedicated to supporting excellence and education in theatre", according to its mission statement. Originally known as the Stage Women's War Relief ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Selya, John American male ballet dancers Artists from New York City Living people Year of birth missing (living people) Mae L. Wien Award recipients American Ballet Theatre dancers School of American Ballet alumni Jewish American male actors Theatre World Award winners