Sean Bankhead is an American

dancer Dance is a performing art form consisting of sequences of movement, either improvised or purposefully selected. This movement has aesthetic and often symbolic value. Dance can be categorized and described by its choreography, by its repertoi ...

and

choreographer Choreography is the art or practice of designing sequences of movements of physical bodies (or their depictions) in which motion or form or both are specified. ''Choreography'' may also refer to the design itself. A choreographer is one who cr ...

. He served as a judge on the American music competition series ''

Becoming A Popstar ''Becoming A Popstar'' is an American music competition television series produced by Jesse Collins Entertainment and Velocity, it premiered on MTV on March 24, 2022. Joe Jonas, Becky G, and Sean Bankhead serves as judges for the series. The ...

''. Bankhead has created the choreography for many music videos, including Lil Nas X's " Industry Baby"(featuring Jack Harlow), Normani's "

Motivation Motivation is the reason for which humans and other animals initiate, continue, or terminate a behavior at a given time. Motivational states are commonly understood as forces acting within the agent that create a disposition to engage in goal-dire ...

" and " Wild Side"(featuring

Cardi B Belcalis Marlenis Almánzar Cephus (, ; born October 11, 1992), known professionally as Cardi B, is an American rapper and songwriter. She first gained popularity as an influencer on Vine and Instagram. From 2015 to early 2017, she appeared as ...

), Cardi B's " Up", Sam Smith's " Dancing with a Stranger" (with Normani) and " I'm Ready" (with

Demi Lovato Demetria Devonne Lovato ( ; born August 20, 1992), known as Demi Lovato, is an American singer, songwriter, and actress. After appearing on the children's television series ''Barney & Friends'' (2002–2004), Lovato rose to prominence for pl ...

), and

FKA Twigs Tahliah Debrett Barnett (born 17 January 1988), known professionally as FKA Twigs (stylized as FKA twigs), is an English singer, songwriter, and dancer. Born and raised in Cheltenham, she became a backup dancer for numerous famous musicians aft ...

' "

Tears in the Club "Tears in the Club" (stylized in all lowercase on the album version only) is a song by English singer-songwriter FKA Twigs, featuring vocals from Canadian singer the Weeknd. It was released on 16 December 2021, as the lead single from Twigs' fir ...

" (featuring The Weeknd). He has also choreographed concert tours, and television and film productions. Throughout his career, he has earned five nominations for the MTV Video Music Award for Best Choreography.

Early life

Born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He moved to Atlanta, Georgia, United States; and began his career by uploading a dance video to YouTube in 2006 on his original channel "Seanalator". The video went viral and amassed over 1.5 million views. In 2007, Bankhead landed his first high-profile gig, appearing as a love interest in the music video for " Promise Ring" by Tiffany Evans. The following year, he was hired as a dancer for

Beyoncé Beyoncé Giselle Knowles-Carter ( ; born September 4, 1981) is an American singer, songwriter, and actress. Beyoncé's boundary-pushing artistry and vocals have made her the most influential female musician of the 21st century, according to ...

, performing with the singer during a live performance of " Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It)" on The Tyra Banks Show.

Career

Music videos and live performances

In 2014, Bankhead choreographed the music video for Fifth Harmony's "

Boss Boss may refer to: Occupations * Supervisor, often referred to as boss * Air boss, more formally, air officer, the person in charge of aircraft operations on an aircraft carrier * Crime boss, the head of a criminal organization * Fire boss, a ...

", and later on their music video for "

Down Down most often refers to: * Down, the relative direction opposed to up * Down (gridiron football), in American/Canadian football, a period when one play takes place * Down feather, a soft bird feather used in bedding and clothing * Downland, a ty ...

", which earned him a MTV Video Music Award nomination; since then he has developed a close working relationship with former Fifth Harmony member Normani, referring to her as his muse, and choreographing her music videos for "

", " Dancing with a Stranger"(with Sam Smith), and " Wild Side"(featuring

). He has also frequently collaborated with

Missy Elliott Melissa Arnette Elliott (born July 1, 1971), better known as Missy Elliott or Missy “Misdemeanor” Elliot, is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, and record producer. She embarked on her music career with R&B girl group Sista in the earl ...

, working with her on the music video for her single "

I'm Better "I'm Better" is a song by American recording artist Missy Elliott, and features accompanying vocals by frequent production partner Lamb. Remix An official remix of "I'm Better" was released in May 2017. The remix featured Eve, Lil' Kim, and Trin ...

", and her

Michael Jackson Video Vanguard Award The Michael Jackson Video Vanguard Award, also known as the Video Vanguard Award or the Lifetime Achievement Award, is a merit given to recording artists and music video directors at the MTV Video Music Awards (VMAs), a ceremony that was establis ...

medley at the

2019 MTV Video Music Awards The 2019 MTV Video Music Awards were held on August 26, 2019, at the Prudential Center in Newark, being the first VMA ceremony to be held in New Jersey. Sebastian Maniscalco hosted the 36th annual ceremony. Ariana Grande, Taylor Swift, and Billie ...

. Bankhead has also choreographed, directed, and performed many music videos and performances, such as Cardi B's " Up" and her live performance of "

WAP WAP or Wap may refer to: Music * "WAP" (song), a 2020 song by Cardi B featuring Megan Thee Stallion Organizations * Weatherization Assistance Program, for US energy costs * Western Australia Party, a political party founded in 2016 * Western A ...

" (with

Megan Thee Stallion Megan Jovon Ruth Pete (born February 15, 1995), known professionally as Megan Thee Stallion (pronounced "Megan the Stallion"), is an American rapper and songwriter. Originally from Houston, Texas, she first garnered attention when videos of her ...

) at the 63rd Annual Grammy Awards, Megan Thee Stallion's "

Her Her is the objective and possessive form of the English-language feminine pronoun She (pronoun), she. Her, HER or H.E.R. may also refer to: Arts, entertainment and media Music * H.E.R. (born 1997), American singer **H.E.R. (album), ''H.E.R.'' ...

", Sam Smith &

's " I'm Ready", Saweetie's " Best Friend"(featuring Doja Cat), Lil Nas X's " Industry Baby"(featuring Jack Harlow), and their live performance of " Montero (Call Me by Your Name)" on

SNL ''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. Michaels currently serves a ...

City Girls City Girls is an American hip hop duo consisting of Yung Miami (Caresha Romeka Brownlee; born February 1994) and JT (Jatavia Shakara Johnson; born December 1992). The duo originate from Miami, Florida, and garnered attention after making an un ...

' " Twerkulator",

Alesso Alessandro Renato Rodolfo Lindblad (born 7 July 1991), better known by his stage name Alesso (), is a Swedish DJ and music producer. He has worked with numerous artists, including Tove Lo, Theo Hutchcraft, Ryan Tedder, Hailee Steinfeld, Calvi ...

's " When I'm Gone", (with

Katy Perry Katheryn Elizabeth Hudson (born October 25, 1984), known professionally as Katy Perry, is an American singer, songwriter, and television personality. Known for her influence on modern pop music and her Camp (style), campy style, she has been ...

), and "

" by

(featuring The Weeknd). He has also worked for

Britney Spears Britney Jean Spears (born December 2, 1981) is an American singer. Often referred to as the " Princess of Pop", she is credited with influencing the revival of teen pop during the late 1990s and early 2000s. After appearing in stage productio ...

Saucy Santana Rashad Spain (born October 8, 1993), known professionally as Saucy Santana, is an American rapper. After beginning his career as a Make-up artist, makeup artist for the hip hop duo City Girls, he started rapping in February 2019, and released h ...

(with Latto), and Drake.

Additional choreographed work

Bankhead has choreographed for various television shows, including the Lee Daniels drama series ''Empire'', and the Lena Waithe BET series ''Boomerang''. He choreographed all of the dance performances for the

Fox Foxes are small to medium-sized, omnivorous mammals belonging to several genera of the family Canidae. They have a flattened skull, upright, triangular ears, a pointed, slightly upturned snout, and a long bushy tail (or ''brush''). Twelve sp ...

musical drama ''Star''. Bankhead was credited for choreographing a dance routine for Will Ferrell in the movie '' Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues''. In 2013, he served as the assistant choreographer for Beyoncé's

The Mrs. Carter Show World Tour The Mrs. Carter Show World Tour was the fifth concert tour by American singer 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, Serbia on April ...

. In 2020, Bankhead choreographed the Pepsi Zero Sugar Super Bowl LIV commercial featuring

and

H.E.R. Gabriella Sarmiento Wilson (born June 27, 1997), known professionally as H.E.R. (pronounced "her", an acronym for "Having Everything Revealed"), is an American singer, songwriter, musician and actress. She has received several awards includin ...

The following year, he worked with Pepsi again, choreographing a commercial featuring Doja Cat. In 2022, Bankhead joined

Joe Jonas Joseph Adam Jonas (born August 15, 1989) is an American singer, songwriter, and actor. He rose to fame as a member of the pop rock band the Jonas Brothers, alongside his brothers Kevin Jonas, Kevin and Nick Jonas, Nick. The group released their ...

and Becky G to serve as a judges on the

MTV MTV (Originally an initialism of Music Television) is an American cable channel that launched on August 1, 1981. Based in New York City, it serves as the flagship property of the MTV Entertainment Group, part of Paramount Media Networks, a di ...

& TikTok American music competition series ''

''.

Personal life

Bankhead is openly gay. He stated in interview with Yahoo! Life that he is close friends with music choreographer JaQuel Knight.

Awards

In 2021, Bankhead was placed on the 'Performers of the Year' section of the

Out100 ''Out'' is an American LGBTQ news, fashion, entertainment, and lifestyle magazine, with the highest circulation of any LGBTQ monthly publication in the United States. It presents itself in an editorial manner similar to ''Details'', ''Esquire'', ...

list by ''Out'' magazine, which is an annual list described as a "prestigious compilation of the year's most impactful and influential LGBTQ+ people".

Notes

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bankhead, Sean American choreographers American LGBT entertainers LGBT people from Pennsylvania Gay dancers Living people Year of birth missing (living people) People from Philadelphia 21st-century American LGBT people