Mark Samuels

Early life

Mark was born in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Both his parents are of Indo-Jamaican descent. They moved from Kempshill, Jamaica to Toronto in 1973 to start a family. He has two siblings, Wayne Samuels and Jeff Samuels. Mark grew up in Jane and Finch, an area known as one of the roughest neighbourhoods in Canada. At 13 years old, Mark started his dance journey in middle school at a talent show, performing an impersonation of Kid ’N Play. In 1995, Mark joined Toronto’s biggest and most recognizable dance troupe, Do Dat. He was hired to dance for many successful Canadian recording artists such as Maestro Fresh Wes, Jully Black, Glen Lewis, 2 Rude, B4-4, Shawn Desman, Deborah Cox and many more. He also performed on Canada’s most notable award shows, The Juno Awards and the Much Music Video Awards (MMVAs).

In 1999, he left Canada to pursue a dance career in the US. Mark was one of the first commercial hip hop dancers from Canada to ever work in the United States. He was fortunate enough to dance for major recording artists such as Mariah Carey, Mary J. Blige, Missy Elliott, Mario, Rihanna, Kelis, Olivia, Nivea and others. In 2009, Mark returned back to Canada where he met fellow choreographer Paul Becker, who was instrumental in shifting Mark’s career from dancer to choreographer.

Career

In 2014, Mark was introduced to the world of musical theatre in TV & Film, landing his first major choreography role on the TV show Murdoch Mysteries (Season 7, Episode 10). Since 2015, Mark has been fully immersed in the Vancouver film scene. He was introduced to Kenny Ortega, who brought him on as the main hip hop choreographer for Disney’s Descendants, starring Dove Cameron, Sofia Carson, Mitchell Hope, Cameron Boyce and Booboo Stewart. It was noted as one of the most-watched original movies on cable television. It also won a DGA, WGA and Primetime Emmy Award. In 2018, Mark helped choreograph three musical numbers on The Magicians - (Season 3 Episode 9, “All That Josh”). In 2017, he was the associate choreographer for A Series of Unfortunate Events, starring Neil Patrick Harris.

In 2021, Mark was the assistant choreographer on A Week Away, a Christian-based musical film. Later that year, he worked as the associate choreographer on Honey Girls, starring recording artist Ashanti. In 2022, Mark was the choreographer on the Hallmark movie, Just One Kiss. In addition to TV & Film, Mark provides movement coaching and performance direction for various recording artists. In 2010, he choreographed and worked directly with Shawn Desman for his music video, Money Shot. He worked again with Shawn in 2023 as a movement coach on the music video Love Me With The Lights On.

In 2022, Mark worked alongside Juno Award winner, Savannah Ré for her debut headlining show. He was the sole choreographer for Drake's OVO North Stars show, working with R&B group In Essence and solo recording artist, Dru Grange. Later that year, he also worked on performance direction with Leila Dey, who opened for Juno Award winner, Jessie Reyez on her headlining tour, Yessie.

Creative Direction

Mark was one of two creative directors on the CNCO World Tour. He was responsible for creating the visual concepts for the show. He also co-choreographed and staged the group. He coordinated with lighting, special effects and set design teams to bring key moments to life. He also was instrumental in producing music for the infamous breakdown dance sections that CNCO performed on The Latin Billboard Awards.

Awards

• 2022 - Leo Award winner for Honey Girls
• 2010 - Much Music Video Of The Year Shawn Desman - Night Like This

Work (choreography and movement, performance direction)

References

External links

• Mark Samuels on IMDB