Aicha McKenzie

Last updated

Aicha McKenzie
Personal information
NationalityEnglish
BornFebruary 1977
London, England
Medal record
Gymnastics
Representing Flag of England.svg  England
Commonwealth Games
Bronze medal icon (B initial).svg 1994 Victoria ball
Bronze medal icon (B initial).svg 1994 Victoria hoop
Bronze medal icon (B initial).svg 1994 Victoria all-around

Aicha Alicia McKenzie (born February, 1977) is a former female British gymnast, model and dancer who is also the CEO of AMCK Management, which founded AMCK Dance in 2005, AMCK Models in 2008 and AMCK Fit in June 2017. [1] [2] She is widely regarded as a leader in the entertainment field. [3]

Contents

Early life

McKenzie was born in London in 1977. [1] She is an alumna of Putney High School, GDST in South-West London. [4] Age 17, McKenzie won three rhythmic gymnastics bronze medals at the 1994 Commonwealth Games in Victoria, British Columbia, Canada, [5] [6] [7] [8] narrowly missing out on qualifying for the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta. [9]

McKenzie was also a dancer for Take That during their performance at the first EMA's in Berlin in 1994. [1]

Career

AMCK Dance is the exclusive agency providing talent for the MTV EMA shows for over 15 years. They regularly work with artists such as Dua Lipa, Beyonce, Rihanna, Kendrick Lamar, Madonna and Janet Jackson. [3] McKenzie's first major project was Kanye West's 'Golddigger' promotional campaign which was featured in the 2006 Brit Awards. [10] McKenzie worked on the Christian Louboutin's 20th Anniversary hologram film with Dita Von Teese which was showcased in London in 2012, as well as choreographing fashion shows as part of London Fashion Week. [10] [11]

McKenzie was also responsible for choreographing 300 Olympic dancers during the London 2012 Olympic Games [9] at the beach volleyball, gymnastics, taekwondo and boxing venues. [9] She was also the choreographer for the MTV European Music Awards for several years. [1] [12] [10] McKenzie also choreographed the opening ceremony for the 2015 Rugby World Cup final at Twickenham. [8] In 2022 she was a resident choreographer at the Commonwealth Games Birmingham for the beach volleyball, gymnastics, badminton and basketball venues.

AMCK MODELS was the first male-based modelling agency in London. [12] They have secured campaigns with designers such as Givenchy, Burberry, Alexander McQueen and Prada. [3] AMCK challenges the industries perception of what male beauty means today, and focus on signing boys that eschew stereotypes. [13]

In 2017, AMCK Fit was also launched, acting as a wellness concierge service to the creative industries. [14] [15] [8] They have hosted events with companies including Vogue House, Soho House and Sony Music. [3]

McKenzie has made many TV appearances as a judge on MTV reality dance shows MTV Shakedown and Sweet Sixteen, ITV's Dancing on Ice, Britains Next Top Model, Trouble TV's Bump and Grind, Extreme Makeover and the BBC's The Best in Town. [10]

In 2020, Aicha McKenzie received her Breath Coach Accreditation, and teaches breath techniques via Instagram [16] [17] and Zoom.

On 22.2.22, AMCK Group launched a collection of 222 NFTs featuring a selection of AMCK talent. Each talent featured will receive royalties from the sale of their artwork in perpetuity. Symbolically, pieces from the 22.2.22: Genesis collection were put on sale for £250 - around the traditional day rate for a dancer. [18]

Achievements & Recognition

In 2013, McKenzie was one of fifty women to be invited to 10 Downing Street for the Power List reception, where she was recognised as one of Britain's most influential black people. [12] In 2019, McKenzie became The Black British Business Awards' (BBBAs) senior leader for the Consumer and Luxury category as CEO of the AMCK Group. [19]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kelly Osbourne</span> English television personality

Kelly Michelle Lee Osbourne is an English TV personality, singer, actress, and fashion designer. She is a daughter of Ozzy and Sharon Osbourne, and came to prominence while appearing on the reality show The Osbournes (2002–2005) with her family, for which they won a 2002 Emmy Award for Outstanding Reality Program. Her other television work includes hosting Project Catwalk (2007–2008) and Fashion Police (2010–2015), competing on the ninth season of Dancing with the Stars (2009), and judging on Project Runway Junior (2015–2017) and Australia's Got Talent (2016). She also played the voice role of Hildy Gloom in the Disney XD animated series The 7D (2014–2016).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Arlene Phillips</span> English choreographer (born 1943)

Dame Arlene Phillips is an English choreographer, talent scout, television judge and presenter, theatre director, and former dancer, who has worked in many fields of entertainment.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cameron Russell</span> American supermodel and activist

Cameron Russell is an American fashion supermodel and activist. Born in Cambridge, Massachusetts, she graduated from Columbia University with majors in economics and political science. Russell began modeling in 2003.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Putney High School</span> All girls school in London

Putney High School, GDST is an independent girls' day school in Putney, London. Often referred to as simply Putney, the school admits students from the ages 4–18. Founded in 1893 it is a member of the Girls' Day School Trust, a union of 26 schools with 19,500 students and 3,500 staff. The school uniform is purple and has always been since a uniform was put in place. On average, in the junior school, there are 48 children in a year, 2 classes in a year and 24 in each class. In the senior school, there are about 25–27 in a class and each year has an intake of about 110, so 4 classes a year.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cris Judd</span> American dancer and choreographer (born 1969)

Cristan Lee Judd is a Filipino American dancer, actor, and choreographer known for his brief marriage to Jennifer Lopez.

Hollie Victoria Robertson is an English dancer who won the second series of the BBC One dance talent show Strictly Dance Fever together with partner Darrien Wright. In the final they beat Darren Bailey and Lana Williams.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Louis Smith (gymnast)</span> English artistic gymnast (born 1987)

Louis Antoine Smith MBE is a retired English artistic gymnast.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lee McKenzie</span> Scottish sports broadcaster

Lee McKenzie is a journalist and presenter who is a reporter and deputy presenter for Channel 4's F1 coverage and also the main presenter of the W Series and Channel 4 Rugby. McKenzie also works on a variety of sports on the BBC and Channel 4 including tennis, rugby and equestrian, as well as the Olympics and Paralympic Games. McKenzie has also worked as a presenter for the BBC's F1 coverage, Sky Sports and Sky Sports News.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wayne McGregor</span> British choreographer and director (born 1970)

Sir Wayne McGregor, CBE is a British choreographer and director who has won multiple awards. He is the Artistic Director of Studio Wayne McGregor and Resident Choreographer of The Royal Ballet. McGregor was appointed Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) 2011 for Services to Dance.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fanny Pak</span> American dance crew

Fanny Pak is a ten-member contemporary, hip-hop and jazz-trained dance crew from Los Angeles, California that gained popularity after appearing on the second season of MTV's America's Best Dance Crew (ABDC). Often while performing, the crew wears bright clothes and bold patterns reminiscent of the 1980s as well as fanny packs, which is where their crew name originated. In addition, all of the members were born in the 1980s. The crew returned to ABDC on the seventh season, placing fifth in the competition.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Natricia Bernard</span>

Natricia Tara Bernard is a choreographer and creative director based in the UK who has worked with many leading artists for over 20 years. After appearing in a commercial at the age of 5, she trained at the Super Arts Stage school for 12 years, completing her training at the London Studio Centre. She has since worked with many big names in the entertainment industry, appearing on television, award shows, modelling, and choreographing for various work including music videos, commercials, television and events.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Claudia Fragapane</span> British artistic gymnast

Claudia Fragapane is a retired British artistic gymnast. She came to prominence at the 2014 Commonwealth Games, where she was the first English woman to win four gold medals in a single Games since 1930. In 2015, Fragapane was part of the women's gymnastics team that won Great Britain's first-ever team medal, a bronze, at the World Artistic Gymnastics Championships, before winning an individual world championship bronze on floor two years later.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tiger Kirchharz</span> German dancer, choreographer, and actress

Tiger Kirchharz is a dancer, choreographer and actress.

Ryan Heffington is an American dancer and choreographer based in Los Angeles. He was nominated for two Grammy Awards for choreographing the music videos for Arcade Fire's "We Exist" (2013) and Sia's "Chandelier" (2014), winning a VMA Award for the latter.

Cricket Fashion is a luxury fashion retailer for men, women and children based in Liverpool city centre. Specialising in runway designers, the company offers the work of labels including Saint Laurent, Givenchy, Céline, Stella McCartney and Christian Louboutin. Cricket is revered as one of Vogue's best independent stores outside of London.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mackenzie Ziegler</span> American singer and actress (born 2004)

Mackenzie Frances Ziegler is an American singer, actress, former dancer, and internet personality. She appeared as a child for six years on the Lifetime reality dance series Dance Moms together with her older sister, dancer and actress Maddie Ziegler.

Emma Clare Thynn, Marchioness of Bath, often known as Emma Weymouth, is a British socialite and fashion model. She is married to Ceawlin Thynn, 8th Marquess of Bath. In 2020, she became the first black marchioness in British history.

Lucy Elizabeth Stanhope is an English women's artistic gymnast. She represents City of Liverpool Gymnastics Club and is a member of the England and Great Britain senior elite squads.

Kesewa Arbell Lavinia Aboah is a British artist and model.

Charmaine Jordan, known professionally as Charm La'Donna, is an American dancer and choreographer. She is known for her work with recording artists such as Kendrick Lamar, Rosalía, Dua Lipa and Selena Gomez.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 "Aicha McKenzie – Exclusive Interview" . Retrieved 25 October 2017.
  2. "NEWS". AMCKFIT. Retrieved 25 October 2017.
  3. 1 2 3 4 Cameron-Chileshe, Jasmine (13 February 2020). "From budding Olympian to star choreographer, how Aicha McKenzie built an entertainment empire". The Telegraph.
  4. "Alumnae Archive - Page 4 of 5".
  5. "1994 Athletes". Team England.
  6. "England team in 1994". Commonwealth Games Federation. Archived from the original on 7 May 2021. Retrieved 21 October 2019.
  7. "Athletes and results". Commonwealth Games Federation.
  8. 1 2 3 "Celebrity Choreographer Aicha McKenzie's Morning Fitness Routine Will Make You Rethink Yours". HuffPost UK. 9 August 2017. Retrieved 25 October 2017. Open Access logo PLoS transparent.svg
  9. 1 2 3 Kortekaas, Vanessa (10 August 2012). "Day in the life: The choreographer". Financial Times [London UK]. p. 2.
  10. 1 2 3 4 mediaslide.com. "Aicha Mckenzie – AMCK Dance" . Retrieved 25 October 2017.
  11. "Christian Louboutin's 20th anniversary capsule collection – Fashion Galleries – Telegraph". fashion.telegraph.co.uk. Retrieved 25 October 2017.
  12. 1 2 3 "Power List 2013". content.yudu.com. Retrieved 25 October 2017.
  13. "Charting the rise of a new breed of male models" . Independent.co.uk . 9 January 2017. Archived from the original on 10 January 2017.
  14. "October: Little Black Book of Health, Beauty and Wellness Practitioners". Forbes .
  15. "ABOUT". AMCKFIT. Retrieved 25 October 2017.
  16. "Login • Instagram".{{cite web}}: Cite uses generic title (help)
  17. "Login • Instagram".{{cite web}}: Cite uses generic title (help)
  18. "AMCK - Profile".
  19. "2019 Winners". The Black British Business Awards' (BBBAs). Archived from the original on 17 October 2019.