| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Nationality | English |
| Born | February 1977 London, England |
Medal record | |
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]
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]
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 and Zoom. [16]
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. [17]
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. [18]
Katherine Ann Moss is an English model. Arriving towards the end of the "supermodel era", Moss rose to fame in the early 1990s as part of the heroin chic fashion trend. Her collaborations with Calvin Klein brought her to fashion icon status. She is known for her waifish figure, and role in size zero fashion. Moss has had her own clothing range, has been involved in musical projects, and is also a contributing fashion editor for British Vogue. In 2012, she came second on the Forbes top-earning models list, with estimated earnings of $9.2 million in one year. The accolades she has received for modelling include the 2013 British Fashion Awards acknowledging her contribution to fashion over 25 years, while Time named her one of the world's 100 most influential people in 2007.
Wade Jeremy William Robson is an Australian dancer and choreographer. He began performing as a dancer at age five, and has directed music videos and world tours for pop acts such as NSYNC and Britney Spears. Robson was the host and executive producer of The Wade Robson Project, which aired on MTV in 2003. In 2007, he joined the Fox television dance series So You Think You Can Dance as a guest judge and choreographer. He won a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Choreography for the dance number "Ramalama " of So You Think You Can Dance.
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.
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.
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.
Laurieann Gibson is a Canadian choreographer, director, television personality, singer, actress, and dancer. She has choreographed dance numbers for musical artists such as Michael Jackson, Alicia Keys, Lady Gaga, and Beyoncé. Her music video directing credits include "Judas", "You and I", and "Love to My Cobain".
Dame Patricia Ann McGrath is a British make-up artist. She has been called the most influential make-up artist in the world by Vogue magazine and other commentators. In 2019 she was included in Time's 100 most influential people list. She is the first make-up artist to be made a Dame Commander of the British Empire.
Louis Antoine Smith is a retired English artistic gymnast.
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.
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.
Marie-Agnès Gillot is a French ballet dancer and choreographer. She danced with the Paris Opera Ballet as an étoiles. She is also POB's first in-house female dancer to choreograph for the company.
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.
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.
Tiger Kirchharz is a dancer, choreographer and actress.
Rhys Joshua McClenaghan is an artistic gymnast from Northern Ireland who competes internationally both for Ireland and Northern Ireland. McClenaghan is widely recognised as one of the best pommel horse specialists of his generation.
Kesewa Arbell Lavinia Aboah is a British artist and model.
Haley Schwan is a soloist with the Boston Ballet.
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.
