Anthony Van Laast

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Anthony Van Laast CBE is a British choreographer born 31 May 1951 [1] in Sussex, UK. [2] He has worked mainly for the stage, concerts, television and film. His works have appeared in the West End and on Broadway.

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Career

Van Laast received dance training at the London School of Contemporary Dance, and both performed and choreographed with the Company. [3]

In 1979, he worked with Kate Bush in preparation for her tour. Among his prominent stage works as a choreographer are the musicals Sister Act (2011 on Broadway and 2009 West End), [4] Bombay Dreams (2004), [5] Mamma Mia! (2001), [6] Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat (1993), Annie Get Your Gun (1986, West End), [7] and Song & Dance (1982, West End). [8] He co-directed and choreographed EFX , the Las Vegas stage show at the MGM Grand starring Michael Crawford in 1995. [9] He has choreographed for Holiday on Ice , including "Extravaganza" in 1997, "Hollywood" (2002), and he is the artistic director for "Mystery" (2009). [2]

His television and film work includes the concert Sarah Brightman: Symphony in Vienna (2008), [10] Beauty and the Beast (2017 film), [11] and Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 1 . [12]

He received a nomination for the Tony Award, Best Choreography, jointly with Farah Khan for Bombay Dreams. [13] For his work on the musical Hair (Old Vic) and for The Beggar's Opera (the Royal Shakespeare Company at the Barbican), he was nominated for the Olivier Award, Best Theatre Choreographer in 1994. [14] Van Laast was awarded the MBE for Services to Dance and Choreography in 1999. [3] He was appointed Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in the 2019 New Year Honours for services to Dance and Choreography.

Van Laast is a patron of the Urdang Academy.

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References

  1. ↑ "Anthony van Laast".
  2. 1 2 "Anthony Van Laast – Holiday on Ice Mystery artistic director" Worthing Herald, 14 November 2008
  3. 1 2 Biography Archived 2011-04-03 at the Wayback Machine www.mamma-mia.com, accessed March 14, 2011
  4. ↑ "'Sister Act' Creatives" Sisteractbroadway.com, accessed March 14, 2011
  5. ↑ Brantley."Coloring By the Numbers" The New York Times, April 30, 2004
  6. ↑ Brantley, Ben."Mom Had a Trio (And a Band, Too)" The New York Times, October 19, 2001
  7. ↑ "First Night Records Online Store, Annie Get Your Gun - 1986 London Cast". first-night-records.co.uk. London, United Kingdom: First Night Records. Archived from the original on 19 July 2009. Retrieved 11 June 2012.
  8. ↑ "'Song & Dance' history" Archived 2011-03-17 at the Wayback Machine Reallyuseful.com, accessed March 14, 2011
  9. ↑ Gerard, Jeremy."Review: EFX" Variety (subscription required), May 3, 1995
  10. ↑ Sarah Brightman: Symphony in Vienna listing InternetMovieDataBase.com, accessed March 14, 2011
  11. ↑ "'Beauty and the Beast' (2017)" wikipedia.com accessed September 2, 2017
  12. ↑ "'Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1' (2010)" tcmuk.tv, accessed March 14, 2011
  13. ↑ List of nominees for 2004 Tony Awards USAToday.com (The Associated Press), May 10, 2004
  14. ↑ "Olivier Winners, 1994" Archived December 24, 2013, at the Wayback Machine OlivierAwards.com, accessed March 14, 2011
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