Mark Samuels

Last updated
Mark Samuels
Born
Toronto, Ontario
NationalityCanada
Occupation(s)Choreographer, dancer
Website www.marksamuelsofficial.com

Mark Samuels (born in Toronto, Ontario) is a Canadian choreographer, dancer and movement coach. As a professional dancer, he is known for performing with major recording artists such as Mariah Carey, Mary J. Blige, Missy Elliot, Mario, Maestro Fresh Wes, Jully Black and Shawn Desman. As a choreographer, Mark is best known for his contributions in Disneys Descendants, A Series of Unfortunate Events , The Magicians , An American Girl: Isabelle Dances Into the Spotlight , Honey Girls, Latin Pop boy band CNCO and Juno Award winner, Savannah Ré. [1]

Contents

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. [2]

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. [3] 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. [3]

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. [4] 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. [5]

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. [6] 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. [7]

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. [3]

Awards

Work (choreography and movement, performance direction)

TV/Film (Choreographer/Associate Choreographer)

YearTV/FilmNetworkDirector
2008Pop It - Season 1 & 2 TVO Paul Hart
2011Ils Dansent CBC
2014Dr CabbieE-One EntertainmentJean Francois Pouliot
2014 American Girl - Isabelle Dances Into The Spotlight NBC Debra Martin Chase
2014Rise ABC Spark
2014Murdoch Mysteries - Season 7, Episode 10CBCHarvey Crossland
2016Death Of A Vegas ShowgirlLifetimePenelope Buitenhuis
2016Taxi 22
2017Hot StreetXiaomin Zhang
2017 A Series of Unfortunate Events - Season 1 - 3 Netflix Barry Sonnenfeld
2022Just One Kiss W Network Jeff Beesley
2022Honor SocietyNetflixOran Zegman
2022Something HereT.K. McKamy
2022Scaredy Cats - Season 1, Episode 5NetflixAnna McRoberts

TV/Film (Assistant Choreographer/Choreography Team)

YearTV/FilmNetworkDirector
2015The DescendantsDisneyKenny Ortega
2018OverboardNetflixRob Greenberg
2019Tallboyz - Season 1, Episode 1CBCBruce McCulloch
2020Julie & The PhantomsNetflixKenny Ortega
2020Motherland: Fort Salem - Season 1, Episode 4FreeformSteven Adelson
2021A Week AwayNetflixRoman White
2021Honey GirlsApple TVTrey Fanjoy
2022Ivy & Bean: Doomed To DanceNetflixElissa Down

Music Videos (Choreographer)

YearArtistTitleDirector
2010Shawn Desman“Money Shot"Randall "RT!" Thorne
2011Lauren Elle“Accessories”Director X
2011Guinevere“Crazy Crazy”Anton Josef
2012Morgan Page feat Tegan & Sara“Body Work”Lisa Mann
2013Classified“Pay Day”Harvey Glazer
2013Mandia Nantsios“One Last Time”David Mewa
2014Kira Isabelle“Shake It (If You Got It)”The Young Astronauts
2014Serani“In My Arms”David Mewa
2014Mandia Nantsios“Secret”David Mewa
2014Alyssa Reid“Satisfaction Guaranteed”Marc Andre Debruyne
2014J-Diggz“Just Push It”
2015Flosstradamus feat Lil Jon“Prison Riot”The Young Astronauts
2017Belly“Mumble Rap” (Assistant Choreographer)Karena Evans
2018CNCO“Se Vuelve Loca”David Rousseau
2019FYI feat Busta Rhymes“Bigger Better Faster”Harvey Glazer
2019Buju Banton“Trust”Kieran Khan
2019Reptile feat. Jadakiss“YO”Danny Feighery
2021Charmaine“BBM”Jacqueline Ashton
2021Dru Grange“Can’t Get Enough”Charlton Visuals
2023Savannah Re feat Mez“Bands”Nate Burland
2023Shawn Desman“Love Me With The Lights On” (Assistant Choreographer)Dan LeMoyne
2024Rachelle Show“Better Off Alone”Spoken By T

Commercials/Brands (Choreographer/Principal Dancer)

YearTitle/ArtistBrandDirector
2004“I-Run”Nike
2008So You Think You Can Dance Canada
2012Mini Pop KidsK-Tel Records
2016“Cool Robot - “Never Give Up”Oxford BooksDrake Doremus
2019“Be Bold, Be Great”Bank Of MontrealLisa Mann
2021“Be The Cheer”CheeriosShaun Collings

Live Performances/Tours (Choreographer)

YearArtist/EventShow/TourLabel/Network
2009Danny FernandesPromo TourCP Records
2012Dru GrangeSummerfest Flow 93.5 FM
2012GuineverePromo Tour
2012Kim DavisPromo Shows
2015Closing CeremonyPan Am CC/Para Pan Am GamesCBC Sports
2015Serena RyderPan Am CC/Para Pan Am GamesCBC Sports
2015World Thrombosis Day
2017CNCOMas Alla TourSony Music Latin
2017Dru GrangeBreakfast TelevisionCity TV
2017Night At The MoviesDancing With The StarsABC
2022In EssenceOVO North Stars
2022Dru GrangeOVO North Stars
2022CharmaineManifestoSony BMG
2023Leila DeyYessie Tour
2024Dru GrangeBreakfast TelevisionCity TV
2024Dru GrangeSoul Nostalgia Residency

Award Shows (Choreographer/Principal Dancer)

2000The Source Hip Hop Music AwardsMary J BligeBET
2003Video Game AwardsKelisSpike TV
2006MuchMusic Video AwardsNelly Furtado feat TimbalandMuchMusic
2011MuchMusic Video AwardsShawn DesmanMuchMusic
2011Juno AwardsShawn Desman & Danny FernandezCBC
2013Juno AwardsThe Barenaked LadiesCBC
2018Latin American Music AwardsCNCO (Co-Choreographer)Telemundo
2022The Legacy AwardsVarious Artists (Assistant Choreographer)CBC

Music Videos (Principal Dancer)

YearArtistTitleDirector
1999Mariah Carey feat Da Brat & Missy Elliott“Heartbreaker” RemixHype Williams
2000Wyclef Jean feat The Rock“It Doesn’t Matter"Director X
2001Mario“Just A Friend 2000”Diane Martel
2001Olivia“Are U Capable"J Records
2001Missy Elliott“Get Ur Freak On"Dave Myers
2009 Rihanna “Pon De Replay"Director X
2009Jully Black“Sweat Off Your Brow"Lakeshore Records
2010Shawn Desman“Night Like This"Randall "RT!" Thorne
2010Naturi Naughton“H8TRZ”
2010Shawn Desman“Shiver”Randall "RT!" Thorne
2011Keshia Chante“Shooting Star”Marc Andre Debruyne
2012Victoria Duffield“Break My Heart”Alon Isocianu
2012Victoria Duffield feat Cody Simpson“They Don’t Know About Us”Randall "RT!" Thorne
2012Shawn Desman“Nobody Does It Like You"Randall "RT!" Thorne
2012Victoria Duffield“Feel”Alon Isocianu
2013Shawn Desman“Too Young Too Care”Marc Andre Debruyne

Related Research Articles

The Juno Awards, or simply known as the Junos, are awards presented by the Canadian Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences to recognize outstanding achievements in Canada's music industry. The Grammy Awards are the United States' equivalent of the Juno Awards. Alongside the Canadian Screen Awards, they are considered one of the main annual Canadian entertainment award shows. New members of the Canadian Music Hall of Fame are also inducted as part of the awards ceremonies.

<i>Honey</i> (2003 film) 2003 film by Bille Woodruff

Honey is a 2003 American dance film directed by Billie Woodruff. It stars Jessica Alba, Mekhi Phifer, Romeo Miller, Joy Bryant, and David Moscow, with a cameo by Missy Elliott and featured performances by Tweet, Jadakiss, Ginuwine, and Blaque.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Keshia Chanté</span> Canadian actor and musician (born 1988)

Keshia Chanté Harper is a Canadian singer, television host, actress, songwriter, businesswoman and philanthropist.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Joel Plaskett</span> Canadian singer-songwriter

William Joel MacDonald Plaskett is a Canadian rock musician and songwriter based in Halifax, Nova Scotia. He was a member of Halifax alternative rock band Thrush Hermit in the 1990s. Plaskett performs in a number of genres, from blues and folk to hard rock, country, and pop.

The Juno Fan Choice Award is an annual Juno Award presented since 2003 by the Canadian Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences (CARAS) to the favourite artist or group of the year as voted by Canadian music fans. This is the only award that the winner is chosen by the fans. The nominees in the category are determined by sales, and the winner is chosen from among these nominees by an online vote open to the general public. From 2003 to 2011, the list of nominees was limited to five artists or groups, but it was expanded to ten in 2012.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Shawn Desman</span> Canadian singer, songwriter (b. 1982)

Shawn Bosco Fernandes, known by his stage name Shawn Desman, is a Canadian singer, songwriter, dancer, and choreographer.

The Juno Award for "Dance Recording of the Year" has been awarded since 1990, as recognition each year for the best dance music recording by an artist from Canada. Due to the relatively single-oriented nature of the dance genre, the award is most commonly presented for an individual single or a remix, although it may also be presented for a full album.

The Juno Award for "Video of the Year" has been awarded since 1984, as recognition each year for the best music video made by a Canadian video director. The award is presented based on the Canadian nationality of the director, not necessarily the song or recording artist; there have been a number of instances where directors have been nominated or won for videos that were created for songs by American or British artists.

The Juno Awards of 2003 were presented in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada on 6 April 2003. The primary awards ceremony was hosted that evening by Shania Twain at the Corel Centre and televised on CTV.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Danny Fernandes</span> Canadian singer and songwriter

Daniel "Danny" Fernandes is a Canadian singer and songwriter.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">David Myles (musician)</span> Canadian songwriter and musician (born 1981)

David Myles is a Canadian songwriter and musician born in Fredericton, New Brunswick. Myles lives in Fredericton, New Brunswick, as of September 2020, moving from Halifax, Nova Scotia. His music has often been labeled folk jazz, although he prefers simply to call it "roots" music. An independent artist who self-releases his albums, Myles has been able to gain an increasingly large audience, in part because of his active touring schedule and in part because of his cross-genre musical collaborations, which include a single made with the rapper Classified that became the biggest-selling rap single in the history of Canadian music.

Luther Brown is a Canadian choreographer/artistic director. Born in Kingston, Jamaica, and raised in Toronto, Ontario, he is best known as a hip hop dance choreographer for movies, television and commercials. Brown is a regular choreographer for the television dance competition So You Think You Can Dance and So You Think You Can Dance Canada, for which he was a choreographer and a judge. Brown is a co-founder of Do Dat Entertainment.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">July Talk</span> Canadian alternative rock band

July Talk is a Canadian alternative rock band formed in 2012 in Toronto, Ontario. The band consists of singers Peter Dreimanis and Leah Fay Goldstein, guitarist Ian Docherty, bassist Josh Warburton, drummer Danny Miles and auxiliary musician Dani Nash. The band has also performed and recorded music with artists Kyla Charter and James Baley. July Talk released its self-titled debut album with Sleepless Records on 16 October 2012 and its second album Touch on 9 September 2016.

Kuya is a multi-platinum award-winning Canadian hip hop, R&B and pop production duo from Toronto, Ontario, consisting of Samuel T. Gerongco and Robert T. Gerongco.

JD Era is a Canadian rapper and lyricist. He has worked with artists such as Nas, Gza, Kardinal Offishall, The Clipse, and has also cut several tracks with longtime friend Drake. In 2008 he won Best Rap at the Toronto Independent Music Awards, and also won the TAG Records’ Survival of The Freshest competition. He has also released a number of mixtapes and singles, and in the Juno Awards of 2013 his album No Handouts was nominated for Rap Recording of the Year.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jessie Reyez</span> Canadian singer-songwriter (born 1991)

Jessica Reyez is a Canadian singer and songwriter. Her 2016 single "Figures" peaked at number 58 on the Canadian Hot 100 in 2017 and was certified triple Platinum by Music Canada and Platinum by the RIAA. Her 2017 EP, Kiddo, led to four nominations at the 2018 Juno Awards, winning Breakthrough Artist. Her follow up EP, Being Human in Public, was released in 2018. It won R&B/Soul Recording of the Year at the 2019 Juno Awards and was nominated for Best Urban Contemporary Album at the 2020 Grammy Awards. Reyez again won the R&B/Soul Recording of the Year, for "Feel it Too" with Tory Lanez and Tainy, at the 2020 Juno Awards, where she was also nominated for Artist of the Year. Reyez has written songs for Calvin Harris, Kehlani, Dua Lipa, and Normani, most notably penning the hit "One Kiss", and has collaborated with Eminem on multiple occasions. Her debut album, Before Love Came to Kill Us, was released on March 27, 2020, to widespread critical acclaim, and saw commercial success, entering at number thirteen on the US Billboard 200.

iskwē is a Canadian singer-songwriter and activist.

The Juno Awards of 2022 were held on May 15, 2022 in Toronto, Ontario. The awards were presented at the Budweiser Stage, an outdoor venue, and was hosted by actor Simu Liu.

The Juno Awards of 2023 was a music awards ceremony that was held on 13 March 2023 at Rogers Place in Edmonton, Alberta. It recognized the best recordings, compositions, and artists of the eligibility year determined by the members of the Canadian Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences. It returned to its usual March schedule for the first time since 2019 after COVID-19 pandemic had the last three events took place in June 2020, May 2021, and May 2022, respectively. Canadian actor Simu Liu, who hosted the 2022 ceremony, returned to host again.

References

  1. Elijah Sandiford, "U.S. rapper suing company behind Fortnite". cbc.ca. 13 December 2018. Retrieved 3 March 2024.
  2. "Mark Samuels". harthouse.ca. Retrieved 3 March 2024.
  3. 1 2 3 Michael D. Reid, "Victoria dance studio alumnus gives back with master class, auditions". timescolonist.com. 19 April 2016. Retrieved 3 March 2024.
  4. Sushmita Sen, "Just One Kiss full cast list: Krysta Rodriguez, Santino Fontana and others in Hallmark's romance drama". sportskeeda.com. 2 April 2022. Retrieved 3 March 2024.
  5. "Black Futures AfroFuturism Dance Workshop". harthouse.ca. Retrieved 3 March 2024.
  6. ""Come Into The 6IX, We Will Fix Yuh!"". blog.remax.ca. 13 April 2018. Retrieved 3 March 2024.
  7. Andrew Philips, "Local nonprofit dancing towards charitable status with fundraiser". midlandtoday.ca. 21 January 2023. Retrieved 3 March 2024.
  8. Victoria Ahearn, "Portraits From a Fire among big Leo Award winners". playbackonline.ca. 12 July 2022. Retrieved 3 March 2024.
  9. "2022 Nominees & Winners by Name". leoawards.com. Retrieved 3 March 2024.