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 first 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 Choregrapher)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

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