User:Seannef/Tara Young

Tara Young (born April 21, 1968) is an Artistic Director, Choreographer, Associate Director, and performer. She is known for her contributions to numerous Tony Award Winning Broadway productions such as Little Mermaid, Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, The Music Man, Contact, Ragtime, Showboat, and Crazy for You amongst others. Most recently, she is the Artistic Director for the award winning Michael Jackson, The Immortal World Tour produced by Cirque du Soleil.

Early Years
Tara Young was born in Edmonton, Alberta to Liz and Sherwood Young and moved to Calgary within the first year. She started dancing at the age of three at the Allan Cozzubbo Academy of Dance. Broadway aspirations began at the age of 10 after seeing productions of Song And Dance and Evita at the West End of London. At the age of 17, she entered Ryerson University in Toronto, Canada and Randolph School of Performing Arts. Her professional dance career began in Canada performing with the National Tap Dance Company. Shortly thereafter, she was cast in the feature films Sing (1989) appearing beside Patti LaBelle and as a dancer in Stepping Out (1991). Upon wrapping the film Stepping Out, Young was encouraged by a phone call from the film’s star Liza Minelli to take a $50 train ride to NYC to audition for Liza Stepping Out at Radio City Music Hall in 1992. Due to the production’s popular and record breaking success at Radio City Music Hall, the show became a world tour and added another film credit to Young’s experience when released on dvd as a concert film.[reference]

While performing onstage with Liza, she met the production’s choreographer Susan Stroman under whose mentorship she discovered that her passion was behind the scenes and being part of the creative team to develop a Broadway Musical. She soon made the transition from performing to working as an Associate Director/Choreographer.

Career
Upon transitioning to the creative teams, Young was given her first opportunity as an Assistant Choreographer to Susan Stroman on the production of Celebration of Sondheim at Carnegie Hall in New York City. [reference]  Immediately following that success with a reprise as Assistant Choreographer to Stroman on the International Tour of And the World Goes Round as well as the Broadway production of Showboat in 1995 directed by Harold Prince. [reference]

With a career spanning three decades, she has traveled the globe working on numerous world-renowned stages both large and small from Carnegie Hall, Royal Albert Hall, Palais des Congress to Madison Square Garden and the O2 Arena. Upon these stages she has served as the Associate Choreographer of the award winning 1992 National Tour of Crazy For You directed by Mike Ockrent, the Resident Director for the 1998 Broadway production of Ragtime directed by Frank Galati as well as the National Tour, in 2000 as Associate Director for Contact directed by Susan Stroman, Associate Choreographer for 2007 production of The Little Mermaid directed by Francesca Zambello amongst numerous other productions.

She has worked with the New York City Opera, LA Opera, the Boston Pops Orchestra, and most recently, as the Artistic Director for Cirque du Soleil’s Michael Jackson, The Immortal World Tour.