Shannon Holtzapffel

Shannon Holtzapffel
Born
Delft, Netherlands
Occupations
AwardsChita Rivera Award (2018)

Shannon Holtzapffel is a Dutch-born Australian dancer and choreographer whose work spans live performance, television and film. He performed as a principal dancer for Michael Jackson's planned This Is It concert series and choreographed for and later judged So You Think You Can Dance Australia. His film work includes choreography, motion capture and visualization on projects including The Greatest Showman, Lyle, Lyle, Crocodile, Minions: The Rise of Gru and Ladybug & Cat Noir: The Movie. In 2018, he shared a Chita Rivera Award for the choreography of The Greatest Showman.

Early life and training

Holtzapffel was born in Delft, the Netherlands, and moved with his family to Brisbane when he was four.[1] He attended the Johnny Young Talent School and Davidia Lind Dance Centre, and graduated from Sunnybank State High School.[1] At age six, he was cast in his first professional musical, The King and I.[2] As a child performer, he was selected for Queensland Ballet's Sleeping Beauty and Australian Ballet seasons of Manon and Don Quixote, and appeared in his first television commercial at age seven.[2][1] By age 16, he had performed for Marcia Hines and Deni Hines.[2] His interest in dance developed through watching music videos, musicals and televised performances, and as a child he copied performers including Gene Kelly, Michael Jackson and MC Hammer.[3]

Holtzapffel trained at Clarrissa Hill Dance Centre in Brisbane and received a scholarship to the Edge Performing Arts Center in Los Angeles at age 17.[4] He credited choreographer Robert Sturrock with maturing him as a dancer and helping him make the transition from dance-school student to professional.[5] After receiving the scholarship, Holtzapffel obtained representation in Los Angeles and spent six years travelling between work in Australia and the United States.[1] Adam Parson later selected him over approximately 40 American dancers to tour Europe with Commonality Dance Company, citing his ability to inhabit different movement styles.[6]

Career

Performance and television

Holtzapffel and Simon Lind created Project Moda around 2005.[7] By 2008, The Daily Telegraph described Holtzapffel as running the production company.[8] Under the Project Moda name, Holtzapffel and Lind choreographed for the first two seasons of So You Think You Can Dance Australia.[4] Their other choreography credits by 2008 included Delta Goodrem's Australian Visualise Tour, several Human Nature tours in Australia and the United States, Gladiators on the Seven Network and Carols by Candlelight.[7]

Holtzapffel worked as a motion-capture performer on the animated film Happy Feet.[9] He took part in workshops and developed character movement by studying penguin behaviour and translating it into choreographed dance and exaggerated movement.[3]

In 2008, after Holtzapffel was observed dancing during a session in Los Angeles, Britney Spears selected him as her partner for rehearsal-studio footage connected to her song "Mannequin".[8] His other early work in the United States included Spears's music video for "Womanizer", the MTV documentary Britney: For the Record and promotional work for Circus.[10]

While working in Australia on the sequel to Happy Feet, Holtzapffel travelled to Los Angeles to audition for Michael Jackson.[1] He had two days to travel from Sydney to Los Angeles for the audition; Jackson attended the third day and selected him.[11] In an interview published by El Universal alongside the film's director, Kenny Ortega, Holtzapffel recalled Jackson directing the dancers during the final rehearsals and urging them to consider each step carefully, perform at their best and enjoy the moment onstage.[12] From more than 5,000 applicants, he was selected as one of Jackson's 11 principal dancers for the planned concert series.[1][13] Holtzapffel later turned down a place on Britney Spears's The Circus Starring Britney Spears tour because it conflicted with This Is It.[1]

Rehearsals began in late April and continued six days a week, for approximately eight hours a day.[11] Holtzapffel participated in the final rehearsals at the Staples Center shortly before the company was due to travel to London.[14] He featured prominently in the documentary assembled from the rehearsals and had been scheduled to continue with Jackson on the proposed world tour.[15]

Following Jackson's death, Holtzapffel performed at the public memorial held at the Staples Center in Los Angeles in July 2009.[16][17] He also performed at the 2009 MTV Video Music Awards with Janet Jackson.[18] He later appeared as a principal dancer in Michael Jackson's This Is It and took part in the worldwide campaign for the video game Michael Jackson: The Experience.[17]

In 2010, Holtzapffel was selected as one of four dancers for Whitney Houston's Nothing but Love World Tour.[18] He was also selected as one of eight principal dancers for Christina Aguilera's music video "Not Myself Tonight".[19] Later that year, he appeared as a choreographer on the CMT reality competition series Your Chance to Dance, working with contestants on routines for the competition.[20][21]

In 2011, Holtzapffel performed on Kylie Minogue's Aphrodite: Les Folies Tour and appeared in the concert film Aphrodite Les Folies – Live in London.[2]

In 2012 and 2013, he performed on Jennifer Lopez's Dance Again World Tour, appeared in the concert film Jennifer Lopez: Dance Again, and was featured in A Step Away, a NuvoTV reality series following Lopez's dance crew across five continents and 66 cities.[2][22][23] In the series, Holtzapffel discussed the physical demands of professional touring.[23]

In 2014, Holtzapffel served as choreographer for Smokey Robinson Presents Human Nature: The Motown Show at the Venetian in Las Vegas.[2][24] He also joined Paula Abdul, Jason Gilkison and Aaron Cash on the judging panel for the fourth season of So You Think You Can Dance Australia.[24][25] He had previously worked on the series as a choreographer before joining its judging panel.[26]

In 2016, Holtzapffel joined the season 22 cast of Dancing with the Stars as a troupe member.[27] He appeared in a 360-degree virtual reality opening number with the show's professional dancers, set to Donna Summer's "Last Dance".[28]

By 2018, Holtzapffel had choreographed three resident Las Vegas productions: Absinthe at Caesars Palace, Jukebox at the Venetian and Masters of Illusion at Bally's.[10][29]

His work with P!nk began in 2018 with the "Beautiful Trauma" music video, which featured Channing Tatum.[10] He subsequently performed on P!nk's Beautiful Trauma World Tour.[30] The 2021 documentary P!nk: All I Know So Far, which followed the tour leading up to P!nk's first Wembley Stadium performance, featured Holtzapffel as a dancer.[31][32] He later performed on P!nk's Summer Carnival tour, including its Australian leg in 2024.[30][33]

His television choreography later included "From Unknown Graves", a 2022 episode of The Orville directed by Seth MacFarlane.[34][35]

Film choreography and visualization

Around 2009, Holtzapffel worked with director Michael Gracey and Hugh Jackman on a Lipton Iced Tea commercial in Rio de Janeiro.[10]

Gracey later brought Holtzapffel into the early development of The Greatest Showman.[10] Working with Cameron Sonerson during previsualization, he developed the film's musical sequences before pre-production began in New York.[10] His work included development and choreography for "A Million Dreams", "Come Alive", "This Is Me", "From Now On" and "The Greatest Show", as well as work with Hugh Jackman and Zac Efron on "The Other Side".[10] For the video previs, Holtzapffel performed the characters through motion capture, which Sonerson translated into animated storyboards used to plan the choreography, staging and camera work.[10]

The Greatest Showman marked Holtzapffel's acting debut; he played Captain Costentenus, the Tattooed Man.[36][37][38] Auditions for the film's dancer "Oddity" roles and ensemble were initially held in New York before being extended to Los Angeles, where Holtzapffel helped find performers who were cast.[37]

The choreography of The Greatest Showman earned Holtzapffel and Ashley Wallen the Chita Rivera Award for Outstanding Choreography of a Theatrical Release in 2018.[39][40]

Holtzapffel later served as choreographer on Minions: The Rise of Gru.[41]

His work on Lyle, Lyle, Crocodile included choreographing the film's dance sequences, developing movement for Javier Bardem's character, Hector P. Valenti, and shaping Lyle's performance through motion capture.[42] He described the challenge of translating human movement into that of a crocodile while keeping Lyle believable rather than overly cartoon-like, and said the choreography was shaped around what the character could do within each scene and environment.[43]

On Ladybug & Cat Noir: The Movie, Holtzapffel worked with Cameron Sonerson on the film's choreography and visualization.[44] Drawing on ballet and jazz for Ladybug's movement, he also used a waltz to depict the developing relationship between the central characters.[44] Director Jeremy Zag said he wanted the fight scenes to retain a sense of dance, with movement that could support both the action sequences and the musical numbers; Holtzapffel and Sonerson developed the choreography and visualization for that approach.[44] Their collaboration dated to 2015 and included projects such as The Greatest Showman, Luck, Minions: The Rise of Gru and Lyle, Lyle, Crocodile.[44]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Neil, Alicia (12 March 2010). "Meet the Aussie Dancer Michael Jackson Handpicked for His Comeback Concert". WHO. Retrieved 4 August 2026 – via Yahoo Lifestyle Australia.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "Shannon Holtzapffel interview – SYTYCD". Dancer's Choice. 28 February 2014. Retrieved 4 August 2026.
  3. 1 2 Xu, Juna (3 May 2018). "Shannon Holtzapffel: 'I went to penguin school'". Body+Soul. Retrieved 4 August 2026.
  4. 1 2 Searle, Deborah. "Shannon Holtzapffel, new judge for SYTYCD, talks about the show's return". Dance Informa. Retrieved 4 August 2026.
  5. ↑ Clark, Sally (31 January 2013) [April–May 2012]. "You want to be the best". Dance Australia. Retrieved 5 August 2026.
  6. ↑ Martin, Rebecca (October 2012). "Adam Parson's Trip Down Under". Dance Informa. Retrieved 5 August 2026.
  7. 1 2 "Simon Lind". The Mikado. Essgee Entertainment and QPAC. 2008. p. 27. Retrieved 4 August 2026.
  8. 1 2 Moran, Jonathon (14 September 2008). "How he danced with Britney Spears". The Daily Telegraph. Archived from the original on 14 September 2008. Retrieved 4 August 2026.
  9. ↑ "Happy Feet". AFI Catalog of Feature Films. American Film Institute. Retrieved 6 August 2026.
  10. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Clements, Heather (23 February 2018). "PTW: Shannon Holtzapffel". Dancer's Choice. Retrieved 5 August 2026.
  11. 1 2 Evans, Özlem (27 October 2009). "Shannon Holtzapffel tanzte mit dem King Of Pop: „Michael Jackson war auch nur ein Mensch"". Bild (in German). Retrieved 6 August 2026.
  12. ↑ ""Esto es todo": Llegan al cine las últimas horas de Michael Jackson". El Universal (in Spanish). 3 March 2016 [2009]. Retrieved 6 August 2026 – via Vanguardia.
  13. ↑ "Michael Jackson planned to perform in Australia in three-year world tour". Herald Sun. Australian Associated Press. 30 October 2009. Retrieved 6 August 2026.
  14. ↑ Fife-Yeomans, Janet; Crawford, Carly (3 August 2009). "Shows, shopping and shenanigans with Michael Jackson". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 5 August 2026.
  15. ↑ "Australia part of planned Jackson tour". news.com.au. Australian Associated Press. 29 October 2009. Retrieved 4 August 2026.
  16. ↑ "Michael Jackson to take final bow in front of global audience". The Sydney Morning Herald. Australian Associated Press. 4 July 2009. Retrieved 6 August 2026.
  17. 1 2 Donatelli, Jen Jones (7 March 2017). "L.A.'s Golden Girl". Dance Magazine. Retrieved 5 August 2026.
  18. 1 2 "Making His Way Home with Whitney". Dancer's Choice. 12 February 2010. Retrieved 6 August 2026.
  19. ↑ "Next on This Boy's List Is Christina". Dancer's Choice. 12 April 2010. Retrieved 5 August 2026.
  20. ↑ "Your Chance to Dance - Full Cast & Crew". TV Guide. Retrieved 4 August 2026.
  21. ↑ Croop, Kari (19 September 2019). "Your Chance to Dance". Common Sense Media. Retrieved 5 August 2026.
  22. ↑ "A Step Away". TV Guide. Retrieved 4 August 2026.
  23. 1 2 Rivera, Zayda (10 October 2013). "'A Step Away' follows the lives of Jennifer Lopez's dance crew on first-ever world tour". New York Daily News. Retrieved 4 August 2026.
  24. 1 2 Vranjes, Emilia (4 February 2014). "Riding wave of success". The West Australian. Retrieved 5 August 2026.
  25. ↑ "Paula Abdul joins Ten's So You Think You Can Dance Australia". The Sydney Morning Herald. Australian Associated Press. 21 October 2013. Retrieved 6 August 2026.
  26. ↑ "Shannon Holtzapffel is popular with the ladies on So You Think You Can Dance". The Daily Telegraph. 26 March 2014. Retrieved 6 August 2026.
  27. ↑ Petski, Denise (3 May 2016). "'Dancing With The Stars' Video: Viewers Can Take The Lead In Virtual Reality". Yahoo Entertainment. Retrieved 6 August 2026.
  28. ↑ Petski, Denise (2 May 2016). "'Dancing With The Stars' Video: Viewers Can Take The Lead In Virtual Reality". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved 4 August 2026.
  29. ↑ "Masters of Illusion Celebrates a Mystifying Opening Night at Bally's Las Vegas". BroadwayWorld. 14 December 2017. Retrieved 5 August 2026.
  30. 1 2 Moran, Jonathon; Benns, Matthew; Chancellor, Jonathan (2 February 2024). "Milestone birthday for Stefanovic clan". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 5 August 2026.
  31. ↑ "P!nk: All I Know So Far - Full Cast & Crew". TV Guide. Retrieved 7 August 2026.
  32. ↑ "P!nk: All I Know So Far". Prime Video. Amazon. Retrieved 7 August 2026.
  33. ↑ Crow, Johnnie (22 November 2024). "P!nk Wraps Up Summer Carnival Tour in Orlando, Florida at Camping World Stadium with Sheryl Crow and Maren Morris on November 18, 2024". All Music Magazine. Retrieved 7 August 2026.
  34. ↑ "Shannon Holtzapffel - Credits". TV Guide. Retrieved 7 August 2026.
  35. ↑ "Episode 307 - From Unknown Graves". Disney Plus Press. Disney. Retrieved 6 August 2026.
  36. ↑ "The Greatest Showman: Shannon Holtzapffel makes his acting debut alongside Hugh Jackman". The Daily Telegraph. 17 December 2017. Retrieved 4 August 2026.
  37. 1 2 Searle, Tamara. "Shannon Holtzapffel talks The Greatest Showman". Dance Informa. Retrieved 4 August 2026.
  38. ↑ Byrnes, Paul; Hall, Sandra; Wilson, Jake (24 December 2017). "From Coco to The Greatest Showman: Our expert guide to Boxing Day at the movies". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 7 August 2026.
  39. ↑ "Ariana DeBose, Tony Yazbeck, and More Recipients of 2018 Chita Rivera Awards". Playbill. Retrieved 4 August 2026.
  40. ↑ "Summer, The Greatest Showman & More Win 2018 Chita Rivera Awards". Broadway.com. Retrieved 4 August 2026.
  41. ↑ "Minions: The Rise of Gru". AFI Catalog of Feature Films. American Film Institute. Retrieved 4 August 2026.
  42. ↑ "Lyle, Lyle, Crocodile (2022) Production Notes". SAMDB. Retrieved 4 August 2026.
  43. ↑ "Bringing Lyle To Life". YouTube. Sony Pics at Home UK. Retrieved 6 August 2026.
  44. 1 2 3 4 Idelson, Karen (21 July 2023). "How the 'Miraculous' Movie Team Choreographed a Musical Superhero Story". Animation Magazine. Retrieved 4 August 2026.
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