# Mark Samuels

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.

## 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.

## 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. 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.
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. 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.
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. 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.

### 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.

## Awards

* 2022 - Leo Award winner for Honey Girls
* 2010 - Much Music Video Of The Year Shawn Desman - Night Like This

## Work (choreography and movement, performance direction)

TV/Film (Choreographer/Associate Choreographer)
| Year | TV/Film | Network | Director |
| 2008 | Pop It - Season 1 & 2 | TVO | Paul Hart |
| 2011 | Ils Dansent | CBC | |
| 2014 | Dr Cabbie | E-One Entertainment | Jean Francois Pouliot |
| 2014 | American Girl - Isabelle Dances Into The Spotlight | NBC | Debra Martin Chase |
| 2014 | Rise | ABC Spark | |
| 2014 | Murdoch Mysteries - Season 7, Episode 10 | CBC | Harvey Crossland |
| 2016 | Death Of A Vegas Showgirl | Lifetime | Penelope Buitenhuis |
| 2016 | Taxi 22 | | |
| 2017 | Hot Street | | Xiaomin Zhang |
| 2017 | A Series of Unfortunate Events - Season 1 - 3 | Netflix | Barry Sonnenfeld |
| 2022 | Just One Kiss | W Network | Jeff Beesley |
| 2022 | Honor Society | Netflix | Oran Zegman |
| 2022 | Something Here | | T.K. McKamy |
| 2022 | Scaredy Cats - Season 1, Episode 5 | Netflix | Anna McRoberts |
TV/Film (Assistant Choreographer/Choreography Team)
| Year | TV/Film | Network | Director |
| 2015 | The Descendants | Disney | Kenny Ortega |
| 2018 | Overboard | Netflix | Rob Greenberg |
| 2019 | Tallboyz - Season 1, Episode 1 | CBC | Bruce McCulloch |
| 2020 | Julie & The Phantoms | Netflix | Kenny Ortega |
| 2020 | Motherland: Fort Salem - Season 1, Episode 4 | Freeform | Steven Adelson |
| 2021 | A Week Away | Netflix | Roman White |
| 2021 | Honey Girls | Apple TV | Trey Fanjoy |
| 2022 | Ivy & Bean: Doomed To Dance | Netflix | Elissa Down |
Music Videos (Choreographer)
| Year | Artist | Title | Director |
| 2010 | Shawn Desman | “Money Shot" | Randall "RT!" Thorne |
| 2011 | Lauren Elle | “Accessories” | Director X |
| 2011 | Guinevere | “Crazy Crazy” | Anton Josef |
| 2012 | Morgan Page feat Tegan & Sara | “Body Work” | Lisa Mann |
| 2013 | Classified | “Pay Day” | Harvey Glazer |
| 2013 | Mandia Nantsios | “One Last Time” | David Mewa |
| 2014 | Kira Isabelle | “Shake It (If You Got It)” | The Young Astronauts |
| 2014 | Serani | “In My Arms” | David Mewa |
| 2014 | Mandia Nantsios | “Secret” | David Mewa |
| 2014 | Alyssa Reid | “Satisfaction Guaranteed” | Marc Andre Debruyne |
| 2014 | J-Diggz | “Just Push It” | |
| 2015 | Flosstradamus feat Lil Jon | “Prison Riot” | The Young Astronauts |
| 2017 | Belly | “Mumble Rap” (Assistant Choreographer) | Karena Evans |
| 2018 | CNCO | “Se Vuelve Loca” | David Rousseau |
| 2019 | FYI feat Busta Rhymes | “Bigger Better Faster” | Harvey Glazer |
| 2019 | Buju Banton | “Trust” | Kieran Khan |
| 2019 | Reptile feat. Jadakiss | “YO” | Danny Feighery |
| 2021 | Charmaine | “BBM” | Jacqueline Ashton |
| 2021 | Dru Grange | “Can’t Get Enough” | Charlton Visuals |
| 2023 | Savannah Re feat Mez | “Bands” | Nate Burland |
| 2023 | Shawn Desman | “Love Me With The Lights On” (Assistant Choreographer) | Dan LeMoyne |
| 2024 | Rachelle Show | “Better Off Alone” | Spoken By T |
Commercials/Brands (Choreographer/Principal Dancer)
| Year | Title/Artist | Brand | Director |
| 2004 | “I-Run” | Nike | |
| 2008 | So You Think You Can Dance Canada | | |
| 2012 | Mini Pop Kids | K-Tel Records | |
| 2016 | “Cool Robot - “Never Give Up” | Oxford Books | Drake Doremus |
| 2019 | “Be Bold, Be Great” | Bank Of Montreal | Lisa Mann |
| 2021 | “Be The Cheer” | Cheerios | Shaun Collings |
Live Performances/Tours (Choreographer)
| Year | Artist/Event | Show/Tour | Label/Network |
| 2009 | Danny Fernandes | Promo Tour | CP Records |
| 2012 | Dru Grange | Summerfest Flow 93.5 FM | |
| 2012 | Guinevere | Promo Tour | |
| 2012 | Kim Davis | Promo Shows | |
| 2015 | Closing Ceremony | Pan Am CC/Para Pan Am Games | CBC Sports |
| 2015 | Serena Ryder | Pan Am CC/Para Pan Am Games | CBC Sports |
| 2015 | World Thrombosis Day | | |
| 2017 | CNCO | Mas Alla Tour | Sony Music Latin |
| 2017 | Dru Grange | Breakfast Television | City TV |
| 2017 | Night At The Movies | Dancing With The Stars | ABC |
| 2022 | In Essence | OVO North Stars | |
| 2022 | Dru Grange | OVO North Stars | |
| 2022 | Charmaine | Manifesto | Sony BMG |
| 2023 | Leila Dey | Yessie Tour | |
| 2024 | Dru Grange | Breakfast Television | City TV |
| 2024 | Dru Grange | Soul Nostalgia Residency | |
Award Shows (Choreographer/Principal Dancer)
| 2000 | The Source Hip Hop Music Awards | Mary J Blige | BET |
| 2003 | Video Game Awards | Kelis | Spike TV |
| 2006 | MuchMusic Video Awards | Nelly Furtado feat Timbaland | MuchMusic |
| 2011 | MuchMusic Video Awards | Shawn Desman | MuchMusic |
| 2011 | Juno Awards | Shawn Desman & Danny Fernandez | CBC |
| 2013 | Juno Awards | The Barenaked Ladies | CBC |
| 2018 | Latin American Music Awards | CNCO (Co-Choreographer) | Telemundo |
| 2022 | The Legacy Awards | Various Artists (Assistant Choreographer) | CBC |
Music Videos (Principal Dancer)
| Year | Artist | Title | Director |
| 1999 | Mariah Carey feat Da Brat & Missy Elliott | “Heartbreaker” Remix | Hype Williams |
| 2000 | Wyclef Jean feat The Rock | “It Doesn’t Matter" | Director X |
| 2001 | Mario | “Just A Friend 2000” | Diane Martel |
| 2001 | Olivia | “Are U Capable" | J Records |
| 2001 | Missy Elliott | “Get Ur Freak On" | Dave Myers |
| 2009 | Rihanna | “Pon De Replay" | Director X |
| 2009 | Jully Black | “Sweat Off Your Brow" | Lakeshore Records |
| 2010 | Shawn Desman | “Night Like This" | Randall "RT!" Thorne |
| 2010 | Naturi Naughton | “H8TRZ” | |
| 2010 | Shawn Desman | “Shiver” | Randall "RT!" Thorne |
| 2011 | Keshia Chante | “Shooting Star” | Marc Andre Debruyne |
| 2012 | Victoria Duffield | “Break My Heart” | Alon Isocianu |
| 2012 | Victoria Duffield feat Cody Simpson | “They Don’t Know About Us” | Randall "RT!" Thorne |
| 2012 | Shawn Desman | “Nobody Does It Like You" | Randall "RT!" Thorne |
| 2012 | Victoria Duffield | “Feel” | Alon Isocianu |
| 2013 | Shawn Desman | “Too Young Too Care” | Marc Andre Debruyne |