Thang Dao is a sought-after freelance choreographer, teacher, and coach who splits his time between Los Angeles and New York City. He earned his BFA from The Boston Conservatory and his MFA from Hollins University, as well as an MA from New York University's Gallatin School. He received his formal dance education from the prestigious Juilliard School.

Dao danced with the Stephen Petronio Company and the Metropolitan Opera, after which he left to choreograph for numerous acclaimed dance companies, including Ballet Austin, Ailey II, Ballet X, Philadanco, The Big Muddy Dance Company, and Hubbard Street Dance Chicago. His works have toured extensively throughout the United States, Europe, and Asia, receiving glowing reviews from critics and audiences alike. Notably, his ballet "Stepping Ground," choreographed for Ballet Austin for the 1st Biannual New American Dance Talent, received the Audience Choice Award every night. He has also taught as a visiting artist at Troy University, Kennesaw State University, and most recently as a Visiting Assistant Professor at the University of Arizona.

Dao has received several accolades throughout his career, including the 2008 Princess Grace Choreography Fellowship, the 2009 Special Project Grant, and being a 2012 Vilcek finalist for Creative Promises in choreography. He was also the 1997 Spotlight Award winner in non-classical dance. In 2012, his work "Waiting Women" was featured at the NYCDAF Gala: Destiny Rising at the Joyce Theater in New York, and he was on the creative team for the James Brown Project: Get On The Good Foot, which was commissioned and produced by the Apollo Theater under the direction of Otis Salid.

With his visionary choreography and ability to build mesmerizing ensemble movement passages, Dao is widely recognized as "a choreographer to watch" by the Boston Globe and "a tour de force" by Attitude magazine. New York critic Water Rutledge praises Dao's work for its fluidity and hypnotic quality.

Headshot by: Nir Arieli

Studio Shots: Christopher Duggan