Kenny Ortega “Descendants 2” Executive producer, director and choreographer

Kenny Ortega started his career as an actor at the age of 13. In the 1980s, his choreography for A&M recording artist, The Tubes, caught Cher’s eye and she then asked him to choreograph her TV show. Soon after that, he became a very popular choreographer among big stars like Barbra Streisand, Madonna, Michael Jackson, Gloria Estefan, Elton John, Bette Midler and The Pointer Sisters.

He expanded his field from stage choreography to movie choreography and choreographed the movie “Xanadu.” Gene Kelly became Ortega’s mentor and Ortega choreographed many hit movies including “Dirty Dancing,” “Ferris Bueller’s Day Off,” “Pretty in Pink” and “St. Elmo’s Fire.” For TV, he directed several episodes of “Gilmore Girls” and directed “Ally McBeal,” “Chicago Hope” and “Grounded for Life.” He was nominated for an Emmy Award for “Grounded for Life.”

He planned and produced Michael Jackson’s “Dangerous World Tour（1992～1993）” and “History World Tour（1996～1997）” making him world famous. He was working on the “THIS IS IT World Tour” with Michael in 2009 but the tour was cancelled because of Michael’s sudden death. After that Ortega directed the movie, “Michael Jackson THIS IS IT.”
In addition to movies and TV, he expanded his field and directed and choreographed the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City. Also, he has received an Emmy Award twice and the career achievement honor at the American Choreography Awards in 2004.
Moreover, he received the Directors Guild of American Award for his excellent choreography for “High School Musical.”  Imagen Foundation, the organization dedicated to "encouraging and recognizing the positive portrayals of Latinos in the entertainment industry, has awarded Ortega the “Creative Achievement Award” for his work. In recent years, he has directed and choreographed Disney Channel’s big hit movie “High School Musical” and the sequels. After that he directed “Descendants.”