Mandy Moore

Samantha Jo "Mandy" Moore (born March 28, 1976) is an American choreographer, dancer, producer, and dance instructor. She is known for her work on the United States reality television series So You Think You Can Dance, having appeared on the show every year since the third season, and Dancing with the Stars. She choreographed the 2016 film La La Land and has also worked on stage musicals and commercials. She has created dance numbers for the Academy Awards, Golden Globe Awards, Emmy Awards, and Grammy Awards ceremonies. She has been nominated seven times for a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Choreography, winning in 2017 for her work on Dancing with the Stars, in 2018 for her work on So You Think You Can Dance, and in 2020 for Zoey's Extraordinary Playlist. Early life and education Samantha Jo Moore was born on March 28, 1976, in St. Louis, Missouri, and grew up in Summit County, Colorado. Her parents are Bob and Wendy Moore, and she has one sister. She enjoyed dancing from a very young age. A public school student, she studied at the Summit School of Dance in Breckenridge under the school's founder, Kim Delgrosso, from age 7 to 18. She also attended the Perry-Mansfield Performing Arts School & Camp in Steamboat Springs for three summers. While attending Summit High School, she attended the Shelly True Dance Academy in Denver several times a week. She also participated in high school basketball, track, and gymnastics. Moore moved to Los Angeles after graduating from high school in 1994 to pursue a career in dance. She attended the EDGE Performing Arts Center in Los Angeles on a scholarship from the Summit Foundation.