Chris Bailey started dancing at the age of 7 in his hometown of Leicester in the UK, and headed of to London at 17 to attend Performers Dance College one of the most respected Musical theatre colleges in the UK. His early professional work was mainly in Television but also worked in the Pop and Fashion industries. Chris’ first real theatre experience was when he joined the UK cast of Tap Dogs and toured Europe and Asia for two years. On his return to London he became part of the Original West End cast of Contact (an American import) and then went on to be an Original cast member and dance captain of the West End production of Thoroughly Modern Millie (another American import) which is where he met Rob Ashford for whom Chris now works for predominantly.
As associate choreographer Chris worked with Rob on his UK West End productions of Guys and Dolls and Evita, as well as Once in a Lifetime at the National Theatre. He also worked on the Movie Beyond the Sea Starring Kevin Spacey, and danced in the movie in the final number. Chris has been coming back and forth ‘across the pond’ to work on various US projects as associate choreographer including workshops for Marty, Cry Baby, and Leap of Faith. His first Broadway show was Cry Baby after an out of town run in La Jolla, his second was Shrek the Musical. He has since worked on Promises Promise, How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying, and Evita.
As a choreographer Chris has put on various first national tours, Thoroughly Modern Millie in the UK, Guys and Dolls in the UK and Australia, The Wedding Singer first national US tour, and Shrek the Musical on tour in the US. In 2007 he Choreographed a new Musical called Dancing Shadows at the Seoul Arts Centre in Korea for which he won the National Korean theatre award for best choreography. He is now a resident of New York.
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