Rachel Leigh Dolan

Rachel Leigh Dolan is a two-time Helen Hayes award winning choreographer, director, and educator based in Brooklyn, NY. She is the Founder and Artistic director of best8, a New York Foundation for the Arts fiscally sponsored artist project that creates theatrical works for digital media and uplifts intersectional artists in all aspects of production. Her favorite stage credits include the Broadway Labs for Tootsie and Chasing Rainbows, both choreographed by Denis Jones; as well as Debbie Allen's Dreams and Debbie Allen's Pearl at the Kennedy Center. As a choreographer, Rachel's favorite credits include Annie at Olney Theatre Center, James and the Giant Peach at Lyric Theatre of Oklahoma, Carousel at Arena Stage (assistant to Parker Esse), and Associate Choreographer for Step One Dance Company on Holland America Cruise Line, assisting Ron Todorowski, Chip Abbott, Brooke Wendle, and Melanie Lewis-Yribar. A proud member of the Stage Directors and Choreographers Society, Rachel is a seven-time Helen Hayes Award Nominee for Outstanding Choreography in a Musical. She is the recipient of the award for Outstanding Choreography for her work on productions of  Chicago and Catch Me If You Can. Rachel frequently assists Denis Jones, and most recently acted as his associate on a short film Sh-Boom for the Signature Show at the Tony Award-Winning Signature Theatre.

Along with choreographing, Rachel is a passionate educator with over 18 years of experience training dancers from beginners to professionals. She was a founding faculty member at the innovative private performing arts secondary school, The Academy at Metropolitan School of the Arts, and has guest taught for Catholic University of America, American University, and Montgomery College. Having trained in all styles of dance with Debbie Allen and the Debbie Allen Dance Academy, Dance Theatre of Harlem Dance Residency, and New York City Dance Alliance, Rachel possesses a well rounded vocabulary in multiple styles of dance. She studied Journalism at Fordham University at Lincoln Center, and is a published writer, having free-lanced for Dance Magazine for several years.