Andy Blankenbuehler is an American dancer, choreographer and director primarily for stage and concerts. He has been nominated for the Tony Award for Best Choreography five times, and has won three times: for In the Heights, Hamilton, and Bandstand. Blankenbuehler's other Broadway choreography work includes 9 to 5, Bring it On: The Musical, and the 2016 Cats revival. Blankenbuehler was awarded the Kennedy Center Honor in 2018. He also choreographed the movie adaptation of Cats.
Life and career
Blankenbuehler was born in Cincinnati, Ohio, and is a 1988 graduate of St. Xavier High School and 1984 graduate of in Cincinnati. He received his bachelor's degree from Southern Methodist University in Dallas, Texas. As a performer, he has appeared on Broadway in many musicals, from Guys and Dolls to Fosse. His Broadway work as a choreographer includes the musicals In the Heights and 9 to 5. He won the Tony Award and Drama Desk Award for his choreography for In the Heights. Other New York work includes choreography for the "Broadway By The Year:1930, 1938 and 1978" series, and the City CenterEncores! productions of The Apple Tree and The Wiz. He is the director and choreographer of Bring It On: The Musical, written by Jeff Whitty, with music by Lin-Manuel Miranda and Tom Kitt and lyrics by Lin-Manuel Miranda and Amanda Green, which premiered at the Alliance Theatre, Atlanta, Georgia, on January 16, 2011. This production also performed at the Ahmanson Theater in Los Angeles where Blankenbuehler won the 2011 L.A. Drama Critics Circle Award for Best Choreography. Additionally, Blankenbuehler choreographed the Frank Wildhornworld premiere production of Waiting for the Moon. The show featured 6 full-length dance sequences, including one that lasted over 10 minutes. He was nominated for a Barrymore Award for Choreographing the show. Blankenbuehler has choreographed for Bette Midler and directed, choreographed, and co-conceived the production "Nights On Broadway" at Caesars Palace. Blankenbuehler appears briefly in the 2008 documentary "Every Little Step" about the 2006 Broadway revival of A Chorus Line, with his Polaroid shown as one of the people being cut from a callback for the show. He choreographed the 2012 Broadway revival of Annie. He is the choreographer for the musical Hamilton, both Off-Broadway and on Broadway. He received a special 2015 Drama Desk Award for Hamilton. The award was described: "For his inspired and heart-stopping choreography in Hamilton, which is indispensable to the musical's storytelling. His body of work is versatile, yet a dynamic and fluid style is consistently evident. When it's time to 'take his shot,' Blankenbuehler hits the bull's-eye." His choreography for Hamilton won the Tony Award for Best Choreography in 2016. He both directed and choreographed a new musical, Bandstand, which premiered at the Paper Mill Playhouse in October 2015. The music is by Richard Oberacker and book and lyrics by Robert Taylor and Oberacker. He directed and choreographed a developmental lab of this musical in August and September 2014, then titled Bandstand: A Musical. In 2016, Blankenbuehler choreographed the revival of the movie Dirty Dancing starring Abigail Breslin and Shane Harper. He also choreographed the revival of the Broadway musical Cats with previews beginning July 14 and an August 2 opening.
