Biographie
Mia was born in Coconut Grove, Florida, into a family of dancers. Her father and dance instructor, Joe Michaels, taught her jazz, tap, and ballet, while her sister, Dana, instructed her in contemporary dance. Although her initial training came from family members, she also studied at the Miami Conservatory, Miami Performing Arts Center, Michigan's Interlochen Arts Academy, and the New World School of the Arts. Her first professional experience was working with her father at the Miami Dance Center, despite having started choreographing at age 11. She continues to collaborate with her father at Joe Michaels Miami Dance Center. Additionally, she has taught dance at various institutions, including the International Dance Festival of Italy, Harid Conservatory in Boca Raton, Florida, and as a guest jazz instructor at the Broadway Dance Center in New York City.
Mia has choreographed for artists such as Madonna's "Drowned World Tour," Ricky Martin, Gloria Estefan, Prince, DK 96, Jon Secada, PYT, and Jimmy Ray. She has also collaborated with Debbie Allen and DreamWorks on the AMC cable series "Cool Women."
Her choreography portfolio includes numerous commercials, some of which have won awards, for clients like the WNBA, Mike's Hard Lemonade, Bacardi, Coldwell Banker, Ziploc, Lady Luck Casino in Las Vegas, MTV's "Hot Properties," Star TV, and VISA.
She founded, serves as artistic director, and choreographs for RAW (Reality At Work), a New York-based contemporary dance company established in 1997 to critical acclaim. Mia Michaels R.A.W. has performed internationally, including in Seoul, Korea, at the Jazz World Congress, the International Dance Festival in Amsterdam, the Gypsy Project, Jacob's Pillow, and during New York City's 1999 concert season. In 2001, the company embarked on a six-week European tour.
In 2003, Mia was the Director of Choreography for Cirque du Soleil's "Delirium." She has created commissioned works for Les Ballet Jazz de Montreal, Gus Giordano Jazz Dance Chicago, Oslo Dance Ensemble, and Rhythmek Lightbody. Her work extends to the American Music Awards, Celine Dion's "A New Day" and "Taking Chances World Tour," Broadway productions like "West Side Story" and "Hello, Dolly!," as well as off-Broadway shows including "If These Shoes Could Talk" and "Fort Chaffee."
Mia gained international recognition in 2005 as a guest judge and contemporary choreographer on the television competition series "So You Think You Can Dance." She left the show unexpectedly in 2009 after the New York City auditions but returned in 2010 as the resident judge, succeeding Mary Murphy.
