MIKE TYUS

MIKE TYUS, Mike Tyus is an award winning dancer, choreographer, and creative director from Los Angeles California. He has been performing and creating dance works for the stage and screen for over 15 years. As a performer Tyus has worked with Cirque Du Soleil in “IRIS” at the Kodak Theater in LA and “KOOZA” as “The Trickster” - “a devilish ringleader” and lead character. Tyus Joined Pilobolus Dance Theater in 2013 performing works by Sidi Larbi Cherkoui, Penn & Teller , Isreali choreographers, Inbal Pinto and Avshalom Pollack and Spanish choreographer Javier De Frutos, while also creating company repertory that is still performed today. He recently performed “Trio A with Flags” by Yvonne Rainer at the Broad Museum in LA. He is a founding member of Jacob Jonas The Company and an Associate Producer for Films.Dance, a platform focused on dance film creation through unconventional collaboration.

In 2020 Tyus created, Mike Tyus & Co, a dance company that focuses on the creation of Tyus’ work with over 13 films and 3 live works. 1 specific creation called “Hunger” was developed at Orsolina28, a dance residency in Moncalvo Italy. Tyus’ choreographic works derive from techniques and styles from his past. Circus theater, acrobatics, ballet, and greco-roman wrestling are abstracted and synthesized to create something unique. He has created works for dance companies, museums, pop-stars, and universities alike. Recently Tyus has worked for Visceral Dance Chicago, Chicago Repertory Ballet, Peridance Contemporary Dance Company, Manhatten Youth Ballet, Ziru Dance, Utah University, Vasser College, CLI by Teddy Forance, Alonzo Kings Lines Ballet, TL Collective and Hedwig Dances Chicago. In 2020 Tyus directed and choreographed a dance film called ELSEWHERE on Whim W’him Contemporary Dance Company that was showcased on PBS. He’s created dance films for The Broad Museum in LA that were featured on StandardVision billboards throughout the city. Tyus was selected to create a work on Joffrey Ballet Academy for the Winning Works program presented at the Museum of Contemporary Art. He also choreographed a Facebook commercial directed by FKA Twigs that now lives in the MOMA’s archives because of its cultural significance. Tyus’ has choreographed music video’s for Nigerian Pop-Star Adekunle Gold and new comer Anna Margo, and assisted Daniel Ezralow in the creation of an art film for actor and musician Jim Sturgess, bringing art-world sensibilities to pop culture.

As a creative director Tyus has developed branded campaigns for Vaara, Anthropologie, Veuve Clicquot, Club Monaco, SONY, Apple, and Abercrombie & Fitch, focusing on the relationship between dance and commerce and utilizing his large social media network to share the power of dance worldwide. Community and Creation are at the core of Tyus’ mission and continue to drive his efforts in crafting work that feeds the human spirit and reflects the times in which we live.