Travis Payne facts for kids

Travis Payne was born on July 5, 1971. He is an American choreographer, director, and producer. A choreographer is someone who creates dance routines. Travis Payne worked as the main choreographer for Michael Jackson's "This Is It" concerts. These concerts were planned before Michael Jackson passed away.

Travis Payne also helped produce the movie Michael Jackson's This Is It. He worked closely with the director, Kenny Ortega, to make the film. This movie made a lot of money around the world. It became the highest-earning documentary or concert movie ever.

Travis Payne has won many awards for his dance work. He won the MTV Video Music Award for Best Choreography four times. He won for his work with groups like En Vogue and Salt-N-Pepa. He also won for the music video "Scream," which he did with Michael Jackson and Janet Jackson. This video was even listed in the Guinness Book of World Records as the most expensive music video ever made at the time.

He also received three American Choreography Awards. These awards included honors for "Scream" and Michael Jackson's Ghosts. Travis Payne was nominated for an Emmy Award twice. Once was for his choreography with Michael Jackson for the 1995 MTV Video Music Awards. The second time was in 2006 for his work on Disney's The Suite Life of Zack & Cody. In 2011, Travis Payne received a Lifetime Achievement Award for his amazing career in dance.

Early life and education

Travis Payne at This Is It launch in HMV London, 2010.

Travis Payne was born in Atlanta, Georgia, in 1971. He started dancing when he was only four years old. When he was nine, he began formal dance training. He studied with Norma B. Mitchell and her daughter, Djana Bell.

In 1984, Travis went to Northside School of the Arts. There, he learned from William G. Densmore. He also performed in a group called Atlanta's Showbiz Kids. Later, he joined the Harrison Dance Company. After that, he moved to Los Angeles to continue his dance career.

Career

When Travis Payne was 19, he got his first professional dance job. He joined Janet Jackson's Rhythm Nation 1814 World Tour. After that, he danced with many famous artists. These included Prince, Debbie Allen, En Vogue, and TLC. He also danced with Michael Jackson on his Dangerous World Tour.

Working with Michael Jackson taught Travis a lot about creating shows. This experience helped him become a choreographer for other stars. In 2008, Travis Payne choreographed a special tribute to Michael Jackson. This tribute featured the dancer Omarion on the TV show Dancing with the Stars.

In May 2009, Travis Payne began working on "This Is It." This was a series of 50 concerts planned by Michael Jackson and Kenny Ortega. The concerts were going to be held in London. They were Michael Jackson's first big concerts since 1997. Over one million tickets were sold. Sadly, the concerts were canceled because Michael Jackson passed away.

On July 7, 2009, Travis Payne helped choreograph Michael Jackson's memorial service. This service was held in Los Angeles. It was shown live around the world to an estimated one billion viewers. After Michael Jackson's death, Travis Payne worked with Kenny Ortega. They put together rehearsal videos to create the movie Michael Jackson's This Is It. The film was released worldwide in October 2009. It quickly broke many box office records.

In December 2009, Travis Payne also choreographed for Lady Gaga. He worked on her "Monster Ball Tour." He also directed her performances for the 2009 American Music Awards. He worked with Mariah Carey on her "H.A.T.E.U." music video too. He also traveled to Japan to choreograph a Michael Jackson tribute for a New Year's Eve TV special.

In January 2010, Travis Payne visited the Cebu province in the Philippines. He worked with the CPDRC Dancing Inmates. These inmates are famous for their "Thriller" dance video. This video became very popular online. Travis Payne and two "This Is It" dancers taught over 1500 inmates a dance routine. They performed "The Drill" from Michael Jackson's song "They Don't Care About Us". This new video was released online and quickly got millions of views.

In April 2010, Travis Payne was honored by The Michael Jackson Tribute Portrait. This is a large art project made of one million hand-drawn dots. Friends and family of Michael Jackson get a dot in their name.

In October 2010, CBS announced that Travis Payne would be a judge. He joined Paula Abdul on the show Live to Dance. This was a dance competition for all ages and dance styles. Contestants competed for a $500,000 prize. Viewers could vote for their favorite dancers.

Travis Payne also worked with Hong Kong singer Andy Lau. He directed and choreographed Andy Lau's "Unforgettable Concert 2010." He also choreographed for Han Geng's first solo album. Travis performed with Han Geng on various Chinese TV shows.

In 2013, Travis Payne started working in Japan with Johnny & Associates. In 2022, he became a judge on the talent show Yoshiki Superstar Project X. This show airs on Hulu Japan.

Filmography

Film

Television

See also

In Spanish: Travis Payne para niños