Brian Friedman

Brian L. Friedman is an American choreographer, creative director, television judge and dance educator born on 28 May 1977 in Highland Park, Illinois. He began training at eleven after growing up in Scottsdale, Arizona, studying with Joe Tremaine, Kenny Ortega, Vince Patterson and Twyla Tharp. Friedman entered professional entertainment early, appearing as a dancer in the 1992 film *Newsies* and the television series *Kids Incorporated*, and was operating a dance studio by sixteen.

As a performer, Friedman worked across the commercial entertainment ecosystem, appearing in films including *She's All That*, *Austin Powers in Goldmember*, *Uptown Girls*, *You Got Served* and *Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle*. These on-camera roles gave him practical knowledge of how movement must be framed, edited and repeated for cameras—expertise that would define his later work.

Friedman's reputation grew through choreography and creative direction for music videos, concert performances and television. His work is associated with artists including Britney Spears, Beyoncé, Cher, Mariah Carey, Prince, P!nk, Rihanna and Usher, with frequently cited projects including Spears performances and videos in the early 2000s and her 2011 singles era. Television expanded his influence significantly: he served as judge and choreographer on *So You Think You Can Dance* and worked in various capacities—including judging, choreography, producing and creative direction—across Simon Cowell productions including *The X Factor* (US and UK editions), *America's Got Talent* and *Britain's Got Talent*.

Alongside screen work, Friedman developed extensive teaching and mentorship programs that transmitted commercial choreography as professional practice. He co-created and served as creative director of The PULSE on Tour, created The Main Event, taught with Radix Dance Convention and built the online Talent Collective mentorship program. Through these platforms, he taught musical interpretation, rapid choreography pickup, specificity for camera and the ability to embody assigned personas—the core skills of commercial dance performance.

Later work broadened his scope internationally and narratively, including choreography for Melanie Martinez's 2019 film *K-12* and work with South Korean group ITZY. In 2025 he appeared as a dancer in Lady Gaga's "Abracadabra" video. Friedman's career is significant as a full integration of multiple commercial-dance systems: from child performer and studio operator through music-video choreographer, television personality, creative director and high-volume educator.