LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA: ‘Good Morning America: What You Need To Know’, hosted by DeMarco Morgan, Eva Pilgrim and Dr Jennifer Ashton, covers a wide range of topics and celebrities. The spin-off of the morning show once had two legends of the dancing industry, Sean Bankhead and Laurieann Gibson, talk about their journeys as professional choreographers.
Of the two choreographers, Bankhead was captivated by music videos and the performances in them at the age of six. After working with some of the biggest names in the music industry, including Lil Nas X and Cardi B, his demand and popularity have surged. However, he has a very critical approach to "TikTok dancers."
Who is Sean Bankhead?
Bankhead is a 33-year-old professional choreographer who has choreographed some of the biggest music videos in recent times, including that of Nas X’s ‘Industry Baby' and Normani’s ‘Wild Side’. He was deeply inspired by Michael Jackson and Missy Elliott's videos earlier in his life and recalled standing before the TV mimicking all of Jackson’s moves. He grew up in Atalanta and had his first big break in high school in 2006 when a YouTube video of him teaching a young girl a choreographed dance to 'Wind It Up’ by Gwen Stefani hit 1.5 million views in just a couple of days.
His life changed when he bagged the role of a backup dancer in the music video for Tiffany Evans’s 2007 song, 'Promise Ring’. He landed his first job at 19 when he performed as a dancer with Beyonce during her performance of ‘Single Ladies’ on ‘The Tyra Banks Show.’ He has earned a name for himself and also served as a judge on MTV’s 'Becoming a Popstar'.
Sean Bankhead is not fond of ‘TikTok dancers'
In an interview with The New York Times, Bankhead said, “In a TikTok-driven musical industry, it’s easy to get away with mediocrity. So when you see an artist come out that actually tries, it’s almost refreshing because I then say to myself, ‘I remember when this used to be the standard.’”
Bankhead echoed the same sentiment in a candid interview with ‘GMA3’ when the 34-year-old criticized dancers who made their name on TikTok but failed to perform for longer durations on stage. He said, “TikTok is a 30-second dance from chest-up and these TikTok dancers then get into rehearsal and can’t even do a one-hour rehearsal.”
