Martha Nichols
{{short description|American choreographer and dancer (born 1987)}}
{{Infobox artist
| name = Martha Nichols
| notable_works = Tilted
| awards = Capezio A.C.E. Award
| birth_date = {{birth date and age|1987-07-14}}
}}
Martha Nichols (born 1987){{Cite news|title=Following Martha's Lead|last=Hooley|first=Danny|date=2006-07-23|work=News & Observer (Raleigh NC)}} is an American choreographer and dancer. She took first place in the Capezio A.C.E. Awards in 2016 for her work Tilted.{{Cite web|url=https://www.dancemagazine.com/congrats-a-c-e-awards-winners-2307031248.html|title=Congrats A.C.E. Award Winners!|last=Stahl|first=Jennifer|date=2016-08-01|website=Dance Magazine|language=en|access-date=2019-03-25}}
Early life
Nichols was born on {{Birth date|1987|07|14}}, the daughter of Mary Jane Nichols. They lived in Brooklyn, NY, and moved to Raleigh, NC when Martha was eight years old. Martha studied dance under Christy Curtis at the Pierrette Sadler Danceurs Studio in Raleigh, and later at Curtis's own CC & Company Dance Complex. Nichols mother, Mary Jane, died of a heart attack on June 1, 2005, shortly after Martha graduated from Millbrook High School.{{Cite news|title=Raleigh's Nichols part of dance tour|last=Hooley|first=Danny|date=2006-08-08|work=News & Observer (Raleigh, North Carolina)}} She moved in with family friends after her mother's death. At the age of eighteen, she was a guest teacher, performer and choreographer at the Burlington Academy of Dance & Arts in Burlington, NC.{{Cite news|title=Area dance teacher tries to make it big: Martha Nichols is in top 20 on Fox reality show|last=Apple|first=Charity|date=2006-06-14|work=Times-News (Burlington, North Carolina)}}
Career
Nichols appeared on Season 2 of So You Think You Can Dance, which aired beginning in May 2006. She was one of approximately 2000 contestants who auditioned for the season, and was in the Top 20 who appeared on the program. A USA Today article about the show described her as a "contemporary/hip-hop contestant."{{Cite news|title='Dance' has some twists and turns|last=Keveney|first=Bill|date=2006-06-14|work=USA Today|page=3D (Life section)}} One of the show's judges, Nigel Lythgoe said "I don't think Martha's got a problem with her career. She's got great sophistication." She was the sixth female contestant and in gender the sixth overall contestant to be eliminated, and went on to tour with the other Top 10 contestants after the season finale.{{Cite news|title=Raleigh's Nichols not in step with 'Dance' viewers|last=Hooley|first=Danny|date=2016-07-21|work=News & Observer (Raleigh, North Carolina)}}
Following her stint on So You Think You Can Dance, Nichols spent two years dancing in Cirque du Soleil's production Criss Angel Believe.{{Cite web|url=https://www.dancemagazine.com/25-to-watch-2017-2307053099.html|title=25 to Watch|last=Rizzuto|first=Rachel|date=2016-12-29|website=Dance Magazine|language=en|access-date=2019-03-25}} She also danced for a Gap commercial{{Cite web|url=https://www.dance-teacher.com/three-dance-heavy-commercials-slaying-2392801746.html|title=These Three Dance-Heavy Commercials Are Slaying It|last=Rizzuto|first=Rachel|date=2016-09-07|website=Dance Teacher|language=en|access-date=2019-03-25}} and Rihanna's "Diamonds" tour, and she danced and worked as an assistant choreographer on Madonna's Rebel Heart Tour.{{Cite web|url=https://www.dance-teacher.com/breaking-the-mold-5x-martha-nichols-went-her-own-way-2554569509.html|title=Breaking the Mold: 5x Martha Nichols Went Her Own Way|last=Rizzuto|first=Rachel|date=2018-03-29|website=Dance Teacher|language=en|access-date=2019-03-25}} She danced in the 2016 musical film La La Land and appeared as the "Woman in Gold" in the 2017 film The Greatest Showman. She formed her own dance company, the Martha Nichols Dance Company in 2016.{{Cite web|url=https://www.heraldextra.com/entertainment/arts-and-theater/utah-county-acts-bring-world-of-dance-talent-to-scera/article_901609a6-1747-5f46-b5cd-b3569f57ec04.html|title=Utah County acts bring 'World of Dance' talent to SCERA stage|last=Herald|first=Sarah Harris Daily|date=2018-08-12|website=Daily Herald|language=en|access-date=2019-03-25}}
Her short work Tilted won first place at the 2016 Capezio A.C.E. Awards, which earned her a $15,000 prize and a subsequent performance of her piece. Dance journalist Rachel Rizzuto described Tilted as "funky-fabulous." Nichols went on to choreograph a full-length work, The Wider Sun, which saw its debut at the Beverly O'Neill Theater in Long Beach, California in August 2017. The Wider Sun was her first major choreographic work.
She teaches at the Broadway Dance Center in New York City.{{Cite web|url=https://www.broadwaydancecenter.com/faculty/martha-nichols|title=Martha Nichols|date=2016-09-15|website=Broadway Dance Center|access-date=2019-03-25}}
Works
- Tilted ([https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B4KjwUM7kYc video])
- The Wider Sun, 2017
See also
References
External links
- [https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC4w0SlScJj2rtUNLoDsQN5Q Martha Nichols' YouTube channel] - featuring her choreography
- [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uhXbgkfPXAc Solo performance by Martha Nichols at 2018 Dance Awards Orlando] (video)
- {{IMDb name}}
- {{IBDB name|id=520434}}
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Category:Millbrook High School (North Carolina) alumni
Category:21st-century American dancers
Category:American women choreographers
Category:American choreographers
Category:American female dancers
Category:Dancers from North Carolina