JaQuel Knight
JaQuel Knight (born August 6, 1989) is an American choreographer and dancer. Born in North Carolina and raised in Atlanta, he has worked with Beyoncé on many of her most notable dances, including on "Single Ladies", "Formation" and the historic Coachella performances which she headlined.[1]
JaQuel Knight
August 6, 1989
2005 - present
Early life[edit]
JaQuel Knight was born on August 6, 1989, in North Carolina and raised in Atlanta. At an early age, he would imitate choreography from MTV music videos. He took his first dance class at the age of fourteen, which he says had a huge impact on him and persuaded him to choose dance as a career. Knight played saxophone for 7 years and while marching in his high school band he choreographed the band's movements. After he quit band he started a dance group called TruStuylz.[2]
Career[edit]
His group, TruStuylz performed for local talent shows and celebrity basketball games.[2] Knight then landed a spot for dancing to "Walk It Out" on the BET Hip Hop Awards stage. He began teaching at Dance 411 which led him visiting Los Angeles for ten days. He described the experience as his destiny.[3]
Knight auditioned from learning lessons from Chuck Maldadnado. His first major choreography job was for a promo tour for Michelle Williams.[4] He substandard moments as he auditioned for several auditions but didn't make the cut for all of them. The experience made him more prepared and independent.
Knight choreographed music videos from various artists, including Beyoncé, Chris Brown, Britney Spears, Kelly Rowland, Nicole Scherzinger, Tinashe and Brandy.[5] He has been mainly working with Beyoncé since he was eighteen years old and has choreographed several of her music videos including "Single Ladies", "Formation", "Diva" and "Drunk in Love".[6] He also worked with Beyoncé in notable events including her two consecutive world tours and Coachella performances, which have been described as historic.[7][8] Knight also choreographed various events including The X Factor, The Voice, Dancing with the Stars, Good Morning America and Britain's Got Talent.[9] In 2013, Knight started his production company based in Los Angeles. The company oversees a group of artists, songwriters and producers and producing short films.
List of music videos JaQuel Knight has choreographed/co-choreographed:[10]