Rick Tjia
Choreographer, Coach, Casting DirectorPassionate about dance since his childhood, Rick has studied and worked professionally in classical ballet, jazz, modern, contemporary dance, hip hop, tap, and tango.
As principal dancer with La La La Human Steps for eight years, Rick toured and performed in over 25 countries and 100 different cities. He has also worked in the movie industry in Los Angeles, as both a dancer and actor.
In 2004 he joined the Cirque du Soleil Casting Team as an Artistic Talent Scout for all styles of dance, where he ran auditions, evaluated demos, and cast numerous running shows and new creations over the course of 16 years. He is also a dance and acrobatic choreographer, having choreographed for Utah Ballet, Dance Alive! National Ballet, and various independent projects over the course of his career. He was also one of the original acrobatic choreographers on Cirque du Soleil’s big top touring show Volta.
In addition to La La La Human Steps, Rick has performed with companies such as Ballet Austin, Sacramento Ballet, Boston Ballet and Dance Alive! National Ballet, and explored dance through several independent projects of his own. He has worked with numerous choreographers, including Édouard Lock, Twyla Tharp, Tom Pazik and Gus Giordano to name just a few.
Today, Rick is the CEO of Choreography Online, the world’s first online choreography market, and both producer and director of the International Online Dance Competition (IODC). He has been a regular freelance writer for dance blogs and magazines since 2015, and keeps a continual close eye on the artistic scene both at home and abroad in the never ending search for talent, inspiration, and opportunities to educate, inform, and improve all facets of the dance industry.