Sue Samuels

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Sue Samuels
NationalityAmerican
Occupation
Dancer 
   Choreographer

   Teacher

   Artistic director
Years active1970s–present
Known forCo-founding JoJo’s Dance Factory; founding Jazz Roots Dance (2009)

Sue Samuels is an American jazz dancer, choreographer, and dance teacher based in New York City. A protégé of jazz master JoJo Smith, she co-founded JoJo’s Dance Factory in the 1970s—an independent studio that became a precursor to Broadway Dance Center (BDC)—and has taught on BDC’s faculty since the center opened in 1984.[1] In 2009 Samuels founded the Jazz Roots Dance Company to preserve and present classic jazz repertory alongside her own choreography.[1][2] She received a Dance Teacher Award in 2018 and a Dancers Over 40 Legacy Award in 2021, and has served on the selection committee for the New York Dance and Performance “Bessie” Awards.[1][3][4][5]

Career

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Training and early career

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Raised in Florida, Samuels trained in classical ballet before relocating to New York City as a teenager. In New York she studied jazz with Luigi, Nat Horne, Phil Black, and especially JoJo Smith, whose musicality and rhythmic approach became central to her style.[1] She has credited her early ballet training—particularly emphasis on alignment and injury prevention—as an enduring influence on her teaching.[6]

By the mid-1970s Samuels was working in New York’s commercial and theatrical dance scenes. On Broadway she appeared in the revue The Fifth Dimension with Jo Jo’s Dance Factory at the Uris Theatre (1974),[7][8] and in the musical Got Tu Go Disco at the Minskoff Theatre (1979), where she danced in the ensemble and understudied the role of Lila.[9][10]

JoJo’s Dance Factory and Broadway Dance Center

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In the 1970s Samuels joined JoJo Smith in opening JoJo’s Dance Factory, one of New York’s early large, multi-teacher studios for drop-in classes. The studio functioned as a forerunner of Broadway Dance Center, and when BDC opened in 1984 Samuels became part of its regular faculty.[1] Trade press also identifies her as a co-founder of JoJo’s Dance Factory and notes its connection to BDC’s subsequent development.[11][2]

Jazz Roots Dance Company

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Samuels founded Jazz Roots Dance Company in 2009. The troupe presents new choreography in a “classic jazz” idiom while reviving works by mid-20th-century jazz choreographers and by JoJo Smith.[1][2]

Teaching and style

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Samuels’ classes are noted for a ballet-based “jazz barre” warm-up and for live percussion accompaniment; she has long taught multiple levels of Broadway jazz at BDC.[1] Her pedagogy emphasizes clean lines, rhythm, and musicality, a blend that trade publications have described as influential in training generations of musical-theatre dancers.[11] Former students include performers such as Brooke Shields and Irene Cara.[1]

Awards and honors

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   Dance Teacher Award (2018).[1][3]

   Dancers Over 40 Legacy Award (2021).[4][12]

   Flo-Bert Award (Tap Extravaganza®, 2015).[13]

   Service on the Bessie Awards selection/steering committees (mid-2010s).[5]

Personal life

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Samuels was married to choreographer JoJo Smith; they have two children, tap dancer Jason Samuels Smith and producer/arts manager Elka Samuels Smith.[1] JoJo Smith, widely known for his work in Broadway and commercial dance, died in 2019.[14]

Selected stage credits

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   The Fifth Dimension with Jo Jo’s Dance Factory (Uris Theatre, Broadway, 1974).[7][8]

   Got Tu Go Disco (Minskoff Theatre, Broadway, 1979) – ensemble; understudy (Lila).[9][10]

Legacy

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Trade publications have described Samuels as a “legendary” New York jazz teacher whose stylistic blend of ballet technique and jazz musicality has had long-term influence; she is frequently cited for her role in linking the 1970s jazz-dance generation with contemporary practice through both studio teaching and the repertory efforts of Jazz Roots Dance.[11][1][2]

See also

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   Jazz dance

   Broadway Dance Center

References

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  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Macel Theys, Emily (June 29, 2018). "Sue Samuels' Classic Jazz Is a New York City Staple". Dance Teacher.
  2. ^ a b c d "THE DANCE ENTHUSIAST'S A TO Z: S for Sue SAMUELS and Ingrid SILVA". The Dance Enthusiast. April 28, 2024. Retrieved August 3, 2025.
  3. ^ a b "Dance Teacher Award Recipients". Dance Teacher. August 5, 2024. Retrieved August 3, 2025.
  4. ^ a b Rabinowitz, Chloe (November 22, 2021). "Dancers Over 40 Announces 13th Annual Legacy Awards and Holiday Dinner". BroadwayWorld. Retrieved August 3, 2025.
  5. ^ a b "The Bessies Announce Recipients of the 2015 NY Dance and Performance Awards". Dance/NYC. October 20, 2015. Retrieved August 3, 2025.
  6. ^ "Sue Samuels receives Dance Teacher Award at NYC Summit". Dance Informa. August 4, 2018. Retrieved August 3, 2025.
  7. ^ a b "The Fifth Dimension with Jo Jo's Dance Factory". Internet Broadway Database. Retrieved August 3, 2025.
  8. ^ a b "The Fifth Dimension with Jo Jo's Dance Factory". Playbill. Retrieved August 3, 2025.
  9. ^ a b "Got Tu Go Disco – Broadway Musical – Original". Internet Broadway Database. Retrieved August 3, 2025.
  10. ^ a b "Sue Samuels (Performer)". Playbill. Retrieved August 3, 2025.
  11. ^ a b c "9 Legendary Teachers Dancers Should Know". Backstage. February 20, 2020. Retrieved August 3, 2025.
  12. ^ "a legacy awards to warm everyone's heart!". Dancers Over 40. December 2021. Retrieved August 3, 2025.
  13. ^ "Previous Shows – Tap Extravaganza®". American Tap Dance Foundation. Retrieved August 3, 2025.
  14. ^ "JoJo Smith, Broadway and Film Star, Dies at 80". Dance Magazine. January 27, 2019. Retrieved August 3, 2025.
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   Official website

   Sue Samuels at the Internet Broadway Database