We are not a company.
We are a provocation.
A studio of creative antagonists, choreographers, filmmakers, and movement directors—collaborators who disrupt, dissolve, and rebuild the way performance is made and experienced.
We work at the intersection of high art and contemporary culture, shaping work for ballet companies, contemporary dance companies, opera houses, museums, cinema, stage, fashion, and music.
Our process is movement-forward, rigorously physical, and unapologetically experimental—rooted in classical technique but driven by instinct, rebellion, and curiosity.
Our Mission is to create high-caliber, movement-rooted works that live across disciplines—works that ignite audiences, challenge form, and expand what live and filmed performance can be in the 21st century.
We don’t follow the brief.
We complicate it—and elevate it.
We build the kind of rooms where the real work can happen.
Mike Tyus is…
is an award-winning dancer, choreographer, filmmaker, and creative director from Los Angeles, California. For more than 15 years, he has been performing and creating for stage and screen, establishing himself as a singular voice in contemporary dance with a practice that bridges artistry, community, and commerce.
As a Performer
Tyus has embodied iconic roles with Cirque Du Soleil, including IRIS at the Kodak Theater and KOOZA, where he starred as The Trickster, the production’s lead character. In 2013, he joined Pilobolus Dance Theater, performing works by Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui, Penn & Teller, Inbal Pinto, and Avshalom Pollack, while also contributing repertory that remains in the company’s archive.
His performance credits also include Ryan Heffington’s choreography for Sia, the Academy Awards under Philippe Decouflé, and work as a founding member of Jacob Jonas The Company. He has served as an Associate Producer for Films.Dance, a global platform reimagining collaboration in dance filmmaking. Tyus was a contributing choreographer and performer for Emursive Productions’ LIFE & TRUST (producers of Sleep No More), and most recently Associate Choreographer for Andrew Lloyd Webber’s immersive Phantom of the Opera production MASQUERADE in New York City, directed by Diane Paulus and choreographed by Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui.
As a Choreographer & Director
Tyus’ choreography is rooted in his eclectic training, drawing on circus theater, acrobatics, ballet, and Greco-Roman wrestling to create bold, ritualistic works. His career as a creator spans dance companies, museums, universities, film, and popular culture.
His recent stage work includes Holy, a new evening-length piece for Le Ballet Opéra de Avignon, and Stoned, created for Conflux Dance Theater. He has also been commissioned by SuperBlue Museum in Miami with Live Arts Miami, The Broad Museum in Los Angeles, LA Dance Project, Peridance Contemporary Dance Company, Hedwig Dances Chicago, Visceral Dance Chicago, and Joffrey Ballet’s prestigious Winning Works program.
On screen, Tyus has built a significant body of film work. He directed and choreographed the acclaimed dance film ELSEWHERE with Whim W’Him Contemporary Dance Company, which premiered on PBS. He choreographed the feature film Uppercut starring Academy Award nominee Ving Rhames, bringing his distinct choreographic vision to the language of cinema. Most recently, he choreographed for the Netflix documentary Songs from the Hole, adding depth and physical storytelling to a work exploring music and resilience behind prison walls. His choreography for a Facebook campaign directed by FKA Twigs now lives in the Museum of Modern Art’s archive for its cultural significance. He also contributed choreography to FKA Twigs’ Esexua world tour and Grace VanderWaal’s tour, as well as choreographing Zendaya in Lancôme’s global campaign. Tyus has created music videos for Nigerian pop star Adekunle Gold and newcomer Anna Margo, infusing high art sensibilities into mainstream culture. In 2020, he founded Mike Tyus & Co., producing over 13 films and developing Hunger at the Orsolina28 residency in Italy.
As an Educator
Education and mentorship are central to Tyus’ mission. He has taught and created work with Utah University, CalArts, Point Park University, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, CLI Conservatory, Manhattan Youth Ballet, Lines Ballet, Gibney, Peridance, and SALT Dance, as well as through numerous nonprofit and community programs.
Creative Direction & Beyond
Beyond the world of dance, Tyus has established himself as a creative director and cultural collaborator. He has spearheaded branded campaigns for Vaara, Anthropologie, Veuve Clicquot, Club Monaco, SONY, Apple, and Abercrombie & Fitch, bridging movement and commerce with a distinctive artistic voice. Most recently, he served as Movement Director for a new mural commissioned by Lincoln Center for the redesign of JFK Airport’s new wing, set to be unveiled in 2026.
Artistic Mission
At the heart of Mike Tyus’ work is a devotion to community, collaboration, and creation. Whether through choreography, performance, film, or branded work, his projects seek to nourish the human spirit and reflect the complexity of the times we live in.
