A viral video star known for his gravity-defying, elegant street dance moves, Lil Buck is a fertile collaborator across disciplines and media.
Why you should listen
International phenomenon Lil Buck began jookin' -- a street dance that originated in Memphis -- at age 13 alongside mentors Marico Flake and Daniel Price. After receiving early hip-hop training from Teran Garry and ballet training on scholarship at the New Ballet Ensemble, he performed and choreographed until relocating to Los Angeles in 2009.
Named one of Dance Magazine's "25 to Watch," his collaboration with Spike Jonze and Yo-Yo Ma performing The Swan went viral in 2011. Since then, he has collaborated with a broad spectrum of artists including JR, Damian Woetzel, the New York City Ballet, Madonna, Benjamin Millepied and Spike Lee. Buck is an avid arts education advocate, a recipient of the WSJ Innovator Award and recently launched a capsule collection with Versace.
In 2016 he co-founded with Jon Boogz Movement Art Is, an organization which seeks to inspire and change the world while elevating artistic, educational and social impact of dance.
Lil Buck’s TED Talk
Jon Boogz, Lil Buck, Robin Sanders, Jason Yang, Canku One Star
A dance to honor Mother Earth
9 minutes 25 secondsMovement artists Jon Boogz and Lil Buck debut "Honor thy mother," a delicate, powerful performance of spoken word, violin and dance that draws on the tormented relationship between nature and humanity.Posted Aug 2017
