Amy Zhang

Amy Zhang’s creative world refuses to be confined to a single stage. Equally at home choreographing for film, television, theatre, fashion, galleries and live performance, the Sydney based choreographer and movement director has built a career that effortlessly crosses artistic boundaries while remaining grounded in a deeply personal creative philosophy. Drawing on Chinese ways of knowing and storytelling, alongside street dance foundations and contemporary movement practices, Amy has developed an artistic voice that is both distinctive and increasingly sought after.

Her work has attracted commissions from internationally recognised brands including Hermes, Cartier, Nike and Calvin Klein, while artists such as Rita Ora, The Veronicas and Pnau have entrusted her to translate music into movement. Her choreography has appeared at Australian Fashion Week and across major broadcasters including Channel 10, ABC and SBS, while a collaboration with Google saw her help curate an AI dance application presented at the company’s annual Google I/O developer conference in Los Angeles. Alongside this commercial success, Amy has continued to make significant contributions to the arts sector through collaborations with organisations including Sydney Dance Company, Belvoir St Theatre, The Hayes Theatre, QPAC, the Art Gallery of NSW, GoMA and Hong Kong’s M+ Museum of Art. Her original dance theatre work, [ gameboy ], recently enjoyed sold out seasons as part of Sydney Dance Company’s INDANCE program, further cementing her reputation as a choreographer equally committed to artistic exploration.

Remarkably, dance was not always part of Amy’s life. She discovered it later than many professional dancers, taking her very first class at the age of 17 at Mad Dance House in Sydney. What began as curiosity quickly became complete immersion.

“Mad Dance House was where it all started for me,” she recalls. “I took my first ever dance class there at 17 and instantly became obsessed. The studio offered such a breadth of styles and gave students access to some of Australia’s best teachers, so I was there almost every night, often taking three classes back-to-back.” Those early years became the foundation of the movement vocabulary she continues to draw upon today, but just as importantly, they shaped her belief that dance could become more than simply a passion. “Meg, the owner, also gave me my very first professional dance job. Before that, I hadn’t really considered that dance could be a career. She believed in me before I fully believed in myself, and I owe so much to her and to that space.”

Although Amy’s career now spans remarkably diverse creative industries, she sees a single thread connecting every project she undertakes. Whether developing movement for an international luxury brand, directing choreography for theatre or creating work for television, storytelling remains the constant.

“Research is a huge part of my creative process,” she explains. “I’m always asking, what are we trying to say? Why are we saying it now? What came before this moment? The answers to those questions become the foundation of the choreography.” Rather than creating movement for spectacle alone, Amy seeks choreography that deepens narrative. “I’m interested in creating movement that serves the story rather than simply existing for spectacle.”

That commitment to storytelling is inseparable from her own cultural identity. As the daughter of two Chinese immigrants, Amy’s lived experiences naturally influence both the stories she chooses to tell and the way she tells them.
“So much of how I see, think, feel and ultimately move is shaped by my upbringing,” she says. “Being the daughter of two Chinese immigrants has influenced the way I understand family, ambition, belonging and identity, and those perspectives naturally find their way into my work.” While Australian dance continues to become increasingly diverse, Amy recognises that representation remains important. “To this day, there are very few choreographers who look like me. I think my perspective brings a different nuance to the Australian dance landscape, and I’m passionate about telling stories that reflect experiences we don’t often see represented.”

Perhaps one of the reasons Amy’s work continues to resonate across such varied artistic platforms is her ability to balance emotional accessibility with creative sophistication. She believes audiences should feel something regardless of their dance knowledge, while dancers themselves should remain challenged by the movement.

“I want someone with no dance background to connect with the work emotionally, while still creating movement that dancers find exciting, layered and innovative,” she explains. Rather than imposing choreography onto performers, Amy begins with the individual. “My practice is deeply informed by the street dance scene, where individuality and self-expression are valued over uniformity. Rather than prescribing movement, I collaborate closely with dancers and performers to understand who their character is, what they’re trying to communicate, how they naturally move and what feels instinctive in their body. Those discoveries become the starting point for the choreography.”

This collaborative philosophy allows each performer to retain authenticity while serving the broader narrative, resulting in movement that feels organic rather than manufactured.

Balancing commercial commissions with original artistic work is another aspect of Amy’s career that she approaches thoughtfully. Rather than viewing the two worlds as competing priorities, she sees them as complementary creative outlets.

“I see those projects as fulfilling different creative needs,” she says. “Commercial work often comes with clear objectives, and I genuinely enjoy the challenge of responding to a brief while still finding ways to make it creatively fulfilling.” At the same time, projects such as [ gameboy ] provide an entirely different kind of creative freedom. “Where I have complete creative ownership, I can experiment in ways that commercial work often doesn’t. In many ways, the creative constraints of commissioned projects become a pressure cooker. They make the freedom of developing my own work feel even more exciting.”

Innovation has also become a defining feature of Amy’s career. Her willingness to embrace emerging technologies, including her collaboration with Google on AI driven dance experiences, reflects a broader curiosity about where choreography might be heading.

She believes dance is entering an exciting new era. “Platforms like TikTok and the global rise of K Pop have introduced dance to audiences who may never have engaged with it previously,” she says. While social media has increased visibility, Amy hopes it also leads to greater recognition of dance as a sophisticated art form. “Being a dancer requires extraordinary physical ability, musicality, cultural awareness, creativity, storytelling and technical understanding of production. There’s so much that goes into making movement look effortless.” Looking ahead, she hopes dancers themselves will enjoy the same public recognition afforded to musicians, actors and elite athletes. “I’d love to see dancers become household names.”

Building a freelance creative career has brought its own challenges. Amy is candid about the patience required to sustain a long-term career in an industry where opportunities can fluctuate and success rarely arrives overnight.

“The biggest challenge has been balancing ambition with patience,” she reflects. “I’ve always had big goals, but building a career takes time.” Maintaining perspective has become one of her greatest strengths. “Every opportunity, every rejection and every setback is simply one step along the path. Success isn’t defined by a single job or moment. It’s built through believing in the vision, learning from the hard times and still choosing to take another step towards your goals every day.”

Despite her impressive list of professional credits, Amy speaks just as passionately about teaching beginner dancers as she does about directing large scale productions. Her regular adult beginner heels classes remain one of the most personally rewarding parts of her work because they reflect her belief that dance belongs to everyone.
“Because I came to dance later in life, I know firsthand how transformative it can be,” she says. “Now I get to create a space where other people can experience that for themselves.” Beyond technique, she believes dance changes the way people see themselves. “Dance builds confidence, helps people reconnect with their bodies, teaches them how to take up space and gives them permission to express themselves. Those are incredibly powerful things, and I genuinely believe everyone deserves the chance to experience them.”

When asked what advice she would offer emerging choreographers hoping to build international careers, Amy encourages young artists to invest as much in developing themselves as they do their technical skills.

“Spend time getting to know yourself and developing your taste,” she advises. “Figure out what you love, not just in dance, but in music, fashion, food, film, art and culture. Your work is an extension of who you are, where you’ve come from and what you value.” She believes authenticity remains an artist’s greatest asset. “People connect with artists who have a point of view. Don’t be afraid if yours looks different to everyone else’s. That difference is your greatest strength.”

As Amy prepares for her next chapter, that perspective remains central to her vision. She is currently preparing to relocate to the United States as opportunities continue to emerge internationally, but Australia remains firmly at the heart of her ambitions.

“I’m looking forward to collaborating with artists from around the world while continuing to grow as a choreographer and creative,” she says. Yet her aspirations extend beyond personal success. “I’m incredibly passionate about championing Australian talent. We have such an extraordinary creative community here, and I’d love to use whatever platform I build overseas to shine a light back on the artists, dancers and choreographers at home.”

It is a sentiment that encapsulates Amy Zhang’s career to date. While her choreography continues to evolve across mediums, technologies and continents, her work remains anchored by curiosity, cultural identity and an unwavering belief in the power of movement to tell stories that connect us. Whether creating intimate theatre, directing global campaigns or introducing first time dancers to the joy of movement, Amy continues to demonstrate that choreography is far more than steps. It is a language capable of carrying identity, emotion and human connection across every stage it encounters.