John Selya

John Selya was born and grew up in New York City. His dance career began at age 10, after seeing his sister perform in "The Nutcracker." He was accepted into the School of American Ballet where he trained for 4 years. At age 14, John decided to take a break from ballet. Two years later, he regained his yearn to dance, and rejoined SAB. In 1988, John was hired by Mikhail Baryshnikov, then artistic director of American Ballet Theatre. It was there that Twyla Tharp discovered John and began casting him in her ballets. During his 11 years at American Ballet Theatre, he performed in many ballets including "Coppelia", "Don Quixote" , and "Le Corsaire", and choreographed two ballets, "Jack and Jill", and "Moon Dance." John also appeared as a dancer in Woody Allen's 1996 movie "Everyone Says I Love You." In 2000, John joined Twyla Tharp Dance. In 2002, he made his Broadway debut in the Twyla Tharp/Billy Joel musical "Movin' Out." John played the lead role of Eddie, the Long Island mechanic turned Vietnam vet. John received the 2003 TDF/Astaire and Theater World awards and was nominated for Tony and Drama Desk awards for his performance in "Movin' Out." Movin' Out closed in December of 2005. In September 2006, John returned to Broadway, once again working with Twyla Tharp, where he played Lucibeal in The Times They Are A-Changin'.