TONI BASIL
BIOGRAPHY
Antonia Christina Basilotta (born September 22, 1943), better known by her stage name Toni Basil, is an American singer-songwriter, actress, filmmaker, film director, choreographer, and dancer, best known for her multi-million-selling worldwide 1982 hit "Mickey", which reached No 1 in several countries.
In 1973, Toni Basil and Don “Campbellock” Campbell created The Lockers, pioneers of street dance. And they were fantastic.
Life for the dancers can be traced back to 1971, when Soul Train presenter Don Cornelius took his rival to Dick Clark’s American Bandstand from his native Chicago to LA.
Basil started dancing professionally in childhood, but her career started when she served as an assistant choreographer to David Winters and dancer on Shindig!, a breakthrough music variety show which premiered on the ABC network in 1964. In addition, she was assistant choreographer and a dancer on the 1964 concert film The T.A.M.I. Show (Teen-Age Music International) choreographed by David Winters,[3] which featured fellow dancer and friend, Teri Garr. Some of her 1960s film choreography work include Village of the Giants (1965), The Cool Ones (1967), and the Monkees's 1968 film Head in which she is partnered on-screen with Davy Jones during "Daddy's Song."
Basil choreographed, and co-directed with David Byrne, the music video for "Once in a Lifetime" by Talking Heads in 1980. She worked with Talking Heads again to direct and choreograph the video for the song "Crosseyed and Painless." She choreographed David Bowie's Diamond Dogs Tour in 1974, and Glass Spider Tour in 1987. She has worked with Bette Midler for many years, most recently on her 2008/2009 Las Vegas show The Showgirl Must Go On. She served as the associate director and choreographer of the worldwide Tina Turner Live: 50th Anniversary Concert Tour in 2008/2009. Her expertise as a choreographer led her to be invited to sit as a guest judge on season four and five of Fox Broadcasting Company's So You Think You Can Dance? In addition, she is credited with bringing street dance to prominence as a founding member and manager of The Lockers.