Kenny Ortega

Kenny Ortega
Ortega in February 2010
Born	Kenneth John Ortega (1950-04-18) April 18, 1950 (age 66) Palo Alto, California, U.S.
Occupation	Producer, director, choreographer
Years active	1980–present
Website	Official website

Kenneth John "Kenny" Ortega (born April 18, 1950) is an American producer, director, and choreographer. He is best known for directing Hocus Pocus, the High School Musical trilogy, Descendants and Michael Jackson's This Is It concerts.

Ortega was born in Palo Alto, California, the son of Madeline, a waitress, and Octavio "Tibby" Ortega, a factory worker. Both of his parents were also born in Palo Alto, though his paternal grandparents were Spanish immigrants. He attended Sequoia High School in Redwood City, California, where he was a cheerleader; a lot of people made fun of him.

Initially known for working with dancer and choreographer Gene Kelly on the film Xanadu, Ortega went on to choreographing the dance for the Menudo video "Hold Me", as well as the 1987 film Dirty Dancing, and has won awards for choreography in music videos, such as Madonna's "Material Girl". He also worked with The Tubes on their stage shows and directed the video for She's a Beauty.

Ortega directed Billy Squier's "Rock Me Tonite" video, which is often cited as the worst music promo clip ever made and has been blamed by Squier for killing his career. Together with Michael Jackson, he created and designed the Dangerous World Tour 1992-1993 and the HIStory World Tour 1996-1997. He has also choreographed events ranging from Super Bowl XXX, the 72nd Academy Awards, the 1996 Summer Olympics (Atlanta) and the 2002 Winter Olympics (Salt Lake City).