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How Emmy-Nominated Choreographer Jemel McWilliams Makes His Moves

Choreographer and show director Jemel McWilliams runs through Janelle Monae's "I Got the Juice" with her cast of Coachella dancers in a Burbank studio. Photos: Carolyn Cole/ Los Angeles Times

AUGUST 25, 2020 - BY ALISON PRATO

When Emmy-nominated choreographer Jemel McWilliams was a first grader growing up in the D.C. area, most of his friends spent their time worshipping and talking about Michael Jordan. It was the Nineties, and Jordan and the Bulls were at peak fame level. But McWilliams had a few other idols in his sights: Sammy Davis, Jr. and Savion Glover. 

“I just loved that Sammy was an actor, a singer, a dancer, and a pioneer of this entire space for black Americans. That was beautiful,” McWilliams says. “And then I really got into hoofing, a street form of tap dance, so I would watch Savion Glover. Those were my inspirations. Then obviously you have your Michael Jacksons and your Princes. You put those two together and next thing you know, you find me crawling around the floor being like, ‘Uh ooh! Uh ooh!’”