Jeffrey Hornaday

Jeffrey Hornaday began his career choreographing landmark movie musicals that include Flashdance, A Chorus Line, and Dick Tracy. His experience working with filmmakers such as Francis Ford Coppola, George Lucas, Sir Richard Attenborough, Adrian Lyne, Robert Zemeckis, Mel Brooks, and Warren Beatty helped him launch a directing career that now spans films, television, concerts and campaigns.

Hornaday directed the hit 2012 Disney Channel movie Geek Charming for which he received a Best Director nomination by the Director’s Guild of America. In 2013 he received his second nomination for Teen Beach Movie, the most viewed made-for-television movie debut in cable television history with an audience of 13.4 million. In 2015 he directed the hit sequel Teen Beach Movie 2.

 For 2016 Hornaday will direct and choreograph the long-awaited follow up to the High School Musical franchise for the Disney Channel.

In the music world, Hornaday conceived and directed world tours for artists that include Madonna, Paul McCartney, Mariah Carey, and Miley Cyrus.

As Creative Director, he conceived, designed, and directed live campaigns for some of the world’s largest companies, including Nike, Microsoft, Intel, and EA. He also created major press events for presidents Bill Clinton and Barack Obama.

Hornaday attended Yale University and lives in Los Angeles.

Details of select projects:

Flashdance

The international smash that re-established the movie musical as a viable convention for modern audiences. Time Magazine coined Hornaday “Bob Fosse’s punk-rock younger brother and heir apparent to the next wave of American musicals.”

 A Chorus Line

Director Richard Attenborough’s film adaptation of the iconic Broadway show. For his choreography for the film, Clive Barns of The New York Post called Hornaday “an American musical genius.”

Dick Tracy

Warren Beatty’s film for which Hornaday staged period musical comedy numbers, pairing Madonna and Al Pacino in songs written by the great Stephen Sondheim.

 Captain Eo

The groundbreaking 3D film starring Michael Jackson. Directed by Francis Ford Coppola and produced by George Lucas, the film appeared at Disney theme parks worldwide. Staged and choreographed by Hornaday.

 Say, Say, Say

Hornaday’s second collaboration with Michael Jackson. The music video starred both Jackson and former Beatle Paul McCartney.

Madonna’s ‘The Girlie Show’ World Tour

The critically acclaimed show directed by Hornaday marked his third collaboration with Madonna, following the film Dick Tracy and her Who’s That Girl world tour which he also directed.

Paul McCartney’s Back in the U.S.A. World Tour

The show reunited Hornaday with McCartney and was the first of four world tours he directed for the artist.

Z Tour

Hornaday was tapped to conceive and creatively direct a marketing campaign intended to attract a new generation to the Nissan brand. His solution: a nationwide ‘stealth’ tour in which major bands performed unannounced shows in public places. Example: two flatbed trucks rolled into NYC’s Union Square and The White Stripes walked out and started playing. Fifteen minutes later, ten thousand jubilant NYU students filled the square. Twenty cities and twenty bands later, Nissan had the street cred they wanted.