The Who's Who of Disney Junior Dance Party On Tour: Director Amy Tinkham

Having a therapist for a mother and a father who's entrepreneurial spirit included founding the Indiana Pacers, Amy 's exposure to human behavior in it's most spectacular and intimate expressions influenced her at a very early age. Drawing and painting to understand her world, she lived inside her visual creations, until she discovered that dance could provide another dimension to her voice as an artist.

She ventured out to study under dance visionaries like Erick Hawkins, who's honesty and fluidity of movement would greatly affect her approach to working with performers in the future. She eventually danced professionally in New York City and Los Angeles in productions at BAM's NEXT WAVE FESTIVAL, scores of MTV music videos, and films like THE MASK and THE BIG LEBOWSKI. This led her to work as a choreographer, on projects with MADONNA, THE DIXIE CHICKS, EARTH WIND AND FIRE, AEROSMITH, and MOTLEY CREW. The time spent on these productions inspired her desire to create the whole vision for shows, and her directing career began. Adept at bringing creative teams together in a highly collaborative and organic process, she conceptualizes and designs her work on a project to project basis, finding her inspiration from the artists in the room, and the alchemy they create when together. From set, to lighting, video, and costume design, she oversees the big picture, while directing, staging, and sometimes writing the script for the production. Whether it is a circus, a music concert, or a theater production, Amy finds that the most moving and innovative productions are created when every person involved is invested and ignited creatively. Hers is a democratic process, where passion, humor, hard work, and room for error make way for authentic and inspired productions.??

One of her first projects as a director was a short film called THE ACTING THING that premiered at the SUNDANCE FILM FESTIVAL, and also won the HOUSTON WORLD FILM FESTIVAL AWARD for "Best Comedy Short."

Amy is currently Creative Director of the new JAMES TAYLOR 2017 summer tour. In 2016 she directed DANCING WITH THE STARS LIVE, and young singer/songwriter prodigy GRACE VANDERWAAL, the winner of America's Got Talent season 11, in her first headlining show at the PLANET HOLLYWOOD in Las Vegas. She was also director of MR. HARRY BELAFONT'ES live concert for social justice at the MANY RIVERS TO CROSS FESTIVAL in Atlanta, produced by Gina Belafonte and SANKOFA.ORG, with an all star cast including COMMON, JOHN LEGEND, & MAXWELL. She was director of the STAR WARS segment on the ABC Disneyland Special, and was Creative Director of the LEGENDS AWARD CEREMONY at the DISNEY D23 EXPO, as well as STEVEN TYLER at NASACAR, and DANCING WITH THE STARS LIVE on TOUR. She has been in development for the STAR WARS concert project with DISNEY and FIVECURRENTS for over a year as well. She directed the PBS special for IL VOLO, live at Pompeii, and is director of multiple AMERICA'S GOT TALENT LIVE shows. She collaborated with Paula Abdul and music video director Marc Klasfeld of ROCKHARD FILMS for an AVON and Breast Cancer Awareness video. She is currently adapting the award-winning film ADAM with Olympus Pictures into a modern mulitdiscipinary musical, and was Creative Director on a ROYAL WEDDING IN DUBAI, partnering with DesignLab Events on a spectacular show with 3,000 attendees. ?She worked with Disney stars Bridgitte Mendler and Lucy Hale (PRETTY LITTLE LIARS) on their promotional tours and performances. Her directing credits also include the Matt Morrison(GLEE) PBS SPECIAL, "Where It All Began", DISNEY'S THE SOUND OF MAGIC, with music composer Giles Martin of the BEATLES LOVE show, DANCING WITH THE STARS LIVE in Las Vegas show, Paula Abdul's MACY'S number for DANCING WITH THE STARS, Paul McCartney's LIVE AT THE APOLLO performance of HITCH HIKER, an international tour for Latin artist Paulino Rubio, the world tour for AR Rahman (Slumdog Millionaire), Teri Hatcher in the BAND FROM TV, the RINGLING BROTHERS BARNUM AND BAILEY 200th Anniversary Show, as well as the 2008 show, Martina McBride's SHINE ALL NIGHT TOUR, YANNI VOICES World Tour, Cheetah Girls ONE WORLD TOUR, co-direction on segments for Paul McCartney's World Tours, the Dixie Chicks TOP OF THE WORLD TOUR, a collaboration as director and writer with Kenny Ortega on AMERICAN DANCE, Clay Aiken's summer and Christmas Tours, as well as his show with Ruben Studdard, video direction for Britney Spears' DREAM WITHIN A DREAM TOUR, Earth, Wind, and Fire/Chicago Summer Tour, co-direction on Backstreet Boys BLACK AND BLUE TOUR, and Mariah Carey's RAINBOW TOUR. She has also conceptualized performances for the GRAMMY AWARDS and the COUNTRY MUSIC AWARDS and for PBS.?

A strong advocate of issues surrounding youth, arts education, and human rights, Amy just finished working with SANKOFA.ORG and HARRY BELAFONTE at the first social justice music festival in Atlanta, the MANY RIVERS FESTIVAL. She directed the LOS ANGELES HIGH SCHOOL OF THE PERFORMING ARTS 2016 theater graduation performance at the DISNEY CONCERT HALL, HIGHLAND HALL'S HALLAPALOOZA WITH MELISSA ETHERIDGE, (raising funds for tuition assistance for WALDORF EDUCATION), was the Artistic Director for 24 HOUR RUSH, (a benefit for the? BABY DRAGON FUND benefitting youth crystal meth recovery and mental issues at the Los Angeles Gay and Lesbian Center), and VAGINA MONOLOGUES at the Ruskin Group Theater in Santa Monica.