Ryan Heffington is a performer, choreographer, designer, promoter and dance guru. Since his arrival in Los Angeles in 1991, his exhaustive resume has expanded to include work that has been presented in national art galleries, on fashion show runways, professional dance stages, numerous TV shows and at some of the grittiest night clubs around the world. He has been described as both "a mad Bob Fosse with a sewing machine" and "Martha Graham on meth" by the Los Angeles Times, and as "a fucking genius" by Blackbook Magazine. 

As an artist, Ryan has staked his claim equally in both the commercial and underground art worlds. High art enthusiasts have experienced his electrifying work at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion, the Walt Disney Concert Hall, the Los Angeles Country Museum of Art, the Hammer Museum, and L.A.C.E. Gallery. From 1999-2010, Ryan was the Co-Artistic Director of the critically acclaimed Hysterica Dance Company. While with Hysterica, he was nominated for Best Male Performer, Best Small Group Ensemble, and Best Costume Design by the Horton Awards. During the same period, Ryan individually choreographed several site-specific dance projects: "House Party" and "Sex On A String" disrupted traditional performance space expectations by bringing dance out of the galleries and theaters and into the parks, homes and streets of east-side LA. Part museum tour, part roving night club, these transient installations redefined dance for Los Angeles audiences. 

In 2010, Ryan was commissioned to create "Heffington Moves MOCA," a three month residency as part of the museum's Engagement Party Series. These packed shows included dance classes, performances with interactive projections, and living sculpture art installations. For his finale, Ryan choreographed "Heavy Metal Parking Lot: The Musical" -  a dance punk music performance piece which included two live bands, more than forty dancers, muscle cars, opera singers and costumes by the couture Danish design house "Moon Spoon Saloon." With over 2000 people in the audience, the performance broke attendance records for the museum. 

Also in 2010, Target commissioned Ryan to choreograph for the company's "Kaleidoscopic Fashion Spectacular," a larger than life dance performance in the 144 rooms of the NY Standard Hotel. This spectacle included over 60 dancers, a fashion show, and a light installation that could be seen from the shores of New Jersey. 

As promoter and performer, Ryan has been instrumental in the success of multiple sold-out monthly dance parties such as Sock-It, Fingered and Full Frontal Disco - again, infusing non-traditional performance spaces with his contemporary punk dance choreography. Fingered is where Ryan first introduced midnight dance classes to the masses, thus sparking his idea for "Sweaty Sundays - A Dance Class for Everyone" which he began teaching in 2008. The overwhelming success of this weekly dance class eventually led Ryan to open his dance studio, The Sweat Spot, which aims to make its classes accessible to both the adult beginner and the professional dancer. The studio also serves as a performance space and has hosted various companies and performances less than two years after opening. Ryan continues to teach his ever-growing classes and has traveled as a teacher across the US and to Nicaragua, Tokyo, Germany and Canada, spreading his enthusiasm for dance around the world. 

In his free time, Ryan works under the design alias Sir Heffington, designing for various dance and theater companies, network TV shows, films and super celebs like Britney Spears, Mick Jagger and Beck. He is also a founding member of the Dance/Music Collective WE ARE THE WORLD. On stage, this high-concept masked foursome jump between instruments, vocals and choreography. During their first year together, they toured Europe and the United States opening for Yelle, Tricky and CSS. Their full length debut album "Clay Stones" is available on iTunes. 

Other noteworthy credits include choreographing Muse's "Uprising" performance at the 2011Grammys and the latest Evian "Live Young" commercial. Ryan has over 10 music videos under his belt including "Tonight's Today" by Jack Penate (directed by Alma H'arel) which was nominated for Best Video by UK MVAs in 2009. Other credits include choreography for The Gossip, Ke$ha, Shiny Toy Guns, Beirut, and Nikka Costa and an episode of "The L Word." He has appeared on RuPauls "Drag Race" for the past 3 seasons, and has continued to perform live with various artists including Ladytron, Peaches, Fischerspooner and The Black Eyed Peas for "So You Think You Can Dance." Ryan also appeared on tour as "Dirty Diana" for Margaret Cho's Off-Broadway show "The Sensuous Woman."

Ryan's most recent work can be seen in the upcoming feature films "Vara: The Boon" and "The East" (Fox Searchlight)

"A blend of Merce Cunningham and Mark Morris with a splash of Freddie Mercury and Peaches"  

- someone once said. . .