Sue Samuels

Sue Samuels is an American jazz dancer, choreographer, and dance teacher based in New York City. A protégé of jazz master JoJo Smith, she co-founded JoJo’s Dance Factory in the 1970s—an independent studio that became a precursor to Broadway Dance Center (BDC)—and has taught on BDC’s faculty since the center opened in 1984. In 2009 Samuels founded the Jazz Roots Dance Company to preserve and present classic jazz repertory alongside her own choreography. She received a Dance Teacher Award in 2018 and a Dancers Over 40 Legacy Award in 2021, and has served on the selection committee for the New York Dance and Performance “Bessie” Awards.