Chita Rivera

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Lore & Background

Navy Band. Boom! After rehabilitation, she continued performing.

Reader's Guide

Chita Rivera's significance lies in her pioneering role as a Latina star on Broadway and her creation of some of musical theater's most enduring characters.

Did You Know?

• She was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2009.
• Rivera's autobiography, Chita: A Memoir, was published in 2023.

Roots in a Michigan Dance Household

Ryan Steele grew up in Walled Lake, Michigan, in a family where movement was a shared language. His mother took a moms dance class, his father a dads dance class, and both of his siblings participated as well. Steele himself began dancing at age five and felt an immediate, lasting pull toward the art form. Through elementary and high school he trained with several programs, including The Juilliard School. In his final high school years his focus sharpened toward ballet and a potential career in concert dance. Rather than enrolling in university, he chose to take a year off to audition for dance companies. That same year he secured a contract with a ballet company in Texas and, in a pivotal turn, attended an open call for the 2009 revival of West Side Story. That single audition launched his professional career. Steele is openly gay, and his family has consistently supported both his artistic ambitions and his identity. He was in a two-year relationship with fellow Broadway actor Matt Doyle.

A Broadway Breakout and a String of Signature Roles

At seventeen, Ryan Steele booked his first Broadway production, stepping into Baby John in the 2009 revival of West Side Story. He held that role from the March 19, 2009 opening through the January 2, 2011 closing, giving him nearly two years of continuous stage immersion. He then joined the Paper Mill Playhouse cast of Newsies in New Jersey, originating the role of Specs before reprising it when the show transferred to Broadway. Beyond performing, he served as the original dance captain for that production, a role that blended artistic leadership with creative execution. His Broadway credits continued to expand: Billy Elliot as a swing and understudy between January 2011 and January 2012, Matilda the Musical in the original cast from April to October 2013, An American in Paris, Carousel, Once Upon a One More Time, and MJ The Musical. Off-Broadway and international work included City Center's Fall For Dance and The Wild Party, as well as an engagement at Théâtre du Châtelet in Paris.

A Dancer's Canvas Across Choreographers and Companies

Steele's dance résumé reads like a who's-who of contemporary and classical choreography. He has performed for Christopher Wheeldon, Justin Peck, Sonya Tayeh, Keone and Mari Madrid, Jennifer Weber, Andy Blankenbuehler, Chris Gattelli, Sarah Ogleby, Rob Ashford, Chelsea Thedinga, Josh Bergasse, and James Kinney, among others. This breadth of collaboration speaks to a dancer comfortable shifting between ballet, contemporary, and musical-theatre styles. His concert and performance credits extend to NY City Center productions, the Radio City Christmas Spectacular, and engagements in Paris. In 2023 he was recognized with the Chita Rivera Award for his work in Andy Blankenbuehler's Only Gold, a testament to the depth of his partnership with that choreographer. Beyond performing, Steele has taught at studios across the country and holds a faculty position at Dance Device Lab. He has also collaborated with organizations such as NYCDA, West Coast Dance Explosion, and On Stage NY.

From the Screen to the Studio and Beyond

Steele's presence extends well beyond the theater. His film and television work includes the lead role in Five Dances, a short written and directed by Alan Brown, in which he plays an eighteen-year-old ballet dancer arriving in New York. He appeared as Curly, a Lost Boy, in NBC's Peter Pan Live! in December 2014, a performance during which he met his partner Charlie Williams. Other screen credits include Ted 2, Fosse/Verdon, Netflix's I'm Thinking of Ending Things, Better Nate Than Ever, Smash, Girls 5Eva, Hulu's Up Here, and the pilot of The Miraculous Year. He has also danced in the Academy Awards ceremony and the Tony Awards, and has made appearances on multiple late-night and morning television shows. Currently based in New York City, he balances performing, traveling for master classes, and teaching, maintaining a life that moves fluidly between the stage, the screen, and the studio.

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