Lynne Taylor-Corbett, Tony-Nominated Choreographer of Swing! and Footloose, Dies at 78

Lynne Taylor-Corbett, a Tony-nominated choreographer who also choreographed the iconic steps for the 1984 movie Footloose, has died. Her death was confirmed by her son, actor Shaun Taylor-Corbett. She was 78.

Taylor-Corbett grew up in Denver, Colorado. She knew what she wanted to do, she told the Denver Post, “since I was a fat five-year-old.” A high school teacher, Mr. Godfrey, validated her dreams. “[He] was the first person I said, 'I want to be a dancer' to, and he said back, 'Well, that's wonderful.’ I'll never forget that. One person believing in you can mean so much."

She moved to New York at 17 to attend the School of American Ballet, working as an usher at the New York State Theater. Realizing she wasn't New York City Ballet material after one semester, she moved on to choreographing. She subsequently choreographed with Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, New York City Ballet, American Ballet Theatre, Hubbard Street Dance Chicago, Pacific Northwest Ballet and Carolina Ballet. Taylor-Corbett created the dance piece Prayers From the Edge as part of Ailey artistic director Judith Jamison’s 1994 Women’s Choreography Initiative. The piece is inspired by her time touring with the Ailey company through the Middle East following the 1967 Six-Day-War.

On Broadway, she choreographed and directed the musical Swing! (1999), earning two Tony nominations for her work. “Dancing was my great joy," she told The VU. "And then being a choreographer was my great joy. And now creating projects like Swing—sort of total use of body and mind as it were—is my great joy and the next place to go.” Her earlier Broadway choreography and dance credits include Shakespeare’s Cabaret, Chess, Titanic and Jackie. She additionally served as an understudy for Cassie in the original Broadway production of A Chorus Line (she was taught the role by original Tony-winning Cassie Donna McKechnie).

Beyond Footloose, her screen credits include My Blue Heaven, Vanilla Sky, Sesame Street and the movie Bewitched. Off-Broadway, she directed and choreographed Cougar the Musical, KICK!, and When It Happens To You, and adapted and directed The Lion King for Disneyland in Hong Kong. She additionally earned a 2009 Drama Desk nomination for her choreography for My Vaudeville Man! at the York Theatre. Her final project was the Native pop musical Distant Thunder, set among the Blackfeet Nation. The musical ran off-Broadway at A.R.T/New York Theatres in fall 2024. In lieu of flowers, she would like donations to go to the show's future concept album and productions of the show via amasmusical.org.

Taylor-Corbett is survived by her son Shaun and her sisters Jan, Carol, Leslie, Kelly and Sharon.

“A few days ago, we danced salsa together and did what we call a bear dance,” Shaun said on Facebook. “She danced with the same joy and abandon she always had since she was a young girl. She maintained a childlike innocence and joy for the world that never diminished.”