“Dance Moms” follows the training and careers of children in dance and show business under the authority of Abby Lee Miller. Alongside Miller, you will find 27-year-old choreographer, dancer and teacher, Gianna Martello.
photo credit: Ryan West
Martello started dancing at the age of four and became an Abby Lee Dance Company (ALDC) competition team member at the age of 10 and was part of the team until she graduated high school.
“Dancing was my passion, my obsession,” says Gianna.
“When I look back on all the time I committed to dancing I realize that something that was once an after school activity became such a huge part of my life that it actually became my life. My job is something I absolutely love doing — not many people can say that.”
At the age of 16, Martello began choreographing routines by Abby Lee Miller’s side and loved every second of it. She was even there when the show “Dance Moms” rose to fame.
Martello has been on the show since season 1, assisting Miller to choreograph the performances of the show’s stars such as Maddie and Mackenzie Ziegler and Kendall Vertes.
When it comes to inspiration for Gianna, it seems nothing is off limits.
“Wether it’s a student I’m working with, the music I’m using, a show I’ve been to, or a situation I find myself in, I can find inspiration through anything and everything.”
Martello splits her time between Pittsburgh and Los Angeles with Miller and the dance company. When she’s not filming, you can find her getting some much needed “retail therapy” shopping in.
She has even been a guest instructor and judge around the world on competition circuits.
“I LOVE traveling and meeting new people,” says Martello.
“It’s so awesome to see how many lives we’ve touched around the world. We probably have more fans in Australia than anywhere! We had a class of 1200 once in Sydney — it was the wildest thing!”
I know what you’re all thinking… Working with Abby Lee must be super intimidating and nerve wrecking.. But when you ask Gianna, she has nothing but love for the choreographer:
“I think she is (intimidating) to kids just because she is such a tough coach and if you watch the show you usually only see the mean or scary stuff… you never get to see the funny stuff. I’ve known her for about 20 years now and she is one of the nicest, most generous people I know!”
photo credit: Ryan West
Her award-winning routines have earned her regional and national titles, as well as overall awards and choreography awards.
When we asked her what her most difficult, yet rewarding, dance to choreograph was, she responded:
“Production has a lot to do with the creative side of the routines we compete. Some ideas I love and have my part in, other routines I do not. Adapting to the special music we have to use for TV purposes, as well as creating routines to make everyone happy (and win), is probably the most difficult thing. I could give the girls a lyrical or contemporary piece every week but for viewers that aren’t dancers we have to have all styles on the show.
The dance ‘Suicide Hotline’ was probably one of the most recent ones that I was worried about. The routine had such a strong message and we wanted to pull it off in a tasteful way because the theme was so sensitive. Getting the positive response that we did was AMAZING.”
Martello’s choreography can also be seen in music videos for Todrick Hall, Kendall Vertes, MackZ and most recently Alexx Calise featuring Nia Sioux.
What can you expect next from the choreography icon? She’ll be headed back to Pittsburgh to teach over the holidays and will hopefully be traveling and teaching this summer! Gianna also says to be on the look out for an upcoming episode where their dance team got a perfect score at their most recent competition this past weekend!
“Dance Moms” Season 6B is currently airing Tuesday’s at 9/8 central on Lifetime.
