Born and raised in New York City, the son of dancers
Jacques d'Amboise and
Carolyn George, d'Amboise became a principal dancer in the
New York City Ballet, where he worked closely with
George Balanchine and
Jerome Robbins, dancing all the major roles as well as originating several new works. His sister
Charlotte d'Amboise is also a professional dancer. He quit the company in 1983 to pursue other interests, including the
Broadway production of
Song and Dance, which earned him a
Tony Award nomination for Best Featured Actor in a Musical for a role in which he only danced. From 1990 to 1994, d'Amboise was the artistic director, President, and CEO of the
Pennsylvania Ballet, where he presented classic repertoire as well as introduced new works by contemporary choreographers. As a choreographer, d'Amboise has created more than fifty ballets for numerous international companies, including those in
San Francisco,
Amsterdam, and
Flanders. For the
musical theatre, he has choreographed productions of
High Society and the rock musical ''
William Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet'', a project conceived by his brother-in-law,
Terrence Mann. Television credits include two appearances on the
Kennedy Center Honors,
Live from Studio 8H, and the
Emmy Award-winning documentary
He Makes Me Feel Like Dancing. In 2007, d'Amboise wrote, directed, and choreographed
The Studio, a "play with dance" about a
Manhattan-based choreographer with a public image larger than life, for
South Coast Repertory. Currently, d'Amboise teaches dance at
George Mason University and has been teaching unique
curricula for aspiring professional dancers and choreographers, including Moving Story and other master's level classes. Conceived by d'Amboise prior to the
COVID-19 pandemic, d'Amboise and the university launched the LIVE Center (also known as The Center for Live Interactive Virtual Education) in late 2020, during the height of the US COVID-19 resurgence, further uniting location-disparate and socially-distanced dancers and masters. ==Personal life==