Ortega began his career as an actor, appearing in a touring production of
Oliver! and
Hair before venturing into choreography and directing. Ortega choreographed
The Mystic Knights of the Oingo Boingo in the mid to late 1970s. Ortega was offered the leading role in a production of
Jesus Christ Superstar, but turned the offer down to become a choreographer for the San Francisco-based band
The Tubes after being spotted on the dance floor in a club by members of the band. Ortega toured with the band for ten years, before being contracted by
Cher to choreograph a TV special and tour and by
Kiss on their
Dynasty Tour. In 1980, Ortega was hired as one of the choreographers on the film
Xanadu, working with
Gene Kelly who mentored him into choreographing for film. During this time period, Ortega also served as choreographer for several of
John Hughes's films, including
Pretty in Pink and ''
Ferris Bueller's Day Off, as well as the 1987 film Dirty Dancing''. Ortega would also choreograph several music videos, including "
Material Girl" by
Madonna, "
She's a Beauty" by The Tubes,
Physical by
Olivia Newton-John and "
Mr. Roboto" by
Styx. He also produced and choreographed the video for "
Rock Me Tonite" by
Billy Squier, which turned into a career-ending disaster for the artist. He made his directorial debut in 1992 with the
Disney musical
Newsies, which was followed up by
Hocus Pocus in 1993. Both films underperformed at the box-office but have since gone on to attract considerable cult followings. Ortega also served as choreographer for
To Wong Foo, Thanks for Everything! Julie Newmar in 1995. Alongside
Michael Jackson, he created and designed Jackson's
Dangerous World Tour (1992–1993),
HIStory World Tour (1996–1997) and
Michael Jackson & Friends (1999). He has also choreographed events ranging from
Super Bowl XXX, the
72nd Academy Awards, the
1996 Summer Olympics (
Atlanta) and the
2002 Winter Olympics (
Salt Lake City). In 2006, Ortega directed and choreographed two
Disney Channel Original Movies,
High School Musical and
The Cheetah Girls 2. Ortega would return as director and choreographer for
High School Musical 2 in 2007 and
High School Musical 3: Senior Year in 2008. In May 2009, Ortega began work directing and choreographing the scheduled 50-date Michael Jackson
This Is It concert residency at
the O2 Arena, billed as Jackson's final concerts in London. The engagement was subsequently cancelled due to
Jackson's sudden death on June 25, 2009. Ortega would serve as the director of the Michael Jackson Public Memorial at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, which was broadcast live on several networks on July 7, 2009, reaching a television audience of 31 million in America and more than one billion worldwide. At the end of the service, he introduced a rendition of Jackson's 1985 charity single "
We Are the World" created for the This Is It concerts, featuring Jackson's backing singers on lead vocals with his dancers performing around them. Ortega directed the concert film ''
Michael Jackson's This Is It'', which was put together from rehearsal footage recorded at the
Los Angeles Forum and the
Staples Center. The film was released on October 28 of the same year. He was set to direct the 2011
Footloose remake, but dropped out in October 2009 due to differences with
Paramount over the budget and tone of the film. Ortega was also hired to direct a film adaptation of the
Broadway musical In the Heights for
Universal, but the studio dropped the project in 2011 due to budgetary and casting issues. On August 9, 2011, it was announced that Ortega would direct a remake of
Dirty Dancing, a project that was later postponed. The
2017 TV remake was filmed without Ortega's involvement. On May 12, 2014, Ortega guest-judged on the
18th season of Dancing with the Stars during the
semifinals. In 2015, Ortega directed and choreographed
Descendants for the Disney Channel, a film based on the children of legendary
Disney Villains. He would return in the same capacity for its two sequels,
Descendants 2 in 2017 and
Descendants 3 in 2019. In 2019, Ortega was honored with a star on the
Hollywood Walk of Fame and was named a
Disney Legend at the 2019
D23 Expo. That fall, he directed and served as executive producer of the Netflix Original series
Julie and the Phantoms, which premiered on Netflix on September 10, 2020. ==Personal life==