Brandon LaVar (Orangeburg, SC) is a Broadway performer and artist whose career is rooted in dance, storytelling, and a lifelong curiosity for the performing arts.
Brandon received his early training at Ann Brodie’s Carolina Ballet in Columbia, South Carolina, and danced competitively throughout the Southeast under the mentorship of Danyele Gardner. He continued his training at the South Carolina Governor’s School for the Arts and Humanities, studying under Stanislav Issaev and expanding his classical repertoire through works including Gopak, Raymonda Pas de Dix, George Balanchine’s Serenade, and original works by Lloyd Whitmore and Sandra Neels.
He is a graduate of the University of the Arts in Philadelphia, where he earned his B.F.A. in Dance under the mentorship of Donna Faye Burchfield. During his time at UArts, Brandon worked with acclaimed choreographers including Ronen Koresh, Sidra Bell, Tommie Waheed Evans, Gary Jeter, Matthew Neenan, and Douglas Becker. His training also took him abroad to the Centre National de la Danse (CND) in Paris, France, and the Royal Conservatoire of Antwerp in Belgium.
Brandon has continued his training through programs at the Alvin Ailey School and Dance Theatre of Harlem, where he received the DTH Image Award, as well as Alonzo King LINES Ballet School, where he was awarded a full scholarship. In 2012, he became an apprentice with Eleone Dance Unlimited in Philadelphia under the artistic direction of Shawn Lamere Williams.
His work has taken him from concert dance to television, national tours, regional theatre, and Broadway. He was selected as one of the Top 60 dancers on Season 11 of So You Think You Can Dance and has performed with organizations and theatres including Royal Caribbean, Fireside Dinner Theatre, Maltz Jupiter Theatre, North Carolina Theatre, The Muny in St. Louis, and Seattle’s 5th Avenue Theatre, where he portrayed Richie in A Chorus Line, directed and choreographed by Denis Jones. He also toured nationally in Hello, Dolly! starring Betty Buckley and Carolee Carmello, understudying the principal role of Barnaby Tucker.
On Broadway, Brandon made his debut in MJ the Musical, where he performed as a swing and covered four tracks. He later joined Jamie Lloyd’s Tony Award-winning revival of SUNSET BLVD., performing the role of Artie Green. Most recently, he appeared in the Tony Award-winning Lincoln Center Theater production of Ragtime.
