Debra Brown is world renowned for her unique choreographies blending acrobatics and dance. She joined Cirque du Soleil in 1987 as a choreographer for We Reinvent the Circus and went on to choreograph the shows Nouvelle Expérience, Saltimbanco, Alegría, Mystère, Quidam, “O”, La Nouba, Corteo, one act in Zumanity, ZED, Zarkana and Michael Jackson THE IMMORTAL World Tour. She has also worked with artists and groups from a wide variety of disciplines including the 1990 Festival Mondial du Cirque de Demain (Paris), the John Corigliano’s opera The Ghosts of Versailles, presented at the Metropolitan Opera in New York and Wagner’s Ring Cycle, put on by the Lyric Opera of Chicago. In 1994, Debra created and produced Apogée, a 50-minute trampoline-based ballet which premiered in Toronto and was also presented in Los Angeles and San Francisco for an AIDS benefit hosted by Elizabeth Taylor and Magic Johnson. In 1995, she worked with Luciano Pavarotti on the Metropolitan Opera’s production of La Fille du Régiment (The Daughter of the Regiment) in New York. Debra also choreographed Aerosmith’s Jaded video and performance for the American Music Awards in 2001, as well as Madonna’s Drowned world tour. Debra has worked with major musical acts such as Shakira, Wyclef Jean and Céline Dion. Her film work includes Catwoman, Van Helsing and Barney’s Great Adventure. She received the Innovative Choreography Award in honour of her exceptional contribution to choreography and dance at the 14th Bob Fosse Awards in Los Angeles in 1997. In 2002, she received an Emmy Award for her choreography of an act created by Cirque du Soleil for the Academy Awards.

Debra Brown was born in Brantford, Ontario.