Who Is Molly Long? Meet the Choreographer Behind TikTok’s Biggest Dance Trends
Choreographer Molly Long has become one of the most talked-about names on TikTok this year, with her routines for the competitive dance program Project 21 captivating millions of viewers across social media.
The Viral Moment
It started with a dance clip from Season 10 of Project 21 that circulated online in 2025. The video featured seven dancers — Regan Gerena, Chloe Mirabal, Savanna Musman, Madelyn Nasu, Berkeley Scifres, Bristyn Scifres and Sara Von Rotz — performing Long’s choreography to the 1979 song “Pop Muzik” by M. The routine went viral.
Then came another Project 21 routine, this one choreographed by Long to Frankie Smith’s 1981 song “Double Dutch Bus.” That clip gained attention on TikTok and accumulated more than 3.6 million likes and led to thousands of fans recreating the dance on the app.
Social media users have tried to articulate what makes Long’s choreography distinctive. One user wrote, “You can literally recognise Molly Long from a MILE away.” Another offered what may be the most succinct description of her style: “Her choreography looks like how the music sounds.” A third viewer posted, “Haven’t been this captivated by art in a while.”
Those comments point to a signature style so recognizable that fans say they can identify her work on sight.
How She Got Here
Long was born on August 21, 1992, and is an American choreographer and dance instructor. She started training at age three at her mother’s studio, California Dance Academy, and later trained at Dance Precisions under her aunt Leslie Kenfield and instructor Shannon Mather.
Long described the environment in a 2020 interview with Dance Spirit: “My mom taught the minis, my aunt Leslie handled the juniors, and, when I turned 16, I also started working at the studio. I was never the best dancer when I was younger, but I absolutely loved being there—it felt like home.”
By age 16, Long began teaching dance, focusing on younger students. Her early routines included “My Boyfriend’s Back” and “Single Ladies,” which brought attention to her choreography in competitions. The “My Boyfriend’s Back” routine, featuring dancer Autumn Miller, won national titles at Hall of Fame Nationals and Showbiz Nationals in 2009.
Between ages 18 and 22, Long freelanced as a choreographer, teaching workshops across the United States, Canada, Mexico, Australia and New Zealand. Her choreography has appeared on television programs including America’s Got Talent, Raising Asia and Abby’s Ultimate Dance Competition.
Long has received choreography awards including an Industry Dance Award for her jazz piece “Fever” and Best Jazz Piece at The Dance Awards.
Creating Project 21
In 2015, Long founded Project 21, a dance training program based in Orange County, California. The program began with 20 dancers at the McCoy Rigby Conservatory of the Arts and later expanded internationally.
Long explained the name’s origin in her Dance Spirit interview: “I wish I had a better story about the name. In truth, it’s a play on the fact that she was born on the twenty-first of August, and 21 is her favorite number. I was away on a teaching tour, the audition announcement was going live on Instagram the next day, and I desperately needed a name. Project 21 was just the least cheesy of the options I thought of!”
What began as a modestly sized program with 20 dancers has since grown into the vehicle for the routines now captivating millions on TikTok, a decade after its founding.
Production of this article included the use of AI. It was reviewed and edited by a team of content specialists.
