Lee was born in New York City's Chinatown, to an Indian mother and Chinese father. She started dancing at an early age, and she made her Broadway debut at the age of five as Princess Ying Yawolak in the original production of The King and I in 1951. In a 2004 interview, she stated that Yul Brynner, the original king, was like a second father to her. After she outgrew her role in The King and I, she continued to study in ballet, modern, and afro-Cuban dance. She appeared in George Balanchine's original production of The Nutcracker, where she met ballerina Maria Tallchief, whom she idolized.[1]
While attending the High School for Performing Arts, she met fellow student Michael Bennett. Around the same time, she appeared in Flower Drum Song. Although Lee aspired to become a professional ballerina, she was rejected from companies because of her height; she is 4 feet 10 inches (1.47 m) tall.[1] Though she was offered a scholarship to Juilliard, Lee instead pursued her career in theatre. Her Broadway appearances included Mr. President, Golden Boy, and Here's Love.
In 1973, she appeared in Bennett's Seesaw, assisted with choreography, and was featured opposite Tommy Tune.
In 1975, Lee was invited by Bennett to participate in the workshops from which A Chorus Line was developed. The character of Connie Wong was, in large part, based upon her life.[1] Along with the cast, she won the 1976 Theatre World Award for Ensemble Performance for the show. Fifteen years later, along with cast member Thommie Walsh and Robert Viagas, she documented the evolution of A Chorus Line in the book On the Line: The Creation of A Chorus Line, published in 1990.
In the decades following the original Broadway production, she has directed or choreographed many productions of the musical, including the most recent Broadway revival in 2006. The 2008 feature documentary Every Little Step chronicles the casting process of the 2006 revival.
Lee became one of Bennett's closest collaborators, and she helped to develop the choreography in many of his subsequent shows.
Other projects include becoming a talent scout for Tokyo Disneyland, opening a musical theater school in Seoul, South Korea, and producing various shows. In 2018, she choreographed New York City Center's Gala production of A Chorus Line.[2]
In 2017, Lee received the Isabelle Stevenson Tony Award, which honors members of the theater industry for their significant contributions to charitable causes. She was honored for her longstanding commitment to future generations of artists through her work with the National Asian Artists Project (NAAP) and theatre education programs around the world. Lee is a co-founder of NAAP, a non-profit that showcases the work of Asian-American theatre artists through performance, outreach, and educational programming.[6][7][8]
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