Mark Daftari was born in Thousand Oaks, California, and then moved to Los Angeles where he began expanding his knowledge of dance in a professional setting as part of the inaugural class of the USC Glorya Kaufman School of Dance. Working towards his Bachelor of Fine Arts, Mark has received a wide variety of training in multiple genres, giving him the tools to successfully work in today’s increasingly diverse dance landscape. With the desire to work both in the concert and commercial realm, Mark has built relationships with professionals from both sides of the dance community including influencers William Forsythe and Jodie Gates, as well as Yanis Marshall and Dana Foglia. Mark took on additional industry based classes while working towards his BFA through the intensive curriculum of USC Kaufman. Right after graduating, his first industry based job was with choreographer Parris Goebel for Sam Smith’s music video “How Do You Sleep”. Shortly after being exposed to the industry, Mark consistently booked job after job; working for Demi Lovato, Sean Bankhead, Disney, Idina Menzel, Banks, Todrick Hall, Paula Abdul, and many more. Now, Mark is stepping into the teaching and choreography realm as well; currently teaching at the most renowned studio in the world, as well as teaching worldwide across the globe from Mexico City to Australia.