Charles “Lil Buck” Riley is a world-renowned and award-winning performing artist, entrepreneur, and advocate for the arts and humanities. Lil Buck’s dance repertoire includes a multitude of styles including Memphis Jookin’, ballet, hip-hop, and modern, just to name a few.


Over the course of his career, he has performed and collaborated with some of the world’s finest artists and brands including Yo-Yo Ma, Madonna, Alicia Keys, Janelle Monáe, Lizzo, Nike, Chanel, Versace, Louis Vuitton, Apple, Jordan, Lexus, Gap, and many others.

Outside of dance, Lil Buck is a true creative and has provided a unique skill-set to top-notch projects which include being a choreographer on the Starz TV series Blindspotting, Season 1 and 2, a guest judge on So You Think You Can Dance, and roles in both the movie Emperor and the feature film Her. Lil Buck designed a capsule collection for Versace and provided artistic consultation to many brands over his lengthy career. Recently, Lil Buck’s story and creative process were captured in the documentary Lil Buck: Real Swan which premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival and in the Netflix documentary series, MOVE.

Lil Buck has always had an entrepreneurial spirit. In 2014, Lil Buck was presented with the Wall Street Journal’s Innovator of the Year award. His strong business acumen is ever present in the many projects that he is involved in outside of dance which include ventures related to food and beverage, brand management, fashion, and production.

Currently, Lil Buck is personally producing multiple major stage shows which culminate the essence of dance as a tool to change the world. One of his newest productions in development transforms Lil Buck back to his home-town roots. Entitled Memphis Jookin’: The Show, this awe inspiring production brings Lil Buck’s career full circle.

WSJ Profile