Mia was born in Coconut Grove, Florida, to a family of dancers. Her father and dance teacher, Joe Michaels, taught her jazz, tap and ballet, while her sister, Dana, taught her contemporary dance. Though she began her training with members of her family, she also trained at Miami Conservatory, the Miami Performing Arts Center and Michigan's Interlochen Arts Academy, as well as, the New World School of the Arts. Her first work experience was with her father at the Miami Dance Center, even though she began choreographing at the age of 11. She still works with her father at Joe Michaels Miami Dance Center. She has also taught dance in several schools, including the International Dance Festival of Italy, Harid Conservatory in Boca Raton, Florida, and as a guest jazz teacher at the Broadway Dance Center in NYC.
She has choreographed for Madonna's "Drowned World Tour," Ricky Martin, Gloria Estefan, Prince, DK 96, Jon Secada, PYT , and Jimmy Ray. She has also worked with Debbie Allen and Dreamworks on an AMC cable series "Cool Women."
She has choreographed a series of commercials, some award-winning, for the WNBA, Mike's Hard Lemonade, Bacardi, Coldwell Banker, Ziploc, Lady Luck Casino in Las Vegas, MTV's "Hot Properties," Star TV and VISA.
She is the founder, artistic director and choreographer of RAW (Reality At Work), a critically acclaimed New York-based dance company begun in 1997. Mia's contemporary dance company "Mia Michaels R.A.W." has performed in Seoul, Korea, the Jazz World Congress, the International Dance Festival in Amsterdam, the Gypsy Project, Jacobs Pillow, and the New York City '99 concert season. In 2001, the dance company went on a 6-week European tour.
In 2003, she was Director of Choreography for Cirque du Soleil's "Delirium." She has created commissioned-work for Les Ballet Jazz de Montreal, Gus Giordano Jazz Dance Chicago, Oslo Dance Ensemble, and Rhythmek Lightbody. She's worked for the American Music Awards, Celine Dion's "A New Day" and "Taking Chances World Tour," "West Side Story" and "Hello, Dolly!" on Broadway, and off-Broadway with "If These Shoes Could Talk" and "Fort Chaffee".
Her claim to international fame came in 2005 when she became a guest judge and contemporary choreographer for the "So You Think You Can Dance" competition television series. In 2009, she abruptly left the show after the auditions in New York City. In 2010, she returned, becoming the new resident judge for the show, replacing Mary Murphy.
