Baayork Lee

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.

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. 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.

Her next three shows were all choreographed by Bennett: A Joyful Noise, Henry, Sweet Henry, and Promises, Promises. In the last, she performed the dance number "Turkey Lurkey Time" (with Donna McKechnie and Margo Sappington). Lee was the dance captain for Promises, Promises and recreated the choreography for subsequent touring productions, starting her future path as a choreographer. In 1973, she travelled to Israel to film Norman Jewison's version of Jesus Christ Superstar.