Reinking won the Tony Award for Best Choreography for her work in the 1996 revival of Chicago, which she choreographed while reprising the role of Roxie Hart.

After graduating from Bellevue High School, she took summer classes offered by the Joffrey Ballet at Pacific Lutheran University in Tacoma, Washington.

She starred as Joan of Arc in Goodtime Charley in 1975, receiving Tony Award and Drama Desk nominations for Best Actress in a Musical.

The routine was poorly received by critics from the Los Angeles Times and People,[17][18] as well as by Collins himself in a Rolling Stone interview.

[19] In 1986, she returned to Broadway, replacing Debbie Allen in a successful revival of Fosse's production of Sweet Charity.

Also in 1991, she founded the Broadway Theatre Project, a Florida training program connecting students with seasoned theater professionals including Gwen Verdon, Julie Andrews, Gregory Hines, Ben Vereen, Jeff Goldblum, Terrence Mann, James Naughton, Patrick Wilson and Desmond Richardson.

In 1996, she was asked to create the choreography "in the style of Bob Fosse" for an all-star four-night-only concert staging of Chicago for City Center's annual Encores!

[11][23] In November 2016, the revival celebrated its 20th year, and as of March 2020, when theaters temporarily closed due to the COVID-19 pandemic, it was the longest-running American musical on Broadway.

"[29][30] Reinking again collaborated with Wolosoff in 2013 to create A Light in the Dark, a ballet inspired by the lives of Helen Keller and Ann Sullivan, which was nominated for a Chicago/Midwest Emmy Award in Outstanding Achievement for Arts/Entertainment Programming.

[36] Reinking died in her sleep at a hotel in Seattle, Washington, on December 12, 2020, at the age of 71, while on a visit to her family in the area.

[citation needed] Upon her death, the lobby of the Ambassador Theatre, home of the current revival of Chicago, installed an "In Memoriam" poster of her in costume as Roxie Hart from the 1996 opening cast.

[citation needed] Following her death, students of Reinking's Broadway Theatre Project produced a documentary in her honor called The Joy is in the Work.