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Choreography (Ryan S.):

Set will be 3 tables . So I’d love to take 10 minutes or so in one rehearsal to have the dancers walk around the space to make up memories and ideas of past experiences with the school cafeteria. Does their character like school? Have they had enjoyable moments in this cafeteria? What emotions are drawn from looking around the space?

Motifs: I took some time this past week to plan 3 moves that I feel like embody the character’s motives of standing up for themselves, living freely, and finding your most authentic self. I’d love there to be a shift in physical demeanor from the beginning of the song then at the chorus. I want the choreography to showcase large pedestrian-style movements as well as party/celebration dance moves.

Jungle Sequence: I’d love to have the dancers move like animals physically and perform a “ritualistic sacrifice” where Cady attempts to murder Regina (non-violently of course!) The scene would represent the revenge and jealousy that Cady has over Regina and a craving for power. Then, as soon as Cady’s metaphorical “knife” is about to kill Regina, the animal dance break is over.

Designing the movement: After watching videos of dance competition clips to get inspiration, I landed on a contemporary and hip-hop style for the show. I also drew out our desired set on a piece of paper to get a sense of the space I would have to choreograph. I don’t want there to simply be 3 tables on stage. I want the dancers to utilize the set pieces in the movement.

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I found this exercise helpful in learning about new ways to choreograph. Forcing myself to do an improv movement session before choreographing allowed there to be time and more of a process then when I usually choreograph (which I often rush). This made me explore new ways that the characters would move and I took more time to figure out the physicality and reasoning behind each move. I also found it helpful knowing the plot well. In other exercises, I didn't spend as much time researching (I guess I was cocky and thought I didn't need it lol) But I now realize the importance of doing your research for the sake of the movement. After all , choreographing is story telling, and if the dances don't fit inside the story ... what's the point?

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CHOREOGRAPH A SOLO - "Tick-Tock" (Company) 

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CHOREOGRAPH A SOLO - "Tick-Tock" (Company) 

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Choreographing this piece was enjoyable for me. I really tried to approach teaching this choreo in a new way. The entire piece is meant to resemble Kathy's side of the story, not Bobby's. At the beginning of the piece, I wanted to resemble a willingness and open mind to sex. As Kathy stands up from her seated position, she begins to feel shame (the hand over the face). There is a constant toss and turn between pleasure and shame. The next count of 8 was choreographed by my dancer , Annick. I gave her 3 prompts (thrust, shame, pleasure), and she came up with the exact movements. I feel it's important for dancers to have a say in the movement , especially in a piece that discusses intercourse, a very personal thing. The section with the bed begins with Kathy feeling like a puppet to Bobby , as if she was his toy to play with. Although as this section continues , she finds her strength again and finds pleasure from herself. I added a mix of movement that is flowy (playfulness) and stern (showing her feisty side and a hesitation towards sex). The meaning of the piece , for me, is Kathy reclaiming her power and her own body. p

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Tick Tock -  Company (Ryan Sutherland / Annick Robledo)

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Track 1 : Track 1 is the role of "Sally Adams" . She is an upbeat , charming woman who is convincing her scene partner , Kenny (her secretary) that nothing is wrong with him... he is just in love. I wanted this track to be upbeat and very sharp to match sally's eccentric personality. She is confident and knows what she wants, but she also is showing playfulness with the movement as she wants Kenny to admit he's in love.
Track 2 :  Track 2 is the role of "Kenny". He is an introverted and shy secretary, who is in love with Princess Maria, although she doesn't really know it. In this moment, he is upset in knowing he may never be with her as she is a princess , and he is not royalty. He has a decent relationship with his boss, Sally, although he's not fully ready to talk about his crush. He thinks something is wrong with him, and he's in denial that he's in love. I wanted Kenny's movements to have less motion then Sally's as he is more pensive. He thinks through things more than Sally and I wanted to implement that physically.

How the tracks work together: As a choreographer, I made it clear to my dancer (Annick) that her character (Sally) is confident and leading the energy in this moment. There are moments in the choreography that demonstrate this (the beginning steps off the couch wanting Kenny to get up and dance with her + the grab of Kenny's hand into the twirl) Although they are singing different lyrics, I wanted to show that they are in conversation with each other. The walking around each other demonstrates this.

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You're Just in Love - "Choreographing Counterpoint"

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For this time around, I tried to implement the notes Robert had given me after viewing the first draft. I wanted to portray a slightly different style and sense of urgency for each utensil. For the fork, I wanted the movements to be sharp (resembling a fork). For the spoon, I allowed for more rounder movements. For the knife, I really took an animated turn and dug into Disney style and literally made knife gestures with the hands.

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Choreo notes: For this section of Be Our Guest from Beauty and the Beast, I wanted to showcase the cutlery ensemble as they welcome Belle to their home. I chose movements that are light and elegant (and quite repetitive). I know costume-wise, it may be difficult to move , so I chose movements that are simple enough so most can properly do them!

Explanation of moment: We are singing to Belle , trying to make her feel comfortable as she comes into a new home. We want to impress her and put on a show before she eats her dinner. Where? We are in an elegant dining room dancing around a large dinner table. All of us dancing are different pieces of cutlery (I call spork!). I wanted to create a symmetry in this dance. So the choreography will be divided in half. Stage left performers will be performing this exact routine, and Stage right performers will be dancing this opposite (all gesturing to Belle at the end, who is centre stage).

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Reflection: When creating this choreography, I took a different approach then I usually do. Robert suggested I focus on diagonals and hands, and so I did! In this moment in the show, it takes place in a beautiful park with statues and couples walking around, soaking in the sun. I tried to add movements that were very pedestrian-like, but also add some flowy moves and arabesques to tie in the more fantasy majestic side of the show. The main image I came to when choreographing was "sunlight" . I pictured a sunny day and wanted to allow my body to reference the sky in slight hand gestures and being "lifted" and poised throughout.

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Mary Poppins   Ryan Sutherland (Basic Steps)