Tag: choreographer

Dishing with Elf the Musical's Callie Carter

If you’ve been dying to answer the phone with, “Buddy the Elf, what’s your favorite color?” all year, we’ve got a show for you! Elf, the Broadway musical, has returned to the Great White Way just in time for the holidays. Based on the hilarious Will Ferrell flick, Elf promises lots of laughs, holiday cheer […]

Keone Madrid

Photo by Little Shao/Urban Dance Showcase Watching Keone Madrid on the dance floor, it’s no surprise the 24-year-old’s first love was basketball: He exudes athleticism. But look closer and you’ll see hints of Michael Jackson and even Gene Kelly. This juxtaposition is true of his choreography, too. He uses music ranging from hardcore hip hop […]

Kyle Hanagami

Photos by Michael Chevas for the book Your Shadow/Courtesy Jacob Jonas When Kyle Hanagami dances, it’s as if the music were specifically designed for him. Every sound is accentuated with a sharp elbow or a slow tilt of the head, with no nuance left untouched. The feeling of the song sets his choreographic style—hard-hitting and […]

Ghost: The Musical

Sam Wheat (Richard Fleeshman) and the cast of the West End production of Ghost:The Musical (Sean Ebsworth Barnes, courtesy the Harman Group) There’s no question that Patrick Swayze plus Demi Moore plus a pottery wheel equals one of the most romantic scenes in movie history—but what if they broke into a love ballad as they […]

The Smooth Moves on "Smash"

The cast of “Smash” (Will Hart/NBC) First there was “Fame,” then there was “Glee” and now there’s a new you’ll-want-to-sing-and-dance-along show coming to the small screen: “Smash,” from executive producer Steven Spielberg. The show is about a musical composer named Tom (Christian Borle) and a lyricist named Julia (Debra Messing), who are working to get […]

Piece by Piece: Tips for First-Time Choreographers

“I was a little too ambitious when I made my first piece,” Wade Schaaf remembers, with a laugh. Schaaf, now a member of Thodos Dance Chicago, struggled with his choreographic debut, a piece for the Omaha Theater Ballet. “I was so nervous that I had everything choreographed in advance, almost down to each breath the […]