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I thought "No Way to Stop It" was quite well directed.

Posted by: GrumpyMorningBoy 04:16 am EST 12/06/13
In reply to: When will Rob Ashford's reign of terror end? - Chazwaza 03:26 am EST 12/06/13

The other numbers, from what I saw, were pretty stock -- and rather unimaginative -- but the staging on "No Way to Stop It" was crystal clear, to the point, active, and really let the actors play actable choices. I've seen far muddier, duller staging on that number far too many times.

There's NO DENYING that B'way is experiencing a serious lack of creativity and boldness when it comes to our choreographers; it's exciting when young dancers like Josh Rhodes and Josh Prince break out of performing into choreography, but we haven't seen anyone create the kind of dynamic styles that form memorable images the way the great choreographers of the past had done.

Including Strohman, I don't feel like I've seen STUNNING choreography since the late Sir Kenneth MacMillan's dances which were culled together for the CAROUSEL revival. And that was 20 years ago. Reinking's reworking of Fosse was great for CHICAGO, no doubt, but we need a talented new choreographer with the boldness of a Jack Cole, Robbins, Michael Kidd, Michael Bennett. With all the talent that's showing up in pop music "So You Think You Can Dance," it's time for some of it to come to Broadway.

- GMB

URL: MacMillan's dream ballet video clip

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I don't even need "stunning" choreography… just good and fitting for the scene

Posted by: Chazwaza 10:30 pm EST 12/06/13
In reply to: I thought "No Way to Stop It" was quite well directed. - GrumpyMorningBoy 04:16 am EST 12/06/13

My problem with the work of Ashford isn't so much that it isn't stunning enough… that would be nice, but that's not the issue. The issue is that it's wrong for the scene and for the characters and the piece. It often has people doing completely inorganic steps (like what they do at the party in SOM) or choreography that is disconnected to the material, or way overly connected in a literal sense, or worst of all that are not helping the story and are upstaging the scene. He thinks like a dancer not like an audience member or even an actor, and it is constantly evident. How To Succeed is a prime example of this stuff to me. He suffocated it with his choreography… and even if the style of the production was "right", the timing and pace of the direction, and his direction of Radcliffe, was completely off. And his work in Evita made me think he didn't understand the show… perhaps that is Grandage's fault.

The point is… how about we start with just consistently good choreography that serves the needs of the show and the scene and the characters?


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With all the talent that's showing up in pop music "So You Think You Can Dance," it's time for some of it to come to Broadway. "

Posted by: jero 07:02 am EST 12/06/13
In reply to: I thought "No Way to Stop It" was quite well directed. - GrumpyMorningBoy 04:16 am EST 12/06/13

I've thought this for years and thought In The Heights was a great start in that direction. I'm waiting for more. Flashdance had flashes of it too, but that, by now is a period piece!


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re: With all the talent that's showing up in pop music "So You Think You Can Dance," it's time for some of it to come to Broadway. "

Posted by: GrumpyMorningBoy 01:51 pm EST 12/06/13
In reply to: With all the talent that's showing up in pop music "So You Think You Can Dance," it's time ... - jero 07:02 am EST 12/06/13

I had a typo in that phrase -- I meant to say pop music AND "So You Think You Can Dance," but we've really seen an elevation in the style and intricacy of dance within music videos, pop star tours, etc. Back in the 70's and 80's, real singer-dancers were rare. Celebrated, sure, but other than the Jacksons, Paula Abdul and Madonna, you really didn't see singers who were doing CHOREOGRAPHY.

Nowadays, there are a TON of singers showing off real DANCE dance within their acts. P!nk's "Try" video is a great example. Such gorgeous choreography. And just about any major tour is full of real DANCER dancers, showing off their stuff. America has developed a real appreciation for it. I think that's great.

- GMB


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"America has developed a real appreciation for it." (dancers)

Posted by: jero 06:03 pm EST 12/06/13
In reply to: re: With all the talent that's showing up in pop music "So You Think You Can Dance," it's ... - GrumpyMorningBoy 01:51 pm EST 12/06/13

considering how big the dance competition world has gotten, that's not surprising! sooner or later broadway will catch up with the talent out there.


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