Report on ‘The Role of the Choreographer in the Stage and Screen Musical’ Conference
In conjunction with the Society for Dance Research Annual General Meeting 2015
28th November 2015, St Hilda’s College, Oxford
by Louise Sergeant
On Saturday 28 November I made the journey up to St Hilda’s College in Oxford to attend the conference on ‘The Role of the Choreographer in the Stage and Screen Musical’ organised by the Society for Dance Research in collaboration with Dance Scholarship Oxford (DANSOX). I am currently in my final year of musical theatre training as part of the BA (Hons) Theatre Dance programme at London Studio Centre, which involves learning choreography from a wide variety of shows such as Cats, Thriller, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, and 42nd Street. I am also writing my dissertation on West Side Story and studying the impact of Jerome Robbins’ choreography in the musical, his creative process, and his intentions behind the dance movement. Therefore, this conference was of great interest to me as I wanted to learn more about the different musical choreographers, their styles, working methods, and how we can view choreography within the musical.
The day started with a keynote speech by Professor Millie Taylor on ‘References, Reflexivity and Resonance in post-1970s Musical Theatre’. We watched sections from Into the Hoods (2008) and A Chorus Line (1975) looking at the different styles of choreography and discussed how the reader can interpret the work in relation to their own experiences and context. She talked about how in the ‘golden age’ the integrated musical required the choreographer to support and continue the narrative through story telling. Taylor used examples of musicals such as Chicago, Cats, Assassins, and The Kiss of the spider woman which have non-linear narratives and use interplay between texts and media which she described as an ‘explosion’ of ideas which instead form the musical. She put forward the questions of whether the role of the choreographer and function of dance are more creative and dynamic than the theory of integration allows.
Sarah Browne’s paper focused on the tribal sacrifice: Re-balancing the role of the female in Twyla Tharp’s chorography for the film musical Hair. We watched scenes from Hair and looked at how Tharp’s movement vocabulary – the use of eye contact, gestures, and the lifts performed – attempted to re-dress the gender balance. She drew our focus to how the position of the camera lens places the spectator and this led to a discussion on whether screen dance in always at the mercy of the camera lens.
Ann David spoke on the power dynamics in Bollywood film choreography and the creation of star charisma. It was interesting to learn about the choreographers of Bollywood, especially Farah Khan, and how they went about creating and casting the Bollywood films and dance scenes. She talked about the Bollywood superstar Shah Rukh Kahn and how the movement was created around him to highlight his virility, attack, and appeal.
The highlight of the day was hearing Dame Gillian Lynne speak about her life and career as both a dancer and choreographer in theatre, TV, and film in the second keynote address. She was charming, witty, and inspirational, giving us a wonderful insight into her passions, challenges, and ideas which led to her choreography of the musical Cats and many other works. One of the things that struck me was her strength and drive as she began her career as the only female choreographer in the West End at the time. She encouraged future choreographers to never give up, fight for their dancers, and to learn by getting out and doing it – just as she did!
Francis Yeoh spoke on Jerome Robbins, evaluating his space in musical theatre. It was really interesting for me to learn more about Jerome Robbins’ artistic vision and shaping of West Side Story as well as hearing other people’s thoughts on his methods in the discussion afterwards. Francis talked about Robbins’ acting training and Brechtian approach to choreography which meant he sought to capture the essence and truth of every production. He also discussed how Robbins’ casting of unknown teenagers who could sing, act, and dance in West Side Story led to the creation of the triple threat performer and consequently changed the methods of training performers.
Finally, Michael Huxley’s paper was on Hanya Holm and the musical; crossing boundaries. He talked about how she crossed theatrical boundaries from working with Mary Wigman in contemporary dance to her successful transfer to Broadway. Huxley referred to her choreography of Kiss Me Kate (1948) and My Fair Lady (1956) and discussed her liberal, collaborative, and transnational approach to making dance. Her working process which involved improvisation workshops was particularly interesting as this was an unusual method of choreographing musicals at the time.
The day ended with champagne in the reception area with lots of ideas to discuss with a wonderful group of people from different backgrounds in dance and musical theatre research. I learnt so much throughout the day and felt it was a great environment in which everyone was passionate about the subject, sharing their research into musicals and even their experience of dancing in musical theatre and working with choreographers.