Looping vs. Looping

The NEW YORK JAZZ CHOREOGRAPHY PROJECT gave me the chance to reinvestigate "Looping".  In a majority of the dances I present, I'm rehearsing under the gun.  Paying for studios, getting friends to dance for me for low/no pay, doing my best to work calmly and cleanly.  I don't like taking advantage of people's time (which they're mostly donating), so I generally put things up quick and dirty and let the cards fall where they may.  This was the first piece I got to step away from for a bit and rediscover.  Distance is crucial.  I could see what was working, what wasn't, and revisit.  The one thing I couldn't control was cinematography.  I'm not overly pleased with the video.  Focus issues, missed moments, lack of closeup.  But it was out of my hands.  The CHOREOGRAPHY part of things feels like a success.  Clarification of moments.  More intricacy.  Better set-up at the beginning.  A sculpted lighting design.  Cleaner.  Here for the first time I an present a side-by-side comparison of the evolution of a piece.  Very proud of this dance.

First, the original...


Now, the new and improved...

Choreographed my first music video

So a gig kinda just fell into my lap.  I got asked to do a couple short sequences for a music video by an up and coming artist.  Danny Blu has a VERY specific aesthetic, think Adam Lambert meets Lady Gaga.  Out there/aggressive.  And because this musical theater guy believes in being chameleonic, I thought...absolutely.  Let's go there.  So I got busy in the studio and came up with something fierce.  And we shot in a church.  A CHURCH!  Full-throttle dance throw-down on the alter!  It was insanity.  Second day of the shoot we did some work in a stairwell and I got to do some visual texturing.  Brief movement moments that looked great on camera but weren't quite 'ography.'  It was an incredible experience working in a completely different medium and getting to play in that world.  I want more!

Sidney Erik Wright...Director

     It's February 1st.  How did that happen?

     This summer I took a giant step forward.  I directed my first play.  No singing, no dancing, no choreography of any kind.  I was accepted into the Insomniac's 24-hour Play Festival produced by the Grex Group Theatre.  At 6pm on July 19th, I made my way into a room full of strangers...

     A woman from the Grex Group opened a mystery folder and I was given 3 names and a prompt.  I was assigned author Mila Golubov, actors Matthew Wise and Mary Fuller, and a twisted line about a man who wanted to keep a girl's tooth to 'remember her by.'  Bizarro.  Then, we four had a pow-wow.

    I put on my director hat.  I told our author to be bold.  I got to know my actors, what their strengths and special skills were.  We set a time to reconvene.  I went home.  Read a draft.  Sent back some dramaturgical notes.  Got another draft.  Sent back more notes.  Booked rehearsal space.  Did table work at Starbucks early in the morning.  Got in the studio and blocked the play.  Bought props.  Found costumes.  Made sound cues.  And, lo and behold, 24 hours later we premiered Good Men.  Bad Men.  Very Bad Men.  as part of the festival at the historic Player's Club Theater in the West Village.  For our 10-minute-play, a woman goes to a speed dating event.  Mary Fuller played the lead going on a series of truly spectacular bad dates with a range of insanely inappropriate suitors.  Matthew Wise played 10 different men courting her.  It was hilarious, disturbing, and incredibly fun.  Loved breaking out of my 'musical theater' box and tackling a new challenge!  Fun step forward for this dancer dude!  

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Assistant Directed Broadway Bares: Beach Burlesque!

     I love BCEFA.  I'm just going to say it.  It is an incredible cause that is close to my heart, and in true Broadway fashion they know how to put on one damn good show.  Last summer I assistant directed BROADWAY BARES: MASTERPIECE for Josh Rhodes and Lee Wilkins.  And the show was utterly fabulous.  Imagine my surprise when I got an email out of the blue asking me to assist again!  This time, though, I got to be much more hands-on.

     BROADWAY BARES: BEACH BURLESQUE was a 'touring' company.  Instead of the mainstage show at Roseland with a cast of over 200, this version was intimate.  26 dancers.  Fire Island.  Fun in the sun.  MICHAEL LEE SCOTT directed and I assisted.  The beauty of BEACH BURLESQUE is that all the performers got to be in multiple numbers.  And because it was a smaller show with a smaller staff, I got to have more responsibility and really show what I could do!  I assisted Michael in creating choreography for the opening number "Burlesque is Back", the Elvis strip "A Little Less Conversation", a beachy strip with naked bathing beauties to Madonna's "Rain", and a cowboy fantasia "A Big Man."  I also got to lead my own rehearsal in restaging the iconic "Humpty" number originally choreographed by the badass DENIS JONES.  Oh, and transitions.  All the little bits and pieces that kept the show flowing along.

     The entire experience was incredible.  The cast were amazing performers and awesome human beings.  The production team and BCEFA liasons were phenomenal.  It was my first experience of Fire Island and it was just magic.  Oh, and in addition to assisting, I strapped on my performer shoes and strutted my stuff with all the rest.  What a dream team!

     You can check out the official recap HERE with a synopsis and photos from the show.

     Oh yeah, and this happened.  Still got it.

Are You There, Ann-Margret? It's Me! Highlights

This project was just...fun.  Such a blast choreographing in classic Vegas spectacle style.  Camp and cheese and glitter and sequins.  Trying to live up to the legend.  Here's a highlight reel to give a taste of what we did.  My unofficial off-broadway 'debut' as a choreographer.  Fingers crossed that there's a future production somewhere/somehow.  It was truly fabulous!

Camelot...It's a HIT!

So this was the first show I worked on that was actually reviewed by the press. And after all the work we put into it, it felt damn good to get such a positive response! I even got some love for the dances! Never had pull quotes before, so this definitely feels like a giant step in the right direction. Some favorites below, and links to full reviews.

"Jon Balcourt's seven-piece orchestra and Sidney Erik Wright's choreography enhance the classic score."-----Newsday

"Choreography was by Sidney Erik Wright; neatly done."-----Times Beacon

"Choreographer Sidney Erik Wright introduces elements of ballet mixed with contemporary moves."-----Theatermania

Broadwayworld

Hair-Production Photos

Some shots of my Woodstock production of "Hair". First professional show that I did double-duty as director/choreographer. So special to me, so happy to share it with the world. Photos by the insanely talented Matthew Wright of Fig Tree Photography.

Dance (212) Teaser

It premieres September 19th, but the teaser episode and dancer profiles are now live.

I've been documenting my projects for a few months now and it's amazing to see the individual dances in the context of a larger whole. I've been productive. Made some cool things. And now they're about to be released to a larger audience. Psyched.

"Dance elevates...everything. When there are no more words, that's when people move."

-Dance (212), me

Not too shabby first soundbite!

Another first, and taking stock...

Almost one year ago (August 30th, to be exact), I made my NYC choreography debut with my piece "Sunday Interlude, NYC" at the inaugural Band of Gypsies showcase. I'd choreographed before. Assisted on some shows, choreographed some other shows for children's theater or for actors that sing. "Sunday..." was, however, the first time I flexed my choreographic muscles because it was the first time I staged something for dancers based entirely on my vision and their full capabilities. Also the first time I presented my work in NYC.

Since that piece things have been happening. I created dances for the short films The Expressionists and Sounds of Oud. I presented new work at two more choreography showcases (Band of Gypsies 2 and Choreographer's Canvas 2011). I taught classes to friends on my own initiative and also as part of a series for R.Evolucion Latina and the Orlando Ice Cream Social. I assistant directed Broadway Bares: Masterpiece for Josh Rhodes and his associate Lee Wilkins. I made my director/choreographer debut this summer with a production of Hair at Woodstock. I am currently working on two projects; documenting all of this work for a reality web-series Dance (212) produced by DanceMedia and also choreographing a production of Camelot for the John W. Engeman Theater. And today, for the first time, I appear in a playbill.com article as a choreographer. Not too shabby for my first year on the gig.

Just taking stock of where I've been in the past year. Feeling grateful. Camelot press release below...

Engeman's Camelot Casts Jim Stanek, Kim Carson and Jarid Faubel

By Adam Hetrick
02 Sep 2011

Jim Stanek

Jim Stanek, Kim Carson and Jarid Faubel will find themselves in a royal love triangle in Lerner and Loewe's Camelot at the Engeman Theater in Northport, Long Island.

The Tony-winning classic, with book and lyrics by Alan Jay Lerner and music by Frederick Loewe, will begin previews Sept. 15 and run through Nov. 6. Alan Souza will direct, with choreography by Sidney Erik Wright and musical direction by Jon Balcourt.

Stanek (Broadway's Lestat, Little Women) will play King Arthur, with Carson (Little Women at the Engeman) as Guenevere and Faubel (Perfect Harmony) as Lancelot.

The principal cast will also include Jeremy Morse (Engeman's My Fair Lady) as Mordred and David Benoit (Avenue Q, Les Miserables on Broadway) as Merlyn/Pellinore.

The ensemble includes Michael Andrako, Michael J. Borges, Melissa Chaty, Kara Deyoe, Evan Flannery, David Garry, Kyle Hines, Kelly Marteney, Jake Odmark, Jared Ross, Chloe Sabin, Joseph Stark, Jackie Washam and Nathan Winkelstein.

Camelot will have scenic design by Todd Edward Ivins, costume coordination by Megan A. Moore, lighting design by Joel E. Silver, sound design by Craig Kaufman and hair-wig design by Mark Adam Rampmeyer.

The 1960 musical Camelot marked the final original stage collaboration between lyricist-librettist Alan Jay Lerner and composer Frederick Loewe. The musical boasts such classics as "If Ever I Would Leave You," "Camelot," "Before I Gaze at You Again" and "I Loved You Once In Silence."

For tickets phone (631) 261-2900 or visit EngemanTheater. The Engeman Theater is located at 250 Main Street in Northport, Long Island.

Press! I've got press!

Yay! Getting to do fancy interviews! Photoshoots! Radio talk shows! I could get used to this...

They got life

Woodstock Playhouse revives Hair opening this Thursday

byPaul Smart

August 04, 2011 10:21 AM | 0 | 3 | |

As director Sidney Erik Wright puts it, ten days into repertory rehearsals for the new production of Hair coming to the Woodstock Playhouse this weekend, by the time he showed up in town, the 18 cast members who started performing in A Chorus Line two months ago were already close enough to be the “tribe” that centers the now-classic musical from 1967. But that doesn’t make the challenges of a partially vertical set, complex ensemble songs and tight choreography made to appear freestyle any lighter.

“Wow,” says a young woman, perched on top of a theatrical brick wall in the urban oasis depicted onstage, “it’s very high up here.” Nevertheless, within minutes everyone’s leaping up into standing positions onto the set’s walls, or finessing aided flips and balletlike rises off them. Wright allows everyone to play onstage – their first time within the theater since Anything Goes closed last week. Then he asks them to take five and reassemble.

A folk ballad, Jonilike in its plaintive evocation of a past generation’s lost innocence, plays quietly over the theater’s speaker system. Then Wright gathers everyone into a silent, handholding circle, heads touching together at the center. Over the next hour, actors work out their set pieces on “the levels,” getting comfortable with leaps and jumps and figuring out who needs to spot whom for some of the more possibly dangerous moves that will be taking place. Throughout this process, the songs are half-sung just enough for the power of this musical, whose soundtrack albums once seemed to fill every home in America, to reassert itself.

“This is the dawning of the Age of Aquarius,” the ensemble sings as a gate’s locks are cut and the tribe enters an urban garden rendered at that point where it’s returning to nature. Things move on to the still-irreverent “Donna,” an ode to a 16-year-old virgin; an ode to illicit drugs, “Hashish”; and “Colored Spade,” in which the character Hud outlandishly suggests the eventual presence of a black president.

The tech crew gets called in to fix some coverings on the upper platform levels; a props person okays a cast member’s request to sew patches onto his satchel. Wright reorganizes one piece of choreography from free-form circle dancing to a step-step-hop move with individualistic arm motions. Another popcornlike response to the listings of the song, “Ain’t Got No,” snaps into resplendent focus after several run-throughs.

The last time that I saw this troupe, a few weeks back, they had just gotten on this newly revived stage for the first time in rehearsal for A Chorus Line, the triumphant season-opener for the region’s first new summer stock season in decades. Now Wright is telling me how excited he is by the “real place” set with which he’s working here, instead of the more stylized stages on which Hair has been performed in recent years.

“I know the musical from its revival put on by the Public a few years ago,” the director says, dismissing the liberties taken by Miloš Forman’s film adaptation of the late 1970s. “Given how essential the idea of ‘the tribe’ is to this, I couldn’t ask for a tighter ensemble to work with.”

Yes, I later realize how many people played in Hair over the years, from co-authors James Rado and Gerome Ragni (music was by veteran songsmith Galt MacDermot) to Ben Vereen, Meat Loaf, Diane Keaton, Keith Carradine, Melba Moore and Tim Curry. But all blended into the tribe – just as individual productions, starting with its premiere at Joe Papp’s Public Theater, were inevitably trumped by its dozens of touring productions throughout the US, Canada and Europe, designed as much to end the war in Vietnam as the gathering of fame and riches.

But enough of such musings; Wright has called for silence. A run-through of the first half of the first act of Hair is starting, and being the only audience member, I’m assaulted by an endless stream of characters, all making their tribal points about breaking all that came before and loosening up. I get mooned, jeered, kissed and waved at – but also enthralled at the bright enthusiasm and total vigor of the performance, from all ends. Who cares, I think, readying to leave as Wright reads notes on what we’ve just witnessed, if the cast is going to need wigs? “Flow it, show it, long as God can grow it,” run the lyrics, “my hair...” And all our lasting images of the ‘60, and that lost promise now descended into constant Congress-watching, are encapsulated and carried forward to us by this single piece of theater.

Hair plays in summer stock at the Woodstock Playhouse Thursdays through Sundays from Thursday, August 4 through Saturday, August 13, with eight performances including a special Wednesday matinee on August 10. The Woodstock Playhouse is located at 103 Mill Hill Road, near the gateway to Woodstock, with a box office open Wednesdays through Fridays from 2:30 to 5:30 p.m. For further information and online reservations, call (845) 679-6900 or visit www.woodstockplayhouse.org.

Guest class WIN!

So I'm working in Orlando and I become aware of an amazing underground dance group. From taking class in New York, I made friends with the OCU mafia (a network of dancers from a conservatory that are dedicated to training and having fun). Apparently, in school they started a 'secret dance class' which was a place to play and explore in a judgement free zone. They'd teach each other and mess around in a totally supportive environment. The faculty was not okay with the dancers seeking outside training, so they kept it on the dl. After graduation, these dancer-warriors kept the tradition alive bringing the pick-up fun classes to NYC and, apparently, Orlando.

When I first came down, I took a session taught by an amazing hip-hop dancer. The sponsor of the group invited me to teach class sometime and FINALLY we were able to work it out. I had a few notable successes with this class. First, it's the longest class I've taught so far. We started around 8:50 and wrapped up by 11:15. Full warm-up with stretching/technique, ab workout, and combo with plenty of time to refine. I love feeling like I can talk about specifics in the choreography! Second, it's the biggest class I've had the chance to teach. True, I was a guest teacher at an established group but I brought 5 people from my cast who thought I was worth learning from. 13 students! And I handled it and kept it moving! WIN! Finally, I introduced at least 3 or 4 people to their very first musical theater dance class. It's amazing taking people from a ballet or modern background and showing them how much fun/free/specific theater dance can be. Storytelling/acting through movement is truly my passion and it was a joy to be able to share that with newbies. Oh, and I got to teach a combo that's been kicking around my head and I haven't been able to set on people yet. So seeing the movement on someone else's body was a definite treat.

All in all, a great class and a great step forward in my teaching/choreography career! Hope you like the combo, I know we did!

Class "Snuff That Girl"-I taught my first dance class EVER!!!!

Band of Gypsies is a wrap. I am so grateful for everything. There will be a future post with the piece and a recap, but suffice to say there was drama putting the number together but after a hard push and massive dedication from some fantastic dancers, we did it and it was wonderful. And to finish out the program, all the choreographers from the series were invited to teach a class.

I've never taught before. This was the kick in the pants I needed to get my personal warm-up in order and to structure a class. So I did my homework. And I got to the studio. And I had one person show up. And I gave him class. And it was thrilling. Dancing with friends is always fun, and being able to find my way as a teacher in a no pressure situation was exactly what I needed. So this is my first class combo. We're tired and sweaty but we're giving it. Enjoy!

First Post-The First Reel!