Had a solid rehearsal today for the musical I am choreographing. This is my newest challenge as I approached it with a bit of disdain, but now it's a study in professionalism. Long story short, my gig choreographing Chicago for a group I like working with turned into choreographing Legally Blonde, the musical. The first is a respected show with integral movement in a style I've lived, breathed and lusted after since I turned double digits. The second is a newer creation based on a comedic movie (yes, musical based on movie :/) with no grounding idea for movement or really plot/songs etc, with too much time spent milking humor from sorority girl, bro and harvard student stereotypes. Since I am getting paid well and I do like the group, actors and creative team, it's been a commitment to doing as good of a job as I can with what I am given without letting the animosity towards the show itself grow.
Honestly, I am having laughs in rehearsal and at the end of the day I am enjoying my work on the show. While the personal success and adrenaline isn't felt watching the story come together and the plot develop while seeing my work sparkle within the greater picture, I am finding feelings of success and happiness through the creation process. Today I taught a number that involves a crazy assortment of theatre dance, colorguard/drill team movement, body music, African dance, tap and gymnastics (whaaaa?!). We went through it segment by segment, and I tried to be a good teacher in addition to choreographer. The cast worked hard, they were proud of themselves, and they did a good job with the movement. Each of these little sections of the bigger number is a success- teaching it, coaching it, finessing it, praising. Process, not product. When my dancers in another number are jumping hardcore rope in unison, to music, and feeling confident, that's a success.
Culminating thought. Sometimes a choreographer needs to take herself out of the picture. This is no time for selfish. I am being paid to do a job I love. It IS my responsibility to create numbers that work for the show and the bigger picture. It's my job to teach the performers what they need to know, and to coach them so that they do the movement well on stage. This IS NOT the job where I invest myself into my work. Is this something I deem 'my product', care about artistically, put lots of intelligent creation effort into? No. More importantly, that's ok. It's ok not to try to make an artistic masterpiece out of Legally Blonde, the musical. It's ok to take this project on (ohhhhmygooood she can't possibly be a real-life-modern-dance-artist-creator if she does an especially trivial musical?! say my invisible snarky peers in my head!), and it's ok to talk about it and enjoy it, even if it's truly meaningless, it won't diminish me as an artist (mantra). In fact, perhaps it's impressive that I can be a good choreographer in my own world and simultaneously take on an atypical project and do an equally good job over there in musical theatre land.
Point of the story. It's not Chicago, I'll unfortunately have to wait to Fosse it up another day. I am being paid to choreograph a musical, and even though it's by far not my favorite I owe it to myself, my legitimacy, and the show to do the best job I can with it. There is NOTHING wrong with choreographing a musical, whatever genre you consider yourself based in. If you are a creator, create, like what you do, no limits.
Eh?
