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 Hildas College, Oxford
by Louise Sergeant

On Saturday 28 November I made the journey up to St Hildas 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 Brownes paper focused on the tribal sacrifice: Re-balancing the role of the
female in Twyla Tharps chorography for the film musical Hair. We watched
scenes from Hair and looked at how Tharps 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 peoples 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 Huxleys 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.