Recent BYU grads in Music Dance Theatre show off their choreography skills
For the exciting production of High School Musical, BYU Theatre reached out to two of our recent graduates from the Music Dance Theatre program to choreograph the production. The result is inventive and athletic choreography that kept our cast on their toes!
We reached out to Thomas Jenson and Bryndal Braithwaite to get their take on the experience! (And you can read more about them in the Study Guide for this production.)
Shelley Graham: General audiences might not be aware that just because you’re a good dancer doesn’t mean you’re a good choreographer. They’re different creative muscles! So, how long have you been dancing, and how long doing choreography?
Bryndal Braithwaite: This is so true! I think it takes a different eye than what you use to just execute movement. Movement is a form of storytelling that can take a lot of time and creativity to engage an audience. It’s definitely a work in progress for me to grow those creative muscles. I’ve been dancing for about 10 years and have been trying my hand at choreography for about a total of 3-4 yrs.
Thomas Jenson: I am relatively new to the game in both areas! I started dancing 6 years ago when I came to BYU. I have done a handful of short choreographic projects for classes that were never fully produced the way concert dance might be. Besides that, I choreographed a 3 minute number for Broadway Revue, which is a performance opportunity for Music Dance Theater students that is more produced with lighting, costumes, etc.
SG: Which piece in the show was the most challenging to choreograph? Why?
BB: “Get’cha Head in the Game” naturally posed challenges, seeing as I don’t have basketball experience and neither do plenty of the actors. The challenge was to make it look strong and athletic, but unpredictable at times with movement patterns or stunts. I feel fulfilled when the boys look confident in their skin and fully commit.
TJ: “Breaking Free” was tricky to choreograph because there were so many different groups doing different kinds of movement. We also tackled that piece with the cast at the end of the stage of learning movement in rehearsals. So, Bryndal and I had just come off of choreographing 5 other big numbers, which we had a good amount of time to prep for, and then we realized two days before we had rehearsal with the cast that we had generated very little content for “Breaking Free.” So it was a whirlwind of two days where we created an entire number, during which there are people in the aisles or the sides of the stage or sitting on chairs center stage or standing on the back of the stage—and they are doing different movement.
SG: Which piece was the most rewarding to choreograph? Or was there a moment in rehearsals when something “clicked” and you were proud of the work you’d done?
TJ: I had a really proud “mom” moment this week watching “Getcha head in the game.” A lot of our male cast members have little training/experience in dance but are coordinated and gifted athletes, tumblers, weightlifters, etc. Because it fuses basketball with dance, “Getcha head in the game” was fun for Bryndal and I to create and somewhat challenging for the guys to learn. We have worked on the number a lot together, and this week the cast made some really exciting breakthroughs where it seems like the movement is finally settling into their bodies and they can perform it with confidence and poise and musicality. It’s a really dynamic number and I think audiences are going to love it!
BB: The most rewarding was probably "Status Quo." There is so much conflict to play with in that number and it truly is the climax. I think the visuals in that number which we created are what I’m most proud of. It’s thoroughly entertaining.
SG: What’s your favorite moment in the show?
BB: Anytime the actors are fully expressing their characters through what we’ve set. “Start of Something New” is super dynamic to me. We have a section where every clique is doing their own specialized sequencing, with plenty of hidden gems. Or we have a conveyer belt moment, where each individual is highlighted. It sets the tone well!
SG: For our young audience members who think they might want to do choreography someday, what’s one tip you’d like to share?
BB: Just go for it! If that’s something you’re inclined to do, never wait for permission. Find ways you like to move, study how others move, take classes, better yourself, look silly. Ultimately, just try things out and have fun with it. Movement is such a beautiful tool of language and expression that anyone has access to. So use it and create your own projects!
TJ: My biggest tip for the Future Choreographers of America (FCA) is to expose yourself to as many types of movement as possible. Give yourself as big of a vocabulary to draw from. While at BYU, I took classes in clogging, tap, Irish, Ukranian, Indian, hip hop, contemporary/modern, hip hop, jazz, musical theater, and ballet. All of these forms inform the work I do and create exciting fusions! Understanding many dance forms also makes you more hirable because you can confidently work on lots of different kinds of projects.
SG: Thanks for sharing your thoughts, both of you! We have such incredible students at BYU, headed out to make the world a more beautiful place.
