In August, I was asked by one of my students to create a short solo that they could use to submit for college virtual musical theater auditions. Emarya has been performing in plays and musicals for many years but never had formal dance training. In December of 2019 she started taking my Royal Blue Ballet/Jazz class that I teach for recreational dancers (0-3 years of dance training for middle and high school students) at Valley Dance Studio in Lewisburg, WV.
In order for her to easily connect to this dance, I asked her to share with me some musical theater songs that she would be comfortable with and enjoy performing. After going through about eight songs she had picked, we decided on the song “Nobody Does It Like Me” from Seesaw. I had never heard or seen this musical before and found myself looking up clips from the show, specifically seeing how other choreographers approached this song. Many versions included multiple men lifting and assisting the lead female vocalist who seems to be falling and messing up during her performance.
When setting out to choreograph this dance I knew it had to be under 90 seconds, and had to be filmed in one take with no edits. My goal was to create a piece that complemented Emarya’s ability and let her shine! We worked on perfecting this routine for one month, meeting for a minimum of two rehearsals a week. I would come in with an outline of choreography that was inspired by videos I have seen of this song, as well as works by Bob Fosse. I tried to choreography simple and effective movements, that as she would learn I would alter to fit to her body. In some cases, I had to simplify movement, in others I was able to challenge her more.
Once the choreography was set, we used three rehearsals just to prep for the filming. We had multiple test shoots that I would send her to review, watch, and note ways that she can enhance her performance. The biggest task was fueling her with the confidence to execute this choreography on her own. Being able to film as many times as needed and being behind the camera where I was able to talk her through steps and support her was very beneficial in enhancing her performance quality. Below is the final product of the solo that she will be submitting for her college auditions.
Forrest Hershey 