www.broadwayworld.com: Some of the hardest working people on Broadway don't get enough credit. Their names aren't above the title- in fact, you've probably never heard their names at all. They don't win Tony Awards for their diligence, nor do fans storm the stage door for their autographs. And yet, the upkeep of an entire Broadway production often sits in their capable hands.
6 comments:
I really love this article, and I love any article, in general, that sheds light on a not-as-well-known position in musical theatre! We always had dance captains assigned in our musicals at my high school (typically the cast’s vote with the choreographer’s final approval), and these dance captains were always at the front, always going over dances when the choreographer wasn’t there, and always leading warmup. Basically, they did a lot, and though often they were in the ensemble, every once and awhile a dancer with a principal role would be dance captain too. Now, THAT’S really a lot, and they always handled the position so gracefully. I admire that, and Broadway dance captains obviously have a much more intense position than the ones at my high school did! I can’t imagine the dance skills, attention to detail, and leadership qualities these performers have to take on such a role.
I’ve seen a few YouTube videos about dance captains (those on Broadway, regional theaters, and companies like the rockets) It is truly an incredible amount of work that is never truly noticed. You have to know the whole show!! You need to know multiple peoples’ parts, blocking, wardrobe, and have a full grasp of the particular show that you are working on. I am guessing that it is a pretty big deal when a dance captain leaves a company!!! I bet its bigger than a lead leaving a show (instead of one person leaving it’s like 5-10 people leaving the company) It seems like a pretty amazing job to be able to work with the choreographer and carry out their vision throughout the performances run (But at the same time I can see it being very difficult if a dance captain disagrees with the choreographer’s vision). I bet it takes a lot of time to build lasting relationships with choreographers. This article is very insightful and lovely to read. I have a new appreciation for the dance captains of any performance. I would like to know if there are equally male and female dance captains (like do companies have multiple dance captains??)
I really liked this article because it talked about something that I had little to no knowledge about. Dance captains, who they are, what they do and how important their work is, is what this article told me and I was blown away by it.
Broadway is such a big entity, that more often than not, one just concentrates on the name of the brand but forgets as to how much work is being put in by people behind the scenes to build the brand that entertains so many people.
By being the ones who make sure that the vision of the director or the production stays intact, dance captains are fulfilling a huge responsibility because at the end of the day, if it were not for them, one could have watched a production that wont necessarily deliver what was promised to the audience, which I feel like is an action that should be appreciated by all.
On Broadway, dance captains work a lot with new cast members and swings as people call in, but having worked in amusement park entertainment I have seen how intense the job can be especially outside of Broadway. At Six Flags, we did have swings, one of whom was the dance captain, but being located in Eureka, Missouri and performing five shows per day, it was not quite so easy to call swings in on their day off if something happens when there is so little time between shows. As a result, the dance captain’s main job was to reblock the show in cases when a performance had to be moved indoors, or a performer was sick or injured during the show day. I think being the person responsible for training new cast members and keeping understudies fresh is a lot more time intensive, but what happens with these sudden reblocks requires someone who is adept at thinking on their feet.
I have read a few articles about Dance Captains on Broadway in the past, so not all of this was completely new information, but I still really enjoyed reading the article. Something that was new, that I found really interesting is the fact the dance captains also sometimes assist in auditioning new members of the cast. I wonder if they have any say in who is cast in the show or if their role in auditions is solely to teach a dance. I really like reading articles like this and learning about roles in the theatre that I didn’t know much about before. This article is especially important for me and other stage managers because, like the article mentioned, dance captains work really closely with the stage manager in dealing with absences and rehearsals. When I was in high school I was dance captain for a few shows I was in, not because I could dance at all, but because the choreographer thought I would be good at the parts of the role that involve knowing where everyone needs to be and the other managerial parts of it. And after reading this article I do understand a lot better how the skills needed by a stage manager and very similar to the skills needed by a dance captain, besides the dance skills of course.
When I was getting my Playbill signed around the stage door of Gerald Schoenfeld Theatre, now playing Come From Away, one of the cast shouted “Love you Josh! See you tomorrow!” to a man hurrying out of the theatre. The cast explained to me later on that he is their dance captain. Although I had seen some dance tutorials by Broadway dance captains, I did not exactly know what their jobs and responsibilities are before reading this article. Now, after knowing how close the dance captain needs to be to all the cast members and how high their required capacity is, I regret not asking him for a sign! Moreover, their job is like enchantment, which makes musical theatre so special and distinguish from other theatrical pieces that do not consist singing and dancing. Creating and maintaining musical with a variety of leaders is like having multiple directors for a play. There is no doubt that each member of the team must bring clear and thoughtful collaborative communication skills.
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