A one, a two, you know what to do.
It started because I was thinking to myself, you know, I get so many great kids in class
and I only see them a handful of times, sometimes once, twice, and I wish I had more time with them
and I wish I could expose them to more of the things that I know that are in this city
that can help propel them into a professional career in musical theater or in dance.
One of the things that we really try to give attention to in this program
is helping singers find a physical connection to their body and a physical communication
and then helping dancers who are so comfortably, physically communicating with their voice.
Some of the days will consist of four classes during the day.
One being something taught from a dance captain of a Broadway show
and then they'll do four hours of rehearsal, then they'll go see that Broadway show,
then they'll do a talk back with the cast of the Broadway show afterwards
and then get up in eight hours and start all over again.
This program is important for artists, especially young theater artists or musical theater artists
because you're under one roof, you are looking at or working with the styles
of four or five professional level choreographers and directors, which is a gold mine.
I think that most people don't learn these lessons until they are in New York
and then you spend your first couple of years in New York figuring out
what do I give a choreographer, what they want, how do I rehearse, how do I audition,
how do I talk to people, how do I ask questions, and what this program does
is it teaches these kids these lessons before they get here.
I feel like in just this week they've grown so much.
They've learned what kind of energy it takes, what kind of professionalism it takes
and I see them growing as performers every time they go through it.
So I think that there's an education to be had from just being on stage
and also from being surrounded by these peers
because you learn so much from other people and from their energy.
It's a staple.
It's been around so many years.
I studied there when I was a kid.
Back in the day where Frank Hatchett and the Heinz family created this school.
That's where I was raised.
You walk into the building and you feel a comfort.
It's everybody's there to dance, everybody's there to learn to dance
and it's established itself as this is the place that you go when you arrive to New York.
It's amazing right now if you walk through the facilities to see what the internet has done.
I mean, because really there is something in that where you see
evidences of cultures and places, people from all over the world doing dance styles
that are an amalgamation.
And I think it's evolving, you know, there's a lot more classes that you can get now
that I feel like aren't available other places in the city, which I think are really cool.
And there certainly are other schools in the city,
but Broadway Dance Center is kind of like the heartbeat, if you will.
For me, at least it is, and it has been for many years.
The idea really is for it to be a longer workshop.
Lots of times the faculty only gets to come in once because we're bringing so many people in.
So I'd like to get the faculty in two or three times
so that the students can build on what they learn from that faculty.
As the Craft of Musical Theater is progressing, the education has to progress.
Because as we educate these students, then they become our professionals
and then they create the new art.
So the more they know, the better the art's going to become.
