The characters are bold and fun, and very relatable. The writing is brilliant and very funny, but also heartwarming and emotional–it's great storytelling. MM: Tons of dancing and music! The way dance lives in the show is unlike anything else I've seen on TV. I could fix their shapes as needed, but I cared more about working through the backstory of each number and creating the right tension with a tinge of dance in each moment, even with something as simple as someone walking through their house.ĭS: What can our readers look forward to on February 16? I didn't even have mirrors where we rehearsed for "Zoey," because I didn't want anyone to worry about what they looked like. Creating dance scenes in "Zoey" was very different from what I've done with "So You Think You Can Dance" or "Dancing With The Stars." Whereas as dancers, we're trained from the outside-in, and want to make sure everything looks "right" or has the right dynamic, actors bring a different mentality to movement that's all about feeling first. MM: Luckily, the entire cast was very gung-ho about dance and enthusiastic about rehearsing, which I loved! They all have varying levels of dance experience, and each actor has their own little dance language, which was fun for me to discover. I love that we were able to employ dancers like that–it's a great thing for our community.ĭS: And what was it like working with the lead actors in the show–Jane Levy, Lauren Graham, Alex Newell, John Clarence Stewart–so much great talent! When we last wrapped, we had something like 400-plus dancer contracts.
MM: The scenes range so much, from one person to eight, to some numbers with over 70 dancers. There's not much time by then, so we have to teach it really quickly and then shoot it.ĭS: Speaking of talent, you've gotten to work with so many different dancers on the show! Luckily, they've been really happy with what I've done so far, so once that's signed off, I start rehearsing with the actors and talent. Finally, I'll shoot a video of what we have and send it to the team. At that point, I'll also collaborate with Harvey Mason Jr., our executive music producer, as he's creating the tracks for the episode. I then elaborate on that working with my skeleton crew, a group of dancers that I do pre-production work with. Next we'll have dance concept meetings, where we sit and talk about the initial thoughts and feelings Austin and the director have about each number. MM: I get a lot of information early on in script development, which makes my job much easier. It's so cool to have all those different kinds of performances in one episode.ĭS: What's your process like for creating the dance numbers in each episode? It's been interesting to figure out the timing and nuance of every scene, from the simplest routines to more than fifty people dancing through the streets. "Zoey" is unique because dance isn't in the background with some cool moves here and there–it's really integrated into the storytelling language of the whole show. So much of that goes hand-in-hand-I can create a whole dance, but if it's not shot correctly then it may not translate on camera. MM: Yes! I really like creating location-based numbers, moving big groups of people around, and thinking about what the camera shots will be. From there, we just hit the ground running.ĭS: After choreographing La La Land, you're probably one of the few people truly qualified to work on massive outdoor dance numbers! Has that experience helped you with your work on "Zoey"? Dance is hard to talk about and dissect if you're not a dancer, so those meetings were really important in helping me shape in my mind what needed to happen in the show. We started meeting about a month before shooting the pilot, where we would sit for hours and just talk about dance and watch dance videos. I immediately called Austin back and said I was in. The script was so magical and fun, and as I was reading it I could really see in my head how dance would fit into the world of the show. Mandy Moore: One of the show's executive producers, Austin Winsberg, sent me the script for the pilot and said that he'd love to have me on board. Dance Spirit: How did you first get on board with "Zoey"?
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