Gorgeous Avatar by Jules Horne

Gotta Dance... Andrew Panton

Andrew Panton
Choreographer

Andrew was tracked down in Traverse 2, where the actors are rehearsing while the set is being built in next-door Traverse 1. Jazz dance is one of his many specialisms, but as I discovered, he's also a secret expert in hoof choreography...

Q: How did you get into this line of work?
I've always been involved in theatre in some kind of way - since I was about 10. I started out performing, and have always done dance and music as well, so it's been a natural progression route. Can't remember not doing it! I went to college in London when I was 17, and studied musical theatre - singing, dancing and acting together. And I also do music: piano.

Q: How do you go about creating a piece of dance?
The first thing I did - before agreeing to do the job! - was read the script, because it might be something that I don't get a feel for. In a way, plays can be more varied than musicals, because they can require such different things. So it would have to be the right kind of job, but this was. Obviously the major part is the end-of-part-one sequence, and borrowing from elements of different musicals, and also different idioms within the genre. That's something that I have a resonance with, having spent so much time in that genre over the years. So I thought it would be quite fun. And also because Jon (the composer) and I have worked together before, and he thought it would be the right kind of thing for me, and I trusted him! He knew what he was going to do with it musically, and thought we'd work together well.

Q: What were the particular challenges with this production?
I think if you asked any of the four actors, two of them would say they were dancers, and two would say they weren't, so it's a case of trying to make everyone feel confident and comfortable within what they do, because they wouldn't have to do this much dance in every job they do. And sometimes they enjoy it, sometimes they don't, because it's quite a different way of working. Once you've done the actual creation, which is the fun bit, it can be a bit clinical sometimes, because it can involve a lot of drilling, which is different to rehearsing a play. So sometimes it's really enjoyable, but sometimes it can be tiring and quite boring, so I suppose the challenge is trying to keep everyone energised – which I haven't done such a good job of today because I'm quite tired!

Q: Do you come into rehearsal with the choreography already mapped out or do you create your ideas on the hoof?
I usually think about it a lot, and as soon as I start doing it, chuck everything I've thought of out! I do a lot of preparation, but in this kind of piece, it has to come from the actors - there's no point in me coming in with a pre-designed picture in my head and pushing that onto them. You can do that with dancers, in a way - depends on the piece. For example, you may be wanting to do a very complex piece of choreography and you'd need to pre-choreograph that. You couldn't make it up as you went along. This isn't particularly complex - it's more movement-based - so it has to come naturally from what the actors are doing. So I try to have some physical vocabulary when I come in, and then develop the rest of it with the actors.

Q: Big day tomorrow - tech rehearsal. What's your role in that?
It'll be diving in and tweaking things while other people are changing lights and focusing lights, changing cue points, fade times and things like that. I'll just try to jump in and get whatever time I can, because there's generally a lot of hanging-about time for the actors, and sometimes that can be boring. So hopefully this will be the kind of day when they'll actually want me to do something! Apart from that, the major thing is to get everything working technically, so the integration between the movement work and the video - the act one sequence with the notes flying through - will be the major part of the new work that I've got to do tomorrow.

Q: What's special about your job?
It's different every day. And I have to say it's quite exciting. I don't know many jobs like that.

[And the hoof choreography? see the bottom picture here]

posted by Jules Horne @ 5/03/2006 11:19:00 AM