2 months later and ...?

Wow.  So some time has passed.  And still no videos.  What gives?

I've been busy-ish in my personal life.  Out of town for a wedding, got a part-time job which is consuming more time than I'd like.  Auditions.  Etc.  But really those are just excuses.  What's really been happening is that I've been a little terrified about putting myself out there.

See it all began with the conception of the first video.  I decided it'd be fun to start with a solo which I'd dance myself.  The song was going to be "Purpose" from Avenue Q.  I thought it was an appropriate sentiment with which to start this choreographic journey.  It's that 'little flame that lights a fire under your ass.'  And then I started to get locked.  I got terrified of people judging me, both as a choreographer and as a performer.  On the plus side, if the first video was only me, then every successive video would be able to progress in scale and complexity.  On the minus, it was a ton of pressure to deliver.  

Too much.  I kept procrastinating and procrastinating, but then I realized that this is a self-imposed project.  Screw starting with "Purpose."  If I get blocked, let's chip away from another angle.  So that's what I'm doing.  First concept abandoned, time to reassess.  Time to get the first number up and out there, whatever it may be!

First Impressions

Intimidation.  This is a lot.  Like, it's a mountain.  A typical Broadway show only has 5-6 'dance' numbers and a lot of musical staging.  And here I am, a nobody just starting out and trying to tackle Everest, re-conceiving some of the most iconic choreography in the theatrical cannon.  Whoa.

Okay okay.  Enough about how daunting this thing is gonna be.  Let's get down to specifics.  The greats.  Fosse.  Bennett.  Robbins.  Their stuff is the shit.  What they originally did with their numbers is so perfect it's gonna be hard to match, let alone top.  How the F**K am I gonna do A Chorus Line justice?  We might just save that 'til the end.

Let's see.  More greats.  Um...Sondheim.  Wow.  Not necessarily known for his dance shows.  It'll be fun seeing what I can bring out in Company, A Little Night Music, Sweeny Todd, and Passion.  Fun.  Or a nightmare.  We'll see.  

Not a tapper.  Can't wait 'til 42nd Street rolls around.

Sound of Music TIED Fiorello?  Looks like I'm doing both.  The 51numbers project doesn't have the same ring to it, though, so I'm keeping the name the same.  Let's just consider that tie 'extra credit.'

Did The Mystery of Edwin Drood even get a cast recording?  How am I gonna track down something to dance to for that one?  Lincoln Center Library, don't you dare let me down!

If I bastardize some of the currently running shows on Bway, am I gonna piss off choreographers that can give me jobs?  I'm offering a preemptive apology right now.  Dear amazing Bway choreographers, your work rocks so f*ing hard.  Thank you for letting me play with some ideas in a totally educational environment and please in no way take offense at anything I try.  I mean no disrespect to your work whatsoever.  I'm harmless.  That's why I have a blog.  Sincerely-Sid

The List

1959 Redhead

1960 The Sound of Music ties Fiorello!

1961 Bye Bye Birdie

1962 How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying

1963 A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum

1964 Hello, Dolly!

1965 Fiddler on the Roof

1966 Man of La Mancha

1967 Cabaret

1968 Hallelujah, Baby!

1969 1776

1970 Applause

1971 Company

1972 Two Gentlemen of Verona

1973 A Little Night Music

1974 Raisin

1975 The Wiz

1976 A Chorus Line

1977 Annie

1978 Ain't Misbehavin'

1979 Sweeny Todd

1980 Evita

1981 42nd Street

1982 Nine

1983 Cats

1984 La Cage aux Folles

1985 Big River

1986 The Mystery of Edwin Drood

1987 Les Miserables

1988 The Phantom of the Opera

1989 Jerome Robbins' Broadway

1990 City of Angels

1991 The Will Rogers Follies

1992 Crazy for You

1993 Kiss of the Spider Woman

1994 Passion

1995 Sunset Boulevard

1996 Rent

1997 Titanic

1998 The Lion King

1999 Fosse

2000 Contact

2001 The Producers

2002 Thoroughly Modern Millie

2003 Hairspray

2004 Avenue Q

2005 Monty Python's Spamalot

2006 Jersey Boys

2007 Spring Awakening

2008 In the Heights

2009 Billy Elliot

The Project

I'm giving myself a job.  It's non-paying (for now), it's total fly-by-night guerilla art (for now), it may even be a little busted/janky/whack (for now), but it's a gig.  That I'm giving myself.  Because I need to create something and put it out into the world.  And so it begins...the 50numbers project.

It's October 2009.  Based on this totally arbitrary date, I'm going to choreograph a dance number for each of the Tony-award winning Best Musicals of the past 50 years.  No timeframe.  No guidelines.  Not chronological.  Just bouncing around as the spirit moves me.  But I'll hit them all.  From A Chorus Line to The Wiz, I'll knock them out.  No excuses.

The only rule is that I have to do at least one dance from each show on the list.  No doubling up (ie Cabaret and Fosse in one fell swoop).  And I'll keep going until I hit all 50 or people start hitting me with copyright lawsuits.  Which they shouldn't.  Because this is not for profit.  And it's educational.  And it's helping out of work dancer people be artistic and creative and refine their craft.  Who'd wanna harsh that buzz?  

The Inspiration

In case you haven't noticed, we're in a recession.  Which makes this the worst possible time to be breaking into the musical theater world in NYC.  Which I am.  Or at least, which I am attempting to do.  It's not going so well.  Or, to put a positive spin on it, it is going just as well as can be expected.  In a recession.  In NYC.  As Broadway is choking and in need of a serious Heimlich.

So I have a bounty of time on my hands as auditions and available equity contracts dry up.  What to do?  How do I use this leisure time to be creative and get my work out there?  To network with other dancers and create a name for myself when paying gigs are few and far between?  To kick start a career?