We’ve been rehearsing for the past few weeks with choreographer Lorna Ventura. Lorna is creating our dance numbers and is also consulting on movement for the movie. She’ll be on set most of the time and will help out with complicated blocking of actors and also creating some stylized movement for some of the larger scenes.
This is my first time working so closely with a choreographer and it’s been a really interesting process. First of all, Lorna is just great. She’s inventive, quick, and knows how to communicate with non-dancers. I’ve found so far that we’re able to create moments in our songs that aren’t simply movements in time to the music, but moves that use the music to allow the actors to express character. Our leads are non-dancers, so it’s much easier for them to approach the work this way. When they’re allowed to unlock their character’s traits and attitudes through movement, things click in a way that they wouldn’t if the actors had to remember what to do on what beat.
And we’ve found ways of expressing character through having Lorna at rehearsal and constructing dance elements for the characters that we wouldn’t have otherwise. Some examples: a mini-tantrum the General has at the end of his song; the slinking snake-like moves of La Junta in the Revolution song; Marian’s painful attempt to do a push up in the same song; the Henchpeople being constantly in motion. Lorna’s contribution to the movie goes beyond the actual dance numbers and has helped me think of ways of visualizing the characters’ attitudes, needs, and conflicts on screen. And the dance rehearsals have become unsuspectingly good acting rehearsals too. I’d recommend a choreographer for every film director.
Tags: choreography, lorna ventura, rehearsal
