The Benefits of Broadway Dance Workshops
Paul Canaan, instructor of three of ITF 2022’s must-take Broadway dance workshops, shares his passion this year. He says, “Life is unscripted and passion can shape our choices and can create change for us and the world.”
For example, in his “Raise You Up” workshop (which spotlights choreographer Jerry Mitchell’s Kinky Boots moves), students will learn fun Tony Award®-winning Broadway choreography from the finale of the show (5-inch heels optional … whew!). Paul also talks about the themes of the show: inclusion, not underestimating others, being true to ourselves, and celebrating ALL of our true colors.
Then, in the workshop titled “Broadway to MTV: The Bend and Snap Works Every Time,” students learn how a Broadway show journeys from the reading-and-workshop phase to opening night. Paul told us, “This was one of my all-time favorite shows to originate.” Alongside teaching some sassy “Bend and Snap” choreography, Paul shares first-hand, backstage, insider stories from Legally Blonde: The Musical, The Search for Elle Woods, the MTV reality show and more.
Paul’s third workshop is called “Hammerstein to Hamilton” and explores the history of dance in musical theatre. Students will explore the most influential choreographers of our time from Agnes de Mille (Oklahoma!, Carousel, Brigadoon) to Andy Blankenbuehler (Hamilton, In the Heights, Bring It On: The Musical). There’s also an exploration of how to approach story-driven movement.
More Than Just a Dance Instructor
Before Paul was in Kinky Boots, he was in the first Broadway revival of La Cage aux Folles doing even more flips and splits than he did in Kinky Boots. Paul says, “It’s always fun to play larger than life characters on stage!”
Photo by Matthew Murphy
He explained that the difference in the heels for
Kinky Boots was that Cyndi Lauper really wanted the stiletto look for the Angels, who are meant to be the embodiment of “fierce,” both in their performances and their costumes. “Which is all good and fine, until you have to do a back handspring in 5-inch skinny heels! So that was tricky to navigate at first, but with practice, I made it work.”
Paul’s passion goes beyond helping his students (of all ages!) understand dance steps. He explained, “I think the business side of theatre is so important to learn. Whether you’re an actor, dancer, teacher, director, choreographer, stage manager, etc., a good sense of all the different elements that go into a production will make you that much better at your job. That understanding also tends to make you more respectful toward everyone else on your team by knowing the tasks they’re doing for the good of the show.” ♦
Patty Craft is Content Manager for Dramatics.org and cannot even walk, much less do back handsprings in 5-inch heels.
