DanceLife Blog

WOW! WOW! And WOW!

In short, one of the finest musicals to hit our shores in a very long time!

So off I went to the green and black-tie event, I were the green everyone else wore the black tie!

As the green carpet was laid out for all stars big and small to follow into the Regent Theatre the air was thick with excitement and wonderment as we sipped on our "Ozmopolitan's", all I wanted to do was get in and get this show under way, the suspense was killing me.

Once seated the set was already impressive and the layout made the theatre look bigger than Ben Hur, I was even more excited I thought I was going to pee my pants!!!

House Lights fade and into it we were, now I don't want to go into much detail at all in this review because I REALLY REALLY want you to buy a cheap airfare and head to Melbourne to see it, for it is truly magnificent and I don't think you can wait for it to get to you.

Lucy Durack plays the self -indulgent, self obsessed cutie pie Glinda the good witch and what a talent! This role was made for her and her comic timing is impeccable.

My favourite scene is "Popular" when you see it you will understand. Durack has this knack of transporting us into a familiar pop culture bimbo territory but brings it back time and time again into a theatre world, very clever.

Amanda Harrison in the role of Elphaba is a beautiful green creature whom you fall in love with for her sincerity and strength as an individual but also her shyness and traits of vulnerability. "As long as you're mine" duet with Fiyero (Rob Mills) moved me to tears, so strong and so capable of moving mountains, they match so well in voice and in physicality it really is a great moment in the show and really got me in the heart.

One thing I will comment on though is how different the female leads voices are and how I found they really do not have a great blend when singing together, however that doesn't mean to say that it was painful to listen to but I do think that it was a minute flaw in the production.

The role of Fiyero is played by the increasingly popular Rob Mills. I must say I was very impressed by his newfound theatrical voice and acting skills. His character portrayal to me was like a cross between Gaston from Beauty and The Beast and Jessie McCartney, very youthful, conceited, beautiful and attractive to all. Rob has really put the work in to this project and it shows I believe he can only get better.

You do want to see more of her role, Maggie Kirkpatrick was a fabulous Madame Morrible and it was just a plain honour to watch her walk out on stage every time.

Rob Guest as the Wonderful Wizard of Oz was well received and his little jig that he does in "Wonderful" did put a little smile on my face.

Doctor Dilliamond is a poor old soul of animal played so well by the wonderful Rodney Dobson.

B

ig Ups go to Penny McNamee, Anthony Callea and the rest of the principal cast who really help to put this show into one of the greats for Aussie musical theatre.

I must tell you though that not only is it the onstage cast that makes this show it is Kenneth Posner's ridiculously amazing lighting design, Gavan Swift who designed the lighting for Tapdogs is our Aussie representative and a true artist and lighting genius, this show is transformed time and time again into worlds of fantasy simply by the lighting and it is a true detriment to Swifts avid eye and artistry.

Speaking of artistry costume designer and Olivier award winner for it Susan Hilferty is a designer of pure fabulosity!!! The ensemble costumes are truly amazing and mysteriously funky in their own wicked way. Our Aussie wardrobe is co-ordinated by the man himself Billy Roache and what a wonderful job he has done.

The set design and production as a whole is something of a monstrosity of top-notch creativity and really allows you to be transported to Oz for the experience of a lifetime.

In saying that I believe the ensemble are having an experience of a lifetime executing choreography that you only dream to dance. Wayne Cilento who credits himself as a Musical Stager is a multi award choreographer who's staging is a dream to watch and so relevant and current choreographically yet lyrical and classic and all round enjoyable to watch, I was on the edge of my seat wanting so bad to learn the chorey it was fantastic. Ellen Simpson is a stand out in the ensemble with her flaming red hair and striking legs and style she is really one dancer we all need to watch as she climbs the ladder.

Shout outs go to Ryan Sheppard, Todd Hampton, Lockhart Brownlie, Romina Villafranca, Todd Hampton, Deanna O'Leary and Ross Hannaford who all make a wonderful show that touch more wonderful, their stage presence and commitment is very humbling.

The book of inspiration Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West by Gregory Maguire is cleverly written and visiting social obligations and personal struggles and courage throughout the new generation.

With a genius and experienced award winning creative team inclusive of:

Book- Winnie Holzman (thirtysomething, My So-Called Life MTV)

Composer - Stephen Schwartz (Pippin, Disney's Pocahontas, DreamWorks The Prince of Egypt)

Direction - Joe Mantello (Take me out, Love, Valour Compassion- film)

Ass.Dir. - Lisa Leguillou - Chicago, Vagina Monologues, The Odd Couple)

Whispers at the after party were that this production is better than Broadway.....Hey I am just gossiping on what I heard!

Wicked Australia in my opinion has re-ignited theatre in Australia, with this phenomenal cast and crew I really do thank you all for giving a great performance and allowing me to do what's required of me in the theatre....

LAUGH.CRY, CLAP, HOLLA, RELATE, ENJOY, DREAM!!!

Big Love!

Rose

xxx

DanceLife Blogger Leah Howard has just emailed me the new Bond's Commercial - PADDY CAKE. Leah has been the choreographer for the very popular commercials. Check out Leah's blog next month about how she cast the commercial, what went on at the shoot days and everything in between. PHOTOS are thanks to ROBERT BRAY.

Hey There!

As you may or may not know I choreograph the BONDS commercials that have been airing lately - Kaleidoscope /Mash and now the new instalment Paddy Cake!

For this blog I wanted to give you an insight to the real world of casting and filming TVC's and I wanted to take this time to congratulate all of you who turned up to this casting in your underwear and gave it a go!

From my point of view there is nothing more cringe worthy than dancing in your underwear unless you're a stripper! But dancing in your underwear in front of a video camera and me could not be a definite high point in your career, but nevertheless you all came and you all danced and clapped your way through a great audition.

I must admit to you now that you really think you know who you are going to pick from the brief automatically, but the best part of that is the doubt I feel that I may see someone new and fresh and different, you never know YOU may be a new face to me or any casting agent and we may see a side of you on a different day that we have never seen before so it is always refreshing to have your great attitude in the room and I hope my good sense of fun on this casting especially!

During your castings I am emailing my notes and suggestions and conference calling James Brown (awesome, ginger, white guy) the director in the UK one day, South Africa the next.

So from 182 girls we chose 50, which was crazy hard!!!! I hated it every little minute of it and it made knowing you all on a personal level a little harder for the most part but a little easier, cause when we had to throw out 5 girls due to the "Henson" controversy it was a quick pick situation. So that was that, we had our 50 new bonds girls now it was time for some hardcore body slapping?? (With our hands!)

Bonds come up with such great and innovative concepts and I love the creative control they give me over most of it, it allows me to have fun with no boundaries and create the best possible vibe for the clip, I love it!!!

Our first rehearsal day was awesome!!! The girls were pumped and so focused,
As was I!! And we were in this little hall in Argyle place at 8am Saturday Morning?? Who calls that sort of rehearsal time for me on a Saturday??? HARD BEAUTY!!!

We arrived, the director/producer/50 girls and the sound guy who was all in his glory at 8am looking at lovely girls dancing in their underwear!! As weird as it may sound after a while you really forget they are dancing in their underwear and it really becomes about the energy and each girl nailing the rhythms and having fun! With that said the girls did a WIKID! Job getting all my thoughts out of my head and into their hands!

Second day of rehearsals was truly banging!!! We were at Brent Street , it was freezing cold and the girls got into their underwear and out into the lane way...CRAZY!!! Yes the public lane way that runs thru to the backlot. I started choreographing patterns and black and white messes that looked good in my head but average on my bodies, so it was back to the drawing board for James and me.
Coming back for our third and final rehearsal we were in a really great place James and I were so vibed about it the rehearsal was CRAZY GOOD! The girls worked hard and nailed everything I came up with and we truly brought it! It was like a paddy cake battle zone!!!! It was fierce!!

6am rolled around and out at Penrith basketball courts we arrived...too early too cold and just not right too put lovelies in their underwear. BUT we did!

The shots on the split looked fantastic right from the word go! James had nailed the lighting both natural and unnatural and the hall reflected some great visuals on its shiny floor. The girls lined it up and looked fabulous in their underwear and blacks and whites and gave great paddy cake that was tight and sounded like a drum line in the space it was a vibe! We all started off with great energy and slowly as the legs turned red slowly did our energy drop, but the girls still pounded out their claps and did their best to keep their energy levels paced up.

There is always stuffing around to get the right shot on a film set so there is a lot of waiting around, as glamorous as you think it would be its not really at all and after you have spoken to every single person on the whole set before lunch you really have nothing to talk about!!! Hehe!! Except how good the catering was, as it always is on film sets or are we just starving dancers!

After lunch with belly's full to the brim and feeling like NOT dancing in their underwear the girls power on for another 6 hours keeping in mind they have already powered through 6 hours of clapping and one of those being a bum examination?? Yes a bum examination to see if you have the bum for a close up! It's better to be straight with you rather than beat around the bush or bum should I say!! Yes, that's what we were doing for that menial hour of looking at the screen we were actually looking at your bum on the screen, hey it is an underwear commercial what do you expect?

As we drew to an end we had girls with blistering thighs, red hands, blood vessels rising to the surface and all in all total war wounds but all for a great cause and the perk of being a bonds girl!

Thank you to all the girls on the gig, you all truly rocked it big time and I loved working with each and every one of you! Watch the PADDY CAKE Commercial below!

Till next blog,
Big Love
Rose (Leah Howard)
xxx

PHOTOS are thanks to ROBERT BRAY

The first Industry event for 2009 was hosted by SYTYCD judge Matt Lee in replacement of Leah ‘Rose' Howard and those present included a bevy of So You Think You Can Dance "who's who", both from Season 1 and 2, and some actors from Home & Away. The night was opened by a great contemporary piece choreographed by Jason Winters.

Hiphop dominated the night and saw some great crews performing including runners-up at the Australian Hiphop Championships, J Town, choreographed by talented Top 20 SYTYCD Season 2 dancer Jesse Rasmussen and his brother, Joel. The crew demonstrated why they took out 2nd place with their smooth, precise and ‘oh-so-clean' nu-skool style, and it is obvious that they are destined for great things in the future and will be forerunners in changing the face of the Hiphop industry.

Other well known crews who performed include Psyke; the explosive all girl crew Deja led by SYTYCD Season 2 Top 20 dancer Pania Taku and Top 100 dancer Stacy Peke and upcoming talent Pamela Sitjar; Limited Edition; Urban Dance Project and NuFirm.

A surprise piece was Chaz from New Zealand with his back-up dance crew of three mini-me Beyonce's and his crowd roaring mock-up of the hit single "Single Ladies".

A couple of notable up and coming choreographers include Sally Hare, who choreographed a contemporary piece that included SYTYCD Season 1 Top 6 dancer Graeme Isaako and SYTYCD Season 2 Top 20 dancer Danny; Brooke Tulloch, who choreographed a Hiphop piece and; Christian Patterson who choreographed a contemporary piece that included SYTYCD Season 1 Top 20 dancers Rhiannon Villareal and Hilton Denis and SYTYCD Season 2 Top 20 dancers BJ Rourke, Stephen Tannos and Kat Risteska. These young dancer-choreographers showed that they are part of the next generation of talent that is sweeping the Australian dance industry.

Singers who performed included Nyree Joseph from Australian Idol, RnB artist Israel, and Prince of Thieves, who inspired an impromptu popping performance by SYTYCD Season 2 Top 20 dancer Timomatic.

Written By: Warren Roma

Well hello my DanceLifers!!!!

Long time no blog, my bad.

Just dropping in to show some love and let you know what's been happening. I hope you are all happy and dancing your butts off. Leah knows we are heading into the infamous Christmas Concert time so CHOOKAS to all who are performing and all who are lending a helping hand whether it be big or small. I know the work that goes into it and you all make Christmas concert time special for all so big love and tear up those concert hall floors!!!! ENJOY!!!!

You may or may not have known I had the privilege of being asked again to choreograph another BONDS TVC and this time in roller skates!!! What the!!! Mind you I had fallen over the night before in Melbourne (where I was doing Avenue Q) and got on a a 6am flight with a swollen foot for the first rehearsal day of "Roller Boogie"!!!

It was the lovely Kate Wormald who kindly assisted me and got me through with much R.I.C.E and her love, thanks Mole!!! So in front of me stood 20 lovely ladies with roller skates on and ready to boogie, however some of them had forgotten how to rollerskate or just never really rollerskated before in their short lifes!!!! Shizer!!!!

Might I add we were rehearsing @ Carriageworks which has some lovely hard, uneven surfaces so the fall is going to really really hurt if not break a little bonds girl! So off they went getting a feel for the skates and there were drops left right and centre, so on went more body armour...knee pads, wrist pads, elbow pads all sorts of pads you name it. Out came the ice packs and not only was it I that was R.I.C.Eing but some of the ladies had taken massive falls and were sitting right next to me.

Kate and I were really impressed as it got towards the end of the rehearsal day the girls had bucked up and really started to get their skate on and were making the choreography look great and giving things a go, so proud!

Only one rehearsal and we are ready for the shot day. I had seen the location and had known the discussed vibe of the day - "Roller Disco Playboy Mansion Style" but I sure as hell didn't know we were truly in the a playboy mansion. The sun was set, it was 7am and it was already 18 degrees by the beautiful pool area that we were going to be having our roller disco around....life was good that day even in crutches!

So into their fabulous undies and fierce rollerskates all lollied up in pinks, blues, oranges, yellows, reds, greens all colours of the rainbow the girls came out onto set and started on their merry roller way. The girls had taken their skates away with them for practice purposes and had come back skating like pros we were so impressed. We had such great and space and location was totally the bomb! so who couldn't give up a day to rollerskate around the pool @ The
Bonds Mansion.

We made some serious roller disco heaven shots and we had a lot of fun and all the girls did such a wonderful job skaters or not we pulled it off with ease and
love...just the way i like it!

Big love to everyone on this gig, thank you, you certainly do rock....or roll???! just both!!

Check out the frockwriters blog on the making of our TVC. Too cool!

http://frockwriter.blogspot.com/2009/08/leah-howard-helps-put-boogie-nights.html#links
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Twb11413TwU

BIG LOVE!
Leah Howard
XXX

The hit musical Avenue Q will be opening in June 2009 at Melbourne's Comedy Theatre. The cast has been announced and we're happy to tell you that DanceLife Blogger and all round entertainment extraordinaire Leah Howard is one of the ensemble members. Congrats Leah! Michala Banas will play Kate Monster/Lucy T Slut and Mitchell Butel will play Princeton/Rod. For all the details on the show check out www.avenueqthemusical.com.au. 

Rising Aussie music sensation Sam Sparro headlined Mardi Gras' Harbour '09 party on Sunday at the Sydney Harbour foreshore. Sam was surrounded by an abundance of male dancers that certainly made the crowd go wild. Choreographer and Performer Leah Howard whipped the boys into shape with her hot routine to Black and Gold. Leah has also choreographed a group of Dancers for Monday night's elimination show on SYTYCD where James Kaz and Macy Gray will perform. Congrats Leah. Two really great gigs!