Spring Awakening Choreography Tony

What does good choreography have to do with having an ensemble?

It sounds to me like you're just stupid.


The choreography in SPRING AWAKENING is pretty creative, and it perfectly suits the mood of both the story and the method in which the story is being told. The movement is not specific, yet very specific - kind of like the timelessness of the story that's being told.

It WILL win the Tony for best choreography, and I'll be happy with that. The only choreography I don't like in the show is during the end of "Totally F*cked" when the entire cast is standing at the edge of the stage and they look like they're receiving ECT. Otherwise, it's great.

Personally, I would vote for CURTAINS - but a win for SPRING AWAKENING wouldn't upset me in the least.

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"It will be a bad omen for Broadway musicals if the choreography Tony goes to a show with NO ensemble. "

I'm assuming this was typed incorrectly...

SA has one of the best ensembles currently on Broadway, IMHO.

Regarding the dancing, the first time I saw SA, one of the things I remember commenting on with my group of friends was how much we enjoyed the movement/staging/choreography. Very effective.

I know, some diehard dancers or choreographers have a problem with Tony recognizing Bill T. Jones' work for SA, but I think it's just fine.

It would be much less of a crime for Jones to win a choreography award this year as it was when CONTACT won for Best Musical.

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I totally agree with FrontRow and Becoz_i_knew_you21. The choreography in SPRING AWAKENING was practically non-existent. It did not deserve a nomination and certainly does not deserve to win.

I thought it deserved the nominations but not a win.

EDIT: The show does have an ensemble. How could you not notice the choreography, if you have seen it three times?

Updated On: 6/7/07 at 02:23 PM

There is an interesting NY Times article about Bill T. Jones, and how he was perfect to be the choreographer for Spring Awakening. I've grown up watching Jones' choreography and love the angst, emotionality and sexual issues he addresses in his work.

"Mr. Jones’s choreography for “Spring Awakening” creates a seamlessly integrated, vivid gestural vocabulary that gives force and life to the repressed physical urges of its teenage characters. Only their bodies, it suggests, can express those feelings, for which they have no words. In some ways it’s a perfect fit for a choreographer concerned with storytelling, the power of gesture and sexual identity."
NY Times Article

The choreography for the show is subtle at times, over-the-top other times, however ALL the time it's perfectly suited and works brilliantly.

I don't think it will win, nor should it over LEGALLY BLONDE or MARY POPPINS. I hope POPPINS takes it.

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The entire cast is part of the ensemble. Those without named roles are usually credited with just "ensemble" in the program by default. I have seen shows with huge dancing casts where everone had had least a small character role, and no one credited as "ensemble".

In SA, how is, say, Otto not part of the ensemble, but Toro in West Side Story is? I'm looking at the cast for WSS right now, and no one is billed as "ensemble."

Yes, FrontRow, I think that you're assuming "ensemble" means "the chorus". The entire cast can be an ensemble, even if some roles are larger than others.


Here's dictionary.com's definition of "ensemble"...

the united performance of an entire group of singers, musicians, etc.


Here's their def of "choreography"...

the art of composing ballets and other dances and planning and arranging the movements, steps, and patterns of dancers.

(This choreography definition can certainly apply to Jones' work on SPRING AWAKENING. He gave the actors steps, patterns and movement.)


End of vocabulary lesson. Continue discussing...

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Updated On: 6/7/07 at 04:50 PM

"And I haven't heard much about which show should have gotten a choreo. nom slot instead"

Exactly.

The pickings were pretty slim. I have not seen PIRATE QUEEN, but apparently people like that River Dance crap. I suppose it can be impressive when done well.

However, the choreography for POPPINS and BLONDE were completely forgettable. (Bert tap dances upside down on the procenium in POPPINS, but it was the fact that he was upside down that was cool, not the dancing itself.) BLONDE's choregraphy was laughable -- and not in a good way. There was some completely unneccesary Irish jig and a jump rope aerobics number that just took up time.)

I'd be fine with Jones winning the Tony, personally.

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i'm sorry, but where is it defined that choreography has to be huge "extended dance numbers"? been there, done that. i understand for some of you classic bway lovers, that is what it is to you, but choreography is the MOVEMENT. during the songs. no where is it written that there have to be high kicks, piroettes, and shuffle ball changes in the choreography. that's just what we're used to because it's what always wins.
and i say good for tony to finally nominate something that isn't broadway common and jazz-hand filled.

it is because of the innovation of spring awakening's choreography that it was nominated, and may even take home a win. but to those of you who said that stomping and touching is not choreography, you must not be looking hard enough. and maybe that was the goal of the SA choreographer anyway, to get the audience to look and understand the meaning behind the movement, because it's there, you just have to open your mind a bit to get it.

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CURTAINS should just take Choreography. But it won't happen. And the choreography in CURTAINS was great, but again, probably not Tony worthy in mind.

None of the nominees' choreography was all that great. I really think THE PIRATE QUEEN should've been nominated, and sorry if I annoy you all with my PIRATE QUEEN love, but it really did deserve at least a nomination for choreography...

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I like Spring Awakening, but I must admit I think this nomination is the caboose at the end of the train of nominations for this show. I think this was an innovative show and destined to get a lot of nominations, and this one just fell in line with the rest. Of the majority of the people I personally know that have seen the show (and that is quite a few), both the ones that have liked it and hated it have either not commented at all on the "choreography" as they did not recognize it as such, or bellyached about the lack of and/or non-existence of actual "dancing" in the show.

While some posters are correct in that choreography can also apply to something like action scenes, fight scenes, crowd scenes, etc., where musicals are concerned I doubt that the people who initially defined this category would have classified merely "moving" people around the stage as "choreography" since even non-musical plays rarely have actors stand stationary for their running times, and they would not warrant a "choreography" nomination. By that definition, my walking across my bedroom or walking upstairs would be considered nomination-worthy choreography.

I must admit I see Spring Awakening getting lots of love from the Tonys, but this is one category that they are off-base on. I know a lot of people here seem to be impressed by the movements around the stage by the cast, but I personally have a hard time remembering anything memorable about the "movements" in the show to classify it as award-worthy choreography. And no offense to the posters who claim people are not looking hard enough or have not branched out intellectually enough to understand the amazing choreography - I will go out on a limb here and say that if someone needs to point out that there is choreography in a Broadway show nominated for best choreography, much less have to resort to defining the word, then that right there is the best reason why said show should not be under consideration in that category. Many may not like the production numbers from Curtains or Mary Poppins or even Legally Blonde, but there is no question that the choreography in those shows do not need to be pointed out to any of the audience members.