Family of Hamilton-ON HIATUS

A Day in the Life....

Today I was rather nervous but excited at the same time. Andy Blankenbuler was back in the house and was going to work with Lexi and a few other new cast members. I also was lucky enough to get to tag along with him today as I learned what a choreographer does once the show is on it's feet.

"Good morning Dania" Andy said as he greeted me at the stage door. "I see you dressed comfortably like I asked. You will be doing almost as much dancing as the people on stage today. I get my workout when I work with the Hamilton crew."

I nodded "I remember my first rehearsal with you, it was pure torture. I loved every minute of it though. You are an extremely talented guy and Papi was lucky enough to nab you."

He chuckled "I always say I was lucky enough to find Lin. He is a genius and I am just putting into movement his amazing work. Anyway let's go stretch out before some of the cast gets here."

While we were stretching we talked about how Andy got into dancing and becoming a choreographer for Broadway.  I loved listening to how he found his niche by studying with other famous dancers. I loved watching him stretch because he made it look so effortless.

"So here comes our crew for the morning" he chuckled as Javi, Lexi, Brandon, Thayne, Sasha, Jon, Ari, and a few new people I had yet to meet joined us. "Okay guys everyone good and stretched out?"

Everyone nodded as they moved into a semi-circle around Andy. They all listened intently as Andy told them what the plan of the day was and then they moved into place. It was fun to watch them work through some stuff in street clothes. It was obvious that this was mostly for the new people joining the show.

"Okay great so far" Andy said after they had finished a song. "Brandon just a suggestion that when you finish make sure your pose is a bit sharper. Lexi don't look so stiff, I know your still learning but loosen up the posture just a bit. Let's move on to 'The world was wide enough'" he called out.

He looked at me and smiled "Want to be the bullet for the scene? We are doing this for Brandon since once Leslie leaves he'll be joining the cast as Burr."

I nodded "Sure thing! I love getting practice in as the bullet." I then moved over to where the rest of the ensemble was gathered and we went through the song. I noticed how Brandon looked much more confident in this song. I also found it intriguing how much of a commanding force he was on stage.

"Okay guys" Andy called out after we finished "good work. We still have a couple more weeks before you new guys start. We are going to have a full put in next week so be ready. Go find Alex for some music practice and I'll see you guys later."

After they had left I turned to Andy "Is dance call always this intensive? It seemed like we were going a mile a minute up there."

He nodded "Most of the time yes, especially when I'm working with new people joining the show. They only have a certain time frame to get all these moves down before they actually start taking the stage every day. I have to make sure they are ready to be confident in their role. I love the put in days because it let's us as a creative team see what needs to be fixed. Anyway we should go eat before the show, we'll be sitting out in the audience. I tend to do this often so that I can take notes and see what might need to changed."

I nodded as we moved to the green room "That makes so much sense. It's hard to tell from the wings what might be going wrong on stage. You need to be able to be in the audience seeing it from their point of view. Do you ever get recognized when sitting out there watching?"

"Not as much as your Papi does but yes sometimes I do" he replied as he grabbed a plate to heat up his food. I did the same with my food. "Most people ask me about teaching classes and a few ask for my autograph. You should join some of the ensemble at my next dance class I teach. Just ask Thayne or Sasha as they usually attend most of the ones I do. I think you will find it quiet enjoyable."