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Exclusive Interview: Anthony Cannarella of 'Gotta Dance!' · The BSB Podcast

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  time.
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  Gotta Dance is showcasing the best of dance from Broadway and Hollywood and today we're talking with one of the stars of this production Anthony Cannarella Thank you so much for
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  being here today.
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  Hey, how's it going?
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  Thanks for having me.
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  It's so exciting to talk to you here about this production.
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  oh And you know, I was, I'm not gonna lie, I was a little bit unfamiliar with this production at first when it came across my email.
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  But this is so cool.
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  It's kind of showcasing like the golden age of a lot of these shows that I grew up on, watching these movies and stuff.
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  uh What was it kind of like to be taken into this production?
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  It's been incredible being taken into this production.
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  mean, first of all, it's definitely a dancer's dream, you You get the call and you're like, my gosh, it's scenes from West Side Story and the chorus line and singing in the
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  rain.
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  It's just, you know, it's taking parts from like every dream role I've ever wanted to do and putting into one show.
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  So being a part of that has just been absolutely incredible.
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  So how would you describe them?
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  You said this is like a dance show.
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  How would you describe to somebody who's maybe unfamiliar with Gotta Dance?
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  So I'd say God of Dance is almost like a, it's kind of like a living museum in a way.
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  If you want to look at all these incredible uh dances from Broadway and Hollywood, you can really just see the archive of this incredible choreography on display and in so many
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  different styles.
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  So you really get a taste of everything, depending on whatever your taste is.
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  There's tap dancing, there's jazz, there's some shimmying.
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  So it's really a jam-packed show with all the hits and you can really feel that.
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  Is there one that you specifically like doing?
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  Yeah, I would say my favorite is definitely Swing.
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  We do the finale from Swing, the Broadway musical, directed originally by Lynn Taylor Corbett featuring Lindy Hop choreography by Ryan Francois, but the music is sing, sing,
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  sing.
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  It's got that jazz music.
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  We all come in snapping and I'm doing all these flips and tricks with my partner and it's just a blast every time.
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  I think the dancers have as much fun on stage as the audience does watching it.
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  What is that like to feed off that energy?
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  Because I'm sure that the audience interaction has to be incredible for show like this.
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  yeah, they're hooting and hollering for sure.
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  And it really feeds us, know, because I think the choreography means so much to us because it's such iconic works and it means so much to them.
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  The audience practically knows every number.
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  So the energy level is unlike any other show I've done for sure.
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  Everyone is so happy to be there.
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  And by the time this show ends and we come meet people after the show, everyone is like, my gosh, in tears.
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  It's the most energetic show I've been a part of for sure.
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  And it sounds like the nostalgic factor is definitely there for a lot of the audience members that are coming to see this.
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  Because again, like myself, these are shows that you've grown up with.
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  Absolutely, yeah, it's interesting, because another favorite moment of mine is cool, you know, doing that Robbins choreography is incredible, but it's also one of the most tiring
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  parts of the show.
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  So I'm exhausted, but then I like to look at, we have this beautiful LED wall, and I see just like West Side story.
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  And when I look at it, I'm like, man, okay, it gets me amped up.
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  And when we're doing the snaps and everything, ah I think it's just so nostalgic to me.
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  I'm like, okay.
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  pull it together, man, this is it.
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  It just feels so, it's such a blessing to be a part of that.
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  It gives you that extra energy for sure.
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  So kind of going back to the early parts of this, you got the role and you got the part, what was the rehearsal process bringing that to stage?
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  It was a fast and furious rehearsal process for sure.
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  But I think like the beauty of American Dance Machine, the company that's putting this on, is that they pulled not only iconic works, but such talented dancers from all sorts of
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  fields.
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  We have like amazing tap dancers, amazing ballet and point dancers.
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  We have like just incredible jazz dancers too.
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  And we're all very well-rounded.
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  all can, you know.
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  do it, but just we have such specific talents, each of us, there's a huge respect for the dancers, for each other, but it also just shows us, um it really puts each piece in the
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  best choreographic light.
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  So we were able to kind of do it quickly and fast and furiously, but also with like the respect that these iconic works deserve.
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  So I think uh it kind of just felt like bringing in the best of the best to do the best of the best work.
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  And it was really, it was incredibly part of.
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  That has to be, it sounds like you just kind of were running 100 miles an hour from the very beginning.
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  We are an American dance machine for sure.
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  We're definitely going for it.
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  So speaking of your personal journey, can we talk about how you kind of got into dancing and acting and choreography?
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  Yeah, absolutely.
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  So I started dancing when I was two years old.
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  I had way too much energy as a kid.
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  I think I was bouncing off the walls and my mom was like, we gotta put this kid in something.
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  So I started very, absolutely.
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  It was like now, or, you know, gonna put a hole in the wall or something.
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  So it was the right choice for sure.
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  And I studied dance up through high school and everything.
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  But I fell in love with musical theater.
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  When I was in seventh grade, actually, I was doing Seussical Jr.
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  and I was the cat in the hat.
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  And I remember having this very profound moment of just like coming into the show.
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  It's like, wow, you know, if I could do this like every day for the rest of my life, like I would be happy.
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  And I was like a seventh grader.
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  It's like, wow, that's a profound thought.
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  So I felt ever since then, it kind of gave me the drive to keep, to make this my career.
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  um But I actually...
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  uh
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  Basically right out of graduating high school, I studied in Madison, Wisconsin where I grew up with Dance Wisconsin.
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  And then I went to the Rock School in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania to do a ballet boarding school.
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  And I graduated from there at 18 and I basically went straight into a dance company.
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  So I went to uh work with Sacramento Ballet and I was there for seven years.
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  So I was a little bit more of a bum head and did the dance company life for a very long time.
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  um And it wasn't...
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  I was there for seven years.
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  danced with Smuin Ballet in San Francisco for a few years.
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  I also, there are a few guestings here and there.
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  um And I got to perform a lot of incredible roles.
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  I got to play Peter Pan and Hamlet and even do George Balanchine's Tarantella.
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  So I was very ballet focused, a lot of contemporary ballet and partnering stuff.
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  But more in the past five years, I kind of remembered that seventh grade feeling I had in.
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  dive far more into musical theater and it's been such a blessing.
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  It's been great.
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  So what has really been like a highlight for you personally then with your career and all of this learning that you've done and that's some incredible amount of talent that you
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  have.
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  Thank you so much.
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  mean, honestly, the whole journey has been incredible, you know, because you look at it and there's times where you're like, I'm really pushing for something I want.
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  I got to do Carmina Burana, which was this incredible thing where we're holding um two, like a woman on top of a plate and we're stacked on top of another pile of guys.
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  It's like, holding this giant weight.
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  And I've worked so hard for that role when I was doing more ballet stuff.
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  um But it kind of just reminds you that
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  while there's a lot of kind of that each, I would say like, while there's certain goals that I've had in my career, it's almost like the journey that I've enjoyed the most and
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  that push to get there.
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  So doing more ballet stuff, I was like, I'm gonna push for it and I achieved that part of my dream and now I'm doing more musical theater and off Broadway and just achieving that
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  has been incredible.
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  So it's almost just like that being able to kind of do notches in my belt and be like, wow, I feel very accomplished, I feel very fortunate.
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  It's almost like the whole journey, being able to look back on it at this point and say, wow, I'm doing all these iconic dream works right now.
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  It just shows you that the journey has been worth it and it's something that I've enjoyed every step of, even the hard parts for sure.
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  Absolutely.
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  I think as a, I'm a psychologist during my day job.
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  So every time I think about this, you think about those moments that you're feeling maybe low, you can look back and say it was worth it in that moment.
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  I put in all that extra work and I did the extra time to be here.
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  you've dedicated your entire life to dance and now here you are in this incredible production.
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  Yeah, absolutely.
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  another part, uh I would say one of my favorite parts of this process as well has just been getting to work with so many incredible choreographers too.
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  I remember there was a stretch of time where we had Susan Stroman come in to work on Contact, and the very next day we had Christopher Wheldon come in the building or the
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  theater to work on at American in Paris.
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  And the next day we had Bayork Lee come in to do a chorus line.
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  And then the next day we had uh Stephen Schwartz come in to watch.
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  So it was just like back to back to back, like iconic choreographers and artists coming in to come support the work that they love, but also to come support us.
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  And it really showed us what we're working on is special and it made us really proud for sure.
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  Those are some pinch me moments there, you know, those are some real.
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  pinned so much.
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  I was like, my gosh.
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  I will say I was standing up very straight in those rehearsals for sure.
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  oh But it was pretty incredible.
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  It just shows you that the people really care about this show and the legacy of these works, you know?
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  So how would you say that this production maybe differs from some of the other productions you've been a part of?
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  I would say that it's all hands on deck for sure and it's very fast paced.
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  I just came off, I worked with, I was dance captain and associate choreographer actually for Jason Alexander's Sweeney Todd about a month ago, which was a blast.
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  So we did that in Los Angeles, but it's Sweeney Todd.
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  So while it's an incredible show, you come do your number and then you have some downtime and then you do your number and you have some downtime and maybe you know, offed or
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  something like that at one point.
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  But with this show, you know, we go off stage, we quick change immediately, we come to city lights from the act, then we quick change to go to contact by Susan Stroman.
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  So while the action is so intense on stage, we're also backstage just running, running, running.
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  So I would say that it's a little bit more of a marathon, but it keeps the pace going and I think it keeps our energy levels high too.
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  was gonna ask you how do you keep your energy high?
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  Because I would assume that through the whole 90 minutes you're just exhausted by the end.
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  Absolutely.
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  would say that um the nostalgia factor helps for sure.
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  Knowing the work is important is like, okay, it gives me that extra boost.
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  But I will say I love liquid IV.
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  I'll definitely be drinking those for sure.
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  And anytime there's like a cookie or someone bakes like a snack or something, I'll just grab it off in the green room and that'll help boost me through too.
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  I you have to keep your energy up because every number is such, like you said, iconic.
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  This is truly some iconic numbers and it's one after another that you want to nail it perfectly, you know?
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  yeah, absolutely, for sure.
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  And one of my favorite number, obviously, from Swing, also is so much incredible partner.
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  My dance partner, Samantha Siegel, is incredible, but there's a part where I'm spinning her around and she has no hands and she's in the splits and we're flying.
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  I give her backflips with her and stuff, so keeping my energy up is very important for her sake as well, for sure.
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  That is so cool to be able to do like a part like that.
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  That is like, that has to be challenging to nail, what, so cool to be able to pull it off multiple times a week.
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  Yeah, absolutely.
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  Sometimes we look at each other, we're like, oh man, it's a wonder for sure.
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  But I think we're just both so inspired by the work that we want to give it 100 % every time.
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  For sure, absolutely.
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  So how would you say then, maybe a show such as this, know, such as Gotta Dance has helped you grow as a performer?
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  I would say, uh Gotta Dance has helped me grow as a performer in that it's stretched me so many multiple ways, you know.
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  ah The fact that I get to do incredible swing dance partnering every day.
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  I didn't grow up swing dancing or anything like that.
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  That's a little bit of a newer format to me.
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  We did have swing dances in high school instead of like a mid winter or something, which was kind of fun.
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  And I think I took a swing dance class to get out of gym class one time.
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  ah But besides that, I'm a little newer to the Lindy Hop scene.
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  It's been incredible to join.
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  But getting to do something like that, that I'm more of a ballet, contemporary ballet partner, it's stretched me a totally different way.
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  And then I'll quick change to go put on some tap shoes for I Love a Piano, and then I'm snapping my fingers later on for Cool.
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  I feel like I'm a pretty versatile artist, a dancer, and a lot of the other cast members are too, but this show will stretch you in every direction.
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  at the entire time.
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  Not only are you getting a full workout, you're almost getting a whole master class and like, okay, I've got to brush up this skill for sure.
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  So it keeps you as versatile as you can be for sure.
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  Wow, I mean, when you think about it that way, I mean, you have to be like a master of everything in a way when it comes to dance.
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  Absolutely, and the audition process was kind of like that as well.
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  I think the first day we did Cool from West Side, the second day we did Partnering from Contact, and actually Samantha was my dance partner in the audition, so it was kind of
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  cool that we got to stay along as the show progressed.
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  And then the next day was Moses of Poses, like really hard tap dancing.
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  So it really, the entire time I was like, all right, can you do it?
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  So it was a pretty cool.
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  ah
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  It was a great feeling to stretch all those techniques ah we've kind of been developing since we were kids, you
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  So then one final question for you then is just what are you hoping audiences take away from Gotta Dance?
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  I hope that audiences take away just the beauty of these iconic works, you know, and how important it is to preserve them.
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  You know, I mean, we really have the best of the best from Broadway and it's just, it's been incredible to be a part of.
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  It's incredible to do on stage.
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  And I just hope that audiences kind of get to feel that feeling that we're feeling when we're doing it.
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  Something about like snapping your fingers and doing that Robbins choreography just hits you like so in your core of like, wow, this is like.
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  beautiful dance.
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  This is just like, you know, the embodiment of human emotion or whatever.
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  But it hits the dancers on such a deep level, even though we're so tired, it feels special.
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  And I just hope that the audience gets to feel that feeling as well.
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  Absolutely, I hope that they do as well.
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  I hope every night is just as special as it can be for both the audience and for you on stage.
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  But thank you so much for being here and for your time, Anthony.
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  It's been an absolute pleasure talking with you.
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  Yeah, thank you so much, Brian.
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  Appreciate it.
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  So God of Dance is currently running at stage 42 in NYC, so get your tickets now and we'll see you at the show.
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  See you there.