Latest / Making The Impact - A Dance Competition Podcast / Swings and Understudies - The Unsung Heroes of the Dance World

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Swings and Understudies - The Unsung Heroes of the Dance World · Making The Impact - A Dance Competition Podcast

0:07
SPEAKER_02: Have you ever wondered what goes on behind the table at a dance competition?
0:10
SPEAKER_02: Exactly what are the judges looking for anyway?
0:13
SPEAKER_02: This is Making the Impact, a dance competition podcast.
0:15
SPEAKER_02: Each week we'll cover a different topic related to the world of competitive dance from the perspective of the judges behind the table.
0:25
SPEAKER_02: Being a swing or an understudy is not a skill that's usually taught in a dance studio study, but maybe it should be.
0:31
SPEAKER_02: Today on Making the Impact, we're joined by former competitive dancers and professional dancers, Miranda Quinn and Brittany Nicholas, who give us the inside scoop on what it's like to be a swing and an understudy.
0:44
SPEAKER_05: Hey everybody, welcome to this week's episode of Making the Impact.
0:47
SPEAKER_05: I'm your host, Courtney Worth.
0:49
SPEAKER_07: And I'm here, like always, with my fabulous co-host, Leslie Mueller.
0:53
SPEAKER_02: We're back for another week of Great Podcast in Court.
0:56
SPEAKER_07: And it's November! Can you believe it?
0:59
SPEAKER_02: I literally can't.
1:01
SPEAKER_02: We're gonna maybe not think about that so much because November just means then December, then January.
1:06
SPEAKER_02: It just all keeps coming.
1:07
SPEAKER_07: But it also means that competition season is getting closer.
1:11
SPEAKER_02: Right around the corner.
1:13
SPEAKER_02: I hope everybody is ready.
1:14
SPEAKER_02: I hope everybody has been listening to all our episodes in preparation.
1:17
SPEAKER_02: Um, and this one today might just be helpful for some people as they move into competition season.
1:23
SPEAKER_02: I don't know.
1:23
SPEAKER_07: Yeah, I think so.
1:24
SPEAKER_07: I think this is um an episode that is going to be extremely helpful for any dancer who plans to pursue a professional career on any side of the industry, professional performance career.
1:36
SPEAKER_07: But I also think this is going to be an eye-opening episode for a lot of Broadway lovers and a lot of studios and teachers who want to prepare their dancers for the professional world because you're gonna hear all about what it takes to be a swing and an understudy.
1:52
SPEAKER_07: And that might be something that you already incorporate into your studio training.
1:56
SPEAKER_07: Maybe you have understudies ready to go if someone gets injured for a competition dance.
2:01
SPEAKER_07: But there is so much more that goes into it, especially when you become a professional.
2:06
SPEAKER_07: And I think that for teachers to hear, you know, how intense it is as a professional dancer being a swing on Broadway or in concert dance, maybe you can start incorporating more ways into the studio training to prep your dancers better for the real world.
2:21
SPEAKER_02: Yes, so get ready, folks.
2:23
SPEAKER_02: We are about to dive into an amazing conversation.
2:26
SPEAKER_07: But before we do, let's hear from our season five sponsors.
2:29
SPEAKER_05: Our season five premiere sponsor, Francisco Gela Danceworks, offers some exceptional training opportunities for dancers throughout the year.
2:36
SPEAKER_05: If you're seeking an intensive to attend over Labor Day weekend before you head back to your dance season, then check out Francisco Gela Dance Works Pre-Professional Dancer Institute.
2:45
SPEAKER_05: Taking place in beautiful Santa Fe, New Mexico from August 29th through September 2nd, 2024.
2:51
SPEAKER_07: This intensive provides knowledge to dancers to better aid them in the transition after high school graduation.
2:56
SPEAKER_07: This is especially recommended for dancers considering college or secondary training programs.
3:01
SPEAKER_07: Throughout the five-day intensive, dancers will learn all about different programs for post-graduation, how to build a resume, create audition submissions, apply for scholarships, and so much more.
3:11
SPEAKER_07: And of course, there will be lots of dancing involved, with classes that are curated towards a typical college dance curriculum to allow dancers to understand what will be expected of them in a college dance program.
3:21
SPEAKER_07: Parents are also welcome to observe select classes and workshops throughout the event to better help their dancers' journey on the best path for their future.
3:28
SPEAKER_05: This intensive is open to advanced dancers ages 13 through 18.
3:33
SPEAKER_05: Mark your calendars and join Francisco Gela and faculty at this wonderful summer dance workshop.
3:38
SPEAKER_05: Learn more about the program and what is offered by visiting their website at PreProdancerInstitute.com and use our exclusive podcast promo code MakingTheIMPAT at checkout for$75 off your registration.
3:52
SPEAKER_05: Thank you to Francisco Gela Danceworks for being our season five premiere sponsor.
3:56
SPEAKER_07: All right, Dance World, we are here today on Making the Impact to talk about swinging and understudying.
4:03
SPEAKER_07: It's something maybe that might be a new word for y'all in the dance world.
4:07
SPEAKER_07: What what does it mean to be a swing in a show, in a musical?
4:11
SPEAKER_07: What does it mean to be the understudy in a dance company?
4:15
SPEAKER_07: We're gonna learn all about that today.
4:17
SPEAKER_07: I can't wait to talk about it because it's something that I've just recently added to my resume, and I've had I've dabbled in it here and there throughout my professional career, but it is a whole new beast to become a swing or an understudy.
4:31
SPEAKER_07: And I they are crucial and a crucial part of every show, whether you are in a dance company, whether you are in a professional tour, a Broadway show, whatever it is, we need those swings and understudies, y'all.
4:44
SPEAKER_07: They help make the show stay afloat.
4:46
SPEAKER_07: And I can't wait to chat with our two special guests who are joining us, brand new guests to our podcast.
4:52
SPEAKER_07: And the very first guest who is going to be bringing the company and concert side of the discussion to the table here is someone I have known her entire life.
5:02
SPEAKER_07: I remember the day that she walked into our dance studio, and I have watched her grow over the years, for so many years, into an absolutely breathtaking, stunning dancer.
5:12
SPEAKER_07: I had the opportunity to go watch her perform live with the prestigious Alvin Ailey Company in New York City at City Center two years ago, and it was such a dream come true to see her up there on that stage.
5:25
SPEAKER_07: I'm so proud of all the she's accomplished, and she is the daughter of my dance studio owner who taught me everything I know, and I love her so, so, so much.
5:36
SPEAKER_07: I'm excited to welcome Miranda Quinn to the podcast.
5:39
SPEAKER_07: Welcome, Miranda.
5:40
SPEAKER_00: Hey, thanks for having me.
5:41
SPEAKER_00: I'm so excited to be here.
5:43
SPEAKER_00: I'm excited to learn about the Broadway side of swaying because I don't know much about that.
5:48
SPEAKER_07: Yes, and you never know, Randy.
5:50
SPEAKER_07: You might one day you might be on Broadway.
5:52
SPEAKER_07: One day, maybe.
5:54
SPEAKER_07: I'm so happy that you are here and I'm so proud of everything that you've accomplished in your beautiful dance career that is still just kicking off.
6:02
SPEAKER_07: I know that you recently graduated and you're gonna tell us all about that, but I just want to let you know that you inspire me and I'm so proud of you.
6:11
SPEAKER_07: Thank you so much.
6:12
SPEAKER_07: You're welcome.
6:14
SPEAKER_07: So, Miranda, if you wouldn't mind telling all of the listeners out there a little bit more about you, where you grew up, what your childhood training was like, if you want to share any career credits, where you went to school, and what you're working on now.
6:27
SPEAKER_00: Of course.
6:28
SPEAKER_00: So, hey everyone.
6:29
SPEAKER_00: I'm Miranda Quinn, and I grew up with Courtney in Baltimore, Maryland, dancing my entire life, uh, from the moment I could walk.
6:38
SPEAKER_00: And uh we both went to Mid-Atlantic Center for the Performing Arts.
6:42
SPEAKER_00: And I graduated from there uh at the age of 18 and went to the Juilliard School for their dance division, and I had a really amazing journey there.
6:54
SPEAKER_00: All of the good, the bad, the just crazy self-discovery, and discovering so much about dance that we weren't necessarily exposed to at our home studio.
7:05
SPEAKER_00: So from there I decided to stay in New York, and I got lucky enough to graduate and start that same week at Alvinelli American Dance Theater.
7:14
SPEAKER_06: Wow, that's awesome.
7:15
SPEAKER_00: And this is my fifth season with them.
7:18
SPEAKER_00: I, however, am currently injured.
7:21
SPEAKER_00: Oh no.
7:21
SPEAKER_00: So that's a bit of a bummer.
7:23
SPEAKER_00: But it's really been amazing, and I hope to be there for many more years to come.
7:29
SPEAKER_00: So this is just a little bump in the road.
7:31
SPEAKER_00: But yeah, it's it's company life is everything that I was dreaming of for so long.
7:37
SPEAKER_00: And Ailey was not something that I was originally looking at as a prospective company, but it has turned out to be everything and more that I could have ever wanted and didn't know that I need.
7:49
SPEAKER_00: So yeah.
7:50
SPEAKER_07: I love that.
7:50
SPEAKER_07: I think what's so exciting about Ailey, and and something that I actually like recently learned about Ailey, I think whenever someone thinks of the Ailey dance, like the company, I I immediately think of Horton, modern dance.
8:02
SPEAKER_07: Like that is what I think of a lateral tea.
8:05
SPEAKER_07: Like that is what I think of.
8:06
SPEAKER_07: And I'm like, that is all you do.
8:08
SPEAKER_07: That's what I assume.
8:09
SPEAKER_07: That's all you do.
8:11
SPEAKER_07: But the Alvin Ailey Dance Company Dance Theater is so much more than just lateral teas and Horton.
8:17
SPEAKER_07: They are doing every style of dance, honestly.
8:20
SPEAKER_07: Like, I mean, do y'all maybe not tap?
8:23
SPEAKER_07: I don't know if y'all do y'all tap?
8:24
SPEAKER_00: They love to fake a timestamp.
8:26
unknown: Okay.
8:28
SPEAKER_00: You know choreographers love a fake time stamp.
8:31
SPEAKER_00: A little soft shoe moment.
8:33
SPEAKER_00: Yes, yes.
8:34
SPEAKER_00: Um, especially because it's there's a lot of our rep that's based around jazz music and jazz dance.
8:41
SPEAKER_00: So that of course is an element of that.
8:43
SPEAKER_00: But going back to the Horton part, I had only taken strictly Horton modern class, uh, my senior year at Juilliard, so I really didn't have that much experience with the Horton technique and like having to memorize all the things.
8:58
SPEAKER_00: But that really hasn't affected my ability to dive into the company because a lot of our work is just it's it's basically what we did growing up.
9:08
SPEAKER_00: Like you just have to be ready to switch from one genre to the next, which I love.
9:12
SPEAKER_00: And yeah, just about finding the right style and the passion, but it doesn't really matter if you've had a certain training in a certain technique, which is very nice.
9:22
SPEAKER_07: Yeah, and I think that's really interesting to hear.
9:24
SPEAKER_07: And it actually made me think of Francisco Gella, who was on our podcast last year and talked about modern dance, and that something similar happened to him.
9:33
SPEAKER_07: And I don't want to like misquote, but I feel like and Leslie, I don't know if you remember, but he he trained in a specific style of modern at his college, but then got into a dance company that was a completely different style of modern.
9:46
SPEAKER_02: One of them was Lamon.
9:47
SPEAKER_07: Yeah, one of them was Lamone.
9:48
SPEAKER_07: I can't remember.
9:49
SPEAKER_02: I don't remember if it was that was his beginning or his where he ended up, but yeah.
9:52
SPEAKER_07: But I thought it was so interesting because he was like, I was playing catch up, it was a whole new thing I had to figure out.
9:57
SPEAKER_07: And it's like, yes, but they saw something in you.
10:00
SPEAKER_07: They could tell that you would be able to adapt to this so easy and effortlessly, even though you only had one year of Horton under your belt, you know, for Ailey, and knowing there's so much more to the Ailey company besides just Horton, and that you're gonna be doing this jazz and you're gonna be doing contemporary, you're gonna be doing other styles of modern.
10:18
SPEAKER_07: So yeah, and also I think that goes hand in hand with being an understudy because you have to be able to be like willing and have the training to jump around in different styles throughout the the rep in the company.
10:31
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, I mean, I think with any kind of performance career, being able to be multifaceted in and well-rounded in all of the techniques and all the training is super important.
10:42
SPEAKER_00: But then as we all know, it goes so much further beyond just the technique.
10:46
SPEAKER_00: So Yeah.
10:47
SPEAKER_07: Yeah.
10:47
SPEAKER_07: And I can't wait to dive into this and hear all about your experience with the company.
10:51
SPEAKER_07: So thanks for joining us today.
10:53
SPEAKER_07: All right, our next special guest is one of my oldest friends, one of uh my oldest dance friends in New York City as well, and someone who I have had the opportunity to watch her career blossom through the years.
11:06
SPEAKER_07: And when we said we were gonna sit down and do a swing episode, I was like, we I I know I know the perfect person, and there's no one else that can be on this episode because she is the ultimate swing in my eyes.
11:18
SPEAKER_07: Her entire career has been a swing, and she is the best swing.
11:24
SPEAKER_07: I still like I cannot wait to hear all about the journey because every time she tells me about her adventures in swing land on Broadway, I get my I start having heart palpitations and sweating and stress because of what she goes through on the daily, and she does it with just so effortlessly and amazingly.
11:43
SPEAKER_07: The one, the only, the super swing, Miss Brittany Nicholas in the house.
11:48
SPEAKER_07: Hey girl.
11:49
SPEAKER_01: Hey girl.
11:51
SPEAKER_01: Thanks for having me.
11:52
SPEAKER_01: Hi, everyone.
11:54
SPEAKER_07: I am so excited that you could squeeze this in.
11:57
SPEAKER_07: I know that you are currently, you are currently on Broadway as the swing in the most popular show, and Juliet.
12:05
SPEAKER_07: It is such a hot show.
12:07
SPEAKER_07: I loved it when I got to come see you in it.
12:09
SPEAKER_07: So shout out to uh all your hard work over there and to all of our listeners.
12:12
SPEAKER_07: If you are in New York City, go see Brittany in Anne Juliet.
12:16
SPEAKER_07: Most likely she will be on, even though she's the swing.
12:19
SPEAKER_07: She will probably be on stage.
12:21
SPEAKER_02: True.
12:21
SPEAKER_02: True.
12:22
SPEAKER_02: She's not on stage tonight, though, because it's Monday.
12:25
SPEAKER_02: We caught you.
12:26
SPEAKER_02: We caught you on your one day.
12:27
SPEAKER_01: Yes.
12:28
SPEAKER_01: On the one day off.
12:29
SPEAKER_01: But like speaking of swinging, last week we hit like four tracks within the week.
12:34
SPEAKER_07: Yeah, you were doing four different people.
12:36
SPEAKER_07: Do you believe in people's track?
12:38
SPEAKER_02: We're gonna get into this, but like, do you forget who you are personally sometimes?
12:42
SPEAKER_02: Because I'd be like, who even am I in my personal life?
12:45
SPEAKER_01: Yeah, you know, speaking of like we'll get into it later, but there was one moment where like I like was in a transition and then like uh one of my castmates was like looking at me and I was looking at him, and and then I was like, Oh, sorry, I forgot who I was.
12:58
SPEAKER_01: We like were like face to face because the traffic pattern was supposed to happen, and I was like, my fault.
13:06
SPEAKER_07: You're like, sorry, I was I was woman two yesterday, and now I'm woman four.
13:12
SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
13:12
SPEAKER_01: I mean, to make it even trickier, like we do two shows Wednesday, two shows Saturday.
13:16
SPEAKER_01: So all the other shows I was off.
13:18
SPEAKER_01: So these happen on the two show Wednesday and the two show Saturday.
13:21
SPEAKER_07: So you were a different person on at the that the matinee versus the evening.
13:26
SPEAKER_07: Holy moly.
13:27
SPEAKER_07: Girl, again, I'm already sweating, like I don't know how you are just such a pro.
13:33
SPEAKER_07: And please tell the world all about you, what your early dance training was like, and then all your fabulous swing credits that you've acquired through the years.
13:43
SPEAKER_01: Yes.
13:43
SPEAKER_01: Oh my god, I love it because I was a competition kid.
13:47
SPEAKER_01: So I grew up in Newport News, Virginia, started dancing at four, started competing at 10, was the child that like loved everything about dance.
13:58
SPEAKER_01: So that led to me just being in all the dances of the competition studio, and you know, you do dance camp.
14:06
SPEAKER_01: So I would do dance camp and learn like 10 to 12 routines in one week, not realizing like, oh, actually, that might be where my tr swing training has come from potentially.
14:17
SPEAKER_01: But yep.
14:18
SPEAKER_01: And then funny that we're talking about Alvin Ailey.
14:22
SPEAKER_01: My first like trip to New York where I was like, oh, I think I want to stay here was I was 16 and I did the summer intensive of Alvin Ailey.
14:31
SPEAKER_01: Before that, I was doing a camp called Destination Broadway that was maybe like a week long.
14:37
SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
14:37
SPEAKER_01: But this was a full summer, and I was like, wow, everyone up here didn't know if I wanted to do Broadway yet, but I was like, everyone up here loves to dance, I love to dance, we were all artists, we were all coming from different places with this like one dream and like passion.
14:56
SPEAKER_01: So that's when I was like, Okay, maybe I can do New York.
15:01
SPEAKER_01: I also love to sing, so I said, What can I do where I can dance and sing and act all in one?
15:10
SPEAKER_01: And I uh was actually found by a judge at Starquest, and they said you should maybe come to New York and try musical theater.
15:19
SPEAKER_01: And I said, Huh?
15:21
SPEAKER_01: Wow, I didn't know and so I came up during my senior year of high school, very first audition was Greece.
15:30
SPEAKER_01: Oh wow, okay.
15:31
SPEAKER_01: When it was on Broadway.
15:32
SPEAKER_01: So that was my first audition, and believe it or not, I got a callback, so I had to switch my flight and went through a couple callback rounds, didn't get it, but that was maybe the first time where me and my parents were like, wait, maybe there's something here we don't quite know, but yeah, started auditioning during my senior year and uh got really far.
15:54
SPEAKER_01: I ended up booking the non-union tour of hairspray, but could not go on it because I was not 18.
16:00
SPEAKER_01: Wow.
16:01
SPEAKER_01: I don't know.
16:01
SPEAKER_01: So that was a whole thing.
16:02
SPEAKER_01: I feel like I forgot that.
16:03
SPEAKER_01: I feel like I knew that I forgot.
16:05
SPEAKER_01: I had literally like bought new suitcases.
16:08
SPEAKER_01: It was I had one semester left, so I loaded all of my schoolwork on the computer.
16:14
SPEAKER_01: And my guy said, All right, because of the you know, states we're going to, she either needs to A, be emancipated, B, have a Wrangler, is there someone that can travel?
16:24
SPEAKER_01: It didn't really work out.
16:25
SPEAKER_01: Wow.
16:25
SPEAKER_01: But that was when my parents were like, Okay, well she booked a job.
16:29
SPEAKER_01: Right.
16:29
SPEAKER_01: So she's talented.
16:31
SPEAKER_01: Maybe she can, right.
16:32
SPEAKER_01: And so I asked them for one year between graduating high school and college.
16:37
SPEAKER_01: I said, Can I just get one year to go to New York, try it out?
16:41
SPEAKER_01: If it doesn't work, I'll come back and go to school.
16:43
SPEAKER_01: So just give me one year.
16:45
SPEAKER_01: Came up, stayed with family, family friends, hit the pavement hard.
16:49
SPEAKER_01: I was going to everything, had no idea what a type was, like any of that.
16:55
SPEAKER_01: I just had my little book of music with maybe two songs in it, all of my dance stuff, and just like went to all of the auditions.
17:02
SPEAKER_01: And then the year was up and hadn't booked anything.
17:06
SPEAKER_01: My parents said, All right, it's time for you to come home.
17:09
SPEAKER_01: I said, Fine, got on the bus, cried all the way home because I thought that I had failed and got home, ended up getting one last regional theater gig.
17:21
SPEAKER_01: So in in the middle of that year, I was doing regional equity gigs, but just not enough to be able to live on my own.
17:28
SPEAKER_01: So my parents were kind of like, what's happening here?
17:31
SPEAKER_01: But did one booked fireside theater.
17:34
SPEAKER_01: So that took me through the Christmas season, and then I had um registered for community classes starting in January.
17:41
SPEAKER_01: And the day after I got home, I got an audition for Billy Elliott, the national tour for my agent.
17:48
SPEAKER_01: Took the bus back up, went into the room, auditioned.
17:51
SPEAKER_01: It was very quick, maybe an hour.
17:54
SPEAKER_01: Went home, said, All right, well, you know, that's great.
17:57
SPEAKER_01: Got a call a couple days later saying, Can you come to the finals?
18:01
SPEAKER_01: And I said, sure.
18:02
SPEAKER_02: Got back on the bus.
18:03
SPEAKER_01: Came into the room, got back on the bus.
18:06
SPEAKER_01: You're right, got back on the bus, came all the way up to New York, was in finals for I swear it felt like an eight-hour day.
18:12
SPEAKER_01: It was just, it was me and all of the children.
18:15
SPEAKER_01: If you know Billy Elliott is about, of course, like Billy, who's a young boy that wants to dance.
18:20
SPEAKER_01: So I was auditioning with all of the ballet girls, even though I was an adult, round after round after round after round, finally made it to the end, and they said, if you get this, could you move to Chicago?
18:31
SPEAKER_01: I said yes, because you always say yes, not thinking I was gonna get it.
18:35
SPEAKER_01: Went on back home.
18:36
SPEAKER_01: Yep.
18:37
SPEAKER_01: After that, I said, Cool, great.
18:39
SPEAKER_01: I I at least made it one last thing, made it to the finals.
18:43
SPEAKER_01: Let's go do my little Christmas gig, let's go to college.
18:47
SPEAKER_01: Went to went to Fireside and did my Christmas gig.
18:51
SPEAKER_01: We rehearsed for two weeks, and then the day that I went into tech, got the call that I booked the first national tour of Billy Elliott as the swing.
18:58
SPEAKER_01: Had no idea what a swing was at that point.
19:00
SPEAKER_04: Yes.
19:01
SPEAKER_01: And then I've just been swinging ever since.
19:05
SPEAKER_01: Ever since.
19:07
SPEAKER_07: Yep.
19:07
SPEAKER_07: For all of the listeners, like tell us the other shows that you've swung.
19:11
SPEAKER_01: So from there, actually, it all kind of connects to from there, that gave me my Broadway debut, which we can get into later because that's a very wild swing story.
19:21
SPEAKER_01: And then from there I did Royal Caribbean, which Royal Caribbean was interesting because I did Mamma Mia, but of course, there was the aerial show called Blue Planet.
19:35
SPEAKER_01: So I actually became the aerial swing.
19:37
SPEAKER_01: They taught me how to fly, and I became the person that covered the aerialist.
19:41
SPEAKER_01: Eventually that led to like being a principal aerialist throughout the towards the middle of the contract because someone unfortunately got hurt.
19:49
SPEAKER_01: But then from there, I did Matilda the musical as a swing.
19:55
SPEAKER_01: And then from there I did Mean Girls, the original Broadway cast as a swing.
20:01
SPEAKER_01: Um, then the pandemic happened, of course, you know, Broadway shut down.
20:06
SPEAKER_01: I went away and said, All right, let's let's find something else.
20:09
SPEAKER_01: And then here comes Anne Juliet into my lap when I'm sitting in Atlanta.
20:14
SPEAKER_04: Yep.
20:15
SPEAKER_01: And I went into that call, and that was the first call where Anne Juliet is interesting because it's a lot of commercial dancers.
20:22
SPEAKER_01: So I went into that audition and I was like, How did I get here?
20:26
SPEAKER_01: Like this is not my wheelhouse, but you know, again, we train in everything, competition worlds.
20:31
SPEAKER_01: So I said, I'll do my best, my little jazz baby, freestyle best.
20:35
SPEAKER_01: And you know, they were looking for like swing experience and everything, because of course they needed swings and and the director also worked on Matilda, which I swung in Dance Captain.
20:47
SPEAKER_01: I didn't say a dance captain Matilda.
20:49
SPEAKER_01: So he's like, Great, like, would you like to swing in Dance Captain this?
20:52
SPEAKER_01: So yeah, so every big, like, major project I've done has been swinging and connected in each in in a in a way.
21:00
SPEAKER_07: You knew someone and it led you to the next.
21:02
SPEAKER_07: It's and that's the other thing.
21:03
SPEAKER_07: And then we can we can just jump right in and start talking about this.
21:06
SPEAKER_07: But I feel like that the something that's interesting, especially speaking in the Broadway world, because I'm sure we'll get into this, Miranda.
21:16
SPEAKER_07: I feel like that when you're in a company, everyone's going to internally understudy the different rep at a point pending what it is, versus when you're on Broadway, you are specifically hired to be the quote unquote swing and understudy.
21:32
SPEAKER_07: Both those terms are kind of different in the Broadway world because an understudy typically is covering a principal role, and the swing is typically the uh oftentimes depend on the type of show, a dancer, if it's an heavy dance show, who can jump into multiple different ensemble tracks whenever someone is out.
21:52
SPEAKER_07: So I think that what I've found as I've watched my friends be swings through the years in the Broadway world, is that once You're a swing, you're a swing because that is a skill that is very hard to do well, to teach, to become.
22:08
SPEAKER_07: And if they, if they see on your resume that you were successful at this, and they can, and then the choreographer is gonna be like, Yeah, oh yeah, they were they were awesome, they would jump in and they would have no problem at all.
22:20
SPEAKER_07: Then that means you're reliable and more valuable.
22:22
SPEAKER_07: And that could be an advantage for you to get the job, another job and another job, because they're you start like I in my brain, I'm like, oh, I know so many like fantastic swings where their entire career has been being a swing.
22:35
SPEAKER_07: Might not be for everybody, might not be everyone's.
22:38
SPEAKER_07: I know a lot of dancers who have swung that are like, I absolutely hate this.
22:41
SPEAKER_07: I want nothing to do with this.
22:42
SPEAKER_07: I want to be back in my ensemble track on stage every day.
22:46
SPEAKER_07: Because for all of our listeners, if you're a swing or if you're an understudy, you aren't on stage.
22:52
SPEAKER_07: You are off stage.
22:53
SPEAKER_07: And that's something to remember.
22:55
unknown: Yeah.
22:55
SPEAKER_02: Miranda, I want to hear a little bit about so, you know, like we've said, it there's a little bit of a difference in terms of uh understudies and swings in the commercial world versus the Broadway world versus the contemporary modern world.
23:08
SPEAKER_02: So is first of all, since we really don't know, I really don't know, are swings a thing in your company or or not?
23:15
SPEAKER_00: Yes and no.
23:16
SPEAKER_00: First, I didn't know that that differentiation differentiation existed in Broadway, so that's a good no.
23:22
SPEAKER_00: We at least at Ailey, I mean, this is the only company I've ever been with, so I only know the Ailey culture in the Ailey way thus far, but we don't necessarily call people understudies, maybe covers or but even that most of the time means that you're in either second or third cast.
23:42
SPEAKER_02: Oh, okay.
23:43
SPEAKER_00: And that pretty much guarantees that you're you will perform at some point in the season because with the amount of rep that we have, it's sort of like competition dance where it's like, you know, we have 20 different pieces that you have to know all at once, and we're doing a different combination of those 20 pieces.
24:01
SPEAKER_00: Every show, like, no back-to-back show is the same.
24:04
SPEAKER_00: So there's no way for any one person to dance one piece of rep every time that it goes on.
24:10
SPEAKER_00: So pretty much everybody has to have that skill, but I do think that it's a bit of a I want to say a seniority thing almost, where like the new dancers are usually the ones that have to learn the most and cover the most things.
24:24
SPEAKER_00: And if someone's hurt or we just need somebody to learn like two tracks in one piece, it's usually the the newer dancers.
24:34
SPEAKER_00: And then as you get further along in your career, there you typically would, if you're doing well, move up to like first cast of things, so you're not really covering a whole bunch of things because you're usually just on all the time and have to be ready to go on for the first time.
24:50
SPEAKER_02: I think as we go through, I want to like intersperse a few terminology lessons here because there's so many words we use in dance that I think a lot of people don't know.
24:59
SPEAKER_02: So, Miranda, can you explain really quickly what a track is?
25:03
SPEAKER_00: Yes, so a track is like a uh similar to a Broadway role, or you know, you are you are this specific person that this dance was uh created on, or this pol this part, this role in the dance.
25:16
SPEAKER_00: So you follow that person the entire way, or that track is made on you, and somebody else can learn your track, meaning they will learn everything that you do in this piece.
25:29
SPEAKER_07: Now, I do have a question about that in the in the concert Broadway world.
25:33
SPEAKER_07: So you mentioned something about like having double casts.
25:37
SPEAKER_07: So so for some rep, there would be one cast that dances together and an entirely separate cast where each where a different person learned each person's track, but like they're not like like let's say if you were in cast one, but then you got injured, would the person who was you in tr in cast two jump into your spot, or would they just put that would that happen or yes.
26:01
SPEAKER_07: Okay, so so they could like interchange between the casts, but each there's like it sounds like there might be like between one to two covers or understudies per track in certain rep.
26:12
SPEAKER_00: Yes, actually, we are a union company under Agma, so contractually we have to have two casts, we have to have covers for everybody.
26:21
SPEAKER_00: Wow, and it's definitely needed because people start dropping applause for contours just because of the rigor of it.
26:29
SPEAKER_00: But then also there's uh depending on the choreographer, sometimes we have pieces where the choreographer or whoever comes to set the piece doesn't want the casts to mix.
26:41
SPEAKER_06: Uh-huh.
26:42
SPEAKER_00: So, you know, they they might just leave that spot empty and we'll like kind of fudge it and figure out a way to just make it work.
26:50
SPEAKER_00: But most of the time, I would say at least 90% of the time, that's not the case, and we can intermix, or it's like a combination of you have a first cast and a second cast that are completely different people, and then the third cast is a mix of those people because some people had to learn two different roles or whatever.
27:08
SPEAKER_07: Oh my gosh.
27:10
SPEAKER_07: All right, I'm getting well, you know what I will say, and like let's jump over to like the Britney side of things really quick in the Broadway world, because I'm not saying that I don't know, just hearing that it almost sounds a little bit not easier in any in any way, but a little bit nicer to know, like, okay, I have somebody that's that can be me.
27:30
SPEAKER_07: And you know, and I feel like in in the Broadway world, there's like such a high expectation of there is one person that needs to be eight grade people in an two-hour show, you know.
27:43
SPEAKER_01: It's almost like we don't have enough people.
27:45
SPEAKER_01: Exactly.
27:46
SPEAKER_01: When you when we hear people, it's almost like the swing should be an extra cast off scene.
27:52
SPEAKER_01: Totally.
27:53
SPEAKER_01: But it's never that the budget.
27:56
SPEAKER_01: It's you know what I mean?
27:57
SPEAKER_01: The budget, right?
27:58
SPEAKER_00: We never feel like we have enough either.
27:59
SPEAKER_01: Yeah, right.
28:00
SPEAKER_01: So, like it's you know, I mean, uh this show, Anne Juliet, is is great because so we have six ensemble female identifying tracks, six male ensemble identifying tracks, and then there are three swings on each side.
28:18
SPEAKER_04: Okay.
28:18
SPEAKER_01: But the cool thing about Anne Juliet is like the swings can mix because we they've created it where like the swings are also our own player costume track.
28:31
SPEAKER_01: So, yes, we're doing someone else's track, but you don't even have to know if that person's male or female or whatever.
28:39
SPEAKER_01: We can kind of like float around.
28:41
SPEAKER_01: And I still feel like we don't have enough people.
28:43
SPEAKER_07: Well, when you look at it like that, then that means that's wait, so that's six people for 12 ensembles.
28:49
SPEAKER_01: Yes.
28:50
SPEAKER_01: So, like if you think about it, that actually is plenty of it should be.
28:54
SPEAKER_01: It sounds like it is.
28:56
SPEAKER_01: Yeah, and and we work the Brits are very good at being at doing a first, second, third cover.
29:02
SPEAKER_01: Oh.
29:03
SPEAKER_01: So everybody has priority tracks, and normally you will go on for those priority tracks first.
29:08
SPEAKER_01: So each of us, we have two priority tracks that we kind of learned first and then second, third.
29:14
SPEAKER_01: Whereas, I mean, Matilda, there were nine uh like children, and I don't even know how many adults there were, but there were maybe there was like two swings for that.
29:26
SPEAKER_01: I feel like, and Juliet actually is one of the more well-covered.
29:31
SPEAKER_01: That's great.
29:32
SPEAKER_02: And y'all are considered off-stage swings, is the terminology you would use.
29:36
SPEAKER_01: Yes, we're considered off-stage swings.
29:37
SPEAKER_01: Yes.
29:38
SPEAKER_01: So there is um in the Broadway world, there is something called an on-stage swing where that person is their own track and they've made it so that that track can should be able to be cut.
29:51
SPEAKER_01: Though I also have spoken to some friends where they're like, well, the on-stage track still can't be cut, and the swings are covering the on-stage track, but more than likely you should be able to like work around if you have to lose that track to something else.
30:06
SPEAKER_01: But we are off-stage swings, so that means that we come to the show and we sit backstage on standby, whether we are in the show or not.
30:15
SPEAKER_01: Got it.
30:16
SPEAKER_00: And you are the ensemble is is a set number of people, and there are no other people except for the swings that can do their roles.
30:24
SPEAKER_00: Yes, yes.
30:26
SPEAKER_01: So the way our union works too, so um, we're part of Actors Equity.
30:30
SPEAKER_01: There are also so many rules and regulations to it where if somebody is on stage and they're trying to cover, then that's a separate contract that they would have to sign.
30:41
SPEAKER_01: Well, like a separate writer.
30:42
SPEAKER_01: So there's a base contract and then there are writers, but yeah, so my writers specifically offstage swing as cast.
30:49
SPEAKER_01: And so the swings are pretty much the only ones that could kind of move around and do uh and cover everyone contractually.
30:58
SPEAKER_01: Wow.
30:59
SPEAKER_02: It's there's so much jurisdiction and like so many more like layers to this than just oh, I know this other part.
31:06
SPEAKER_02: Like you have to have an actual writer to your contract to say this person's allowed to go do that.
31:12
SPEAKER_02: Yes.
31:13
SPEAKER_07: And I think what's in like we kind of have heard like, you know, the those logistics of it, but like let's dive even deeper into some of the requirements of what your expectation is to be a swing.
31:27
SPEAKER_07: Like, what comes to mind that stresses me out and something that's always uh made me nervous?
31:32
SPEAKER_07: I don't think it's about theography.
31:34
SPEAKER_07: I I can retain choreography pretty quickly.
31:37
SPEAKER_07: So yeah, I've got the choreography figured out.
31:39
SPEAKER_07: I think it's more about jumping into new formation and traffic patterns, knowing where I should, yeah, blocking and blocking.
31:48
SPEAKER_07: What we mean by blocking is essentially formations for everybody out there.
31:52
SPEAKER_07: What formation am I supposed to stand in?
31:55
SPEAKER_07: Which window am I in?
31:56
SPEAKER_07: How do I get there?
31:57
SPEAKER_07: Yes, how do I get there without running into someone who's who's doing this every single day and then there's just so many extra elements that I'm like very important.
32:08
SPEAKER_07: The curtain.
32:11
SPEAKER_07: You're into the curtain once, so it's not good.
32:13
SPEAKER_07: Um my god.
32:14
SPEAKER_07: Like, do I cross downstage of this person?
32:16
SPEAKER_07: Do I cross upstage of this person?
32:18
SPEAKER_07: Like that's it's it's those little tiny details that could truly make or break the performance.
32:24
SPEAKER_07: Or what do I need to move a prop piece here?
32:26
SPEAKER_07: Do I do I not?
32:27
SPEAKER_07: Like, what about partnering?
32:28
SPEAKER_07: Did you have a chance, or did you just get thrown in mid-performance and you didn't have a chance to partner with the person that you're about to partner with?
32:36
SPEAKER_07: Like, I think that it can absolutely get dangerous.
32:40
SPEAKER_07: And I think that that for me is something that's always been made me really nervous is remembering that.
32:46
SPEAKER_07: Not remember, and like, yes, I'm sure, and I'm sure both of you, whenever you've had to understudy or cover or swing, I'm sure you made notes and lots of videos and all of this.
32:57
SPEAKER_07: Like any how I mean, how do y'all do it?
33:00
SPEAKER_07: Is there any tips you have that have been successful and helpful?
33:03
SPEAKER_07: Besides just putting it in your head, j you know, relying just on your brain to remember everything.
33:08
SPEAKER_01: So I when I first started, I had like color-coordinated um notes, but also I think I'm very fortunate because my first big swing contract was Billy Elliott.
33:19
SPEAKER_01: And one thing I can say about Billy Elliott is Billy Elliott was very organized when it came to traffic patterns and formations, like they were so organized where stage left would always go down stage of stage right.
33:33
SPEAKER_01: So so I was able to learn a lot of the tricks and trade from Billy Elliott, where I was fortunate enough where the traffic patterns made sense.
33:44
SPEAKER_07: That's nice.
33:45
SPEAKER_01: And then when it came to like creating new work, like for example, meme girls, it was like, all right, so we're gonna change uh formations here.
33:52
SPEAKER_01: Everybody just go.
33:53
SPEAKER_01: Okay.
33:53
SPEAKER_02: And then people would just go and they'd be like, it looks like that's your task, like because you originated that, right?
33:58
SPEAKER_02: That's because you decided it.
34:00
SPEAKER_01: Yeah, so yes.
34:01
SPEAKER_01: So, like that was a very interesting experience for me because then it it did bring on the extra layer of this person was all the way back here in this back corner, and then they decided to go downstage and loop upstage.
34:13
SPEAKER_01: Who are they?
34:14
SPEAKER_02: Who is that person?
34:15
SPEAKER_01: Who right, you know, and then end up here.
34:18
SPEAKER_01: So that took a another it took my swinging to another level, and it took a little bit of time.
34:24
SPEAKER_01: So now I just have to remember like the track piece by piece, and I uh have also kind of figured out like the way I swing, I like process of eliminate.
34:37
SPEAKER_01: So I would look at who was the most similar first.
34:41
SPEAKER_01: Oh, and then and then pick apart the pieces and be like, all right, so if I'm in this track, I did that one yesterday and they're pretty similar.
34:50
SPEAKER_02: Interesting.
34:50
SPEAKER_01: These bits and pieces.
34:52
SPEAKER_01: And so then now all I have to do is actually write down what the differences are.
34:56
SPEAKER_01: Like have a little flashcard or something.
34:58
SPEAKER_01: Yes, like a flashcard of I've kind of learned to do it like that because if not, it it takes like a lot of hours.
35:05
SPEAKER_01: Now, granted, I've now been doing this.
35:06
SPEAKER_01: Is my fourth like big, big contract.
35:09
SPEAKER_01: So now I can even look at a piece and just like just learn it all.
35:14
SPEAKER_01: Because I've just been doing I've analyzed it and then I can work backwards.
35:17
SPEAKER_01: I've just done it so many different ways.
35:19
SPEAKER_01: But at first it was a lot of notes and it was a lot of really trial and error, as long as you're safe.
35:26
SPEAKER_01: Now, Billy Elliott made sure that we were always safe.
35:28
SPEAKER_01: Yeah, but sometimes you just didn't get it, and I would be like, Oh, that that didn't really work.
35:34
SPEAKER_01: But there's also a skill to swinging that I have learned that kind of takes the pressure off of it's like not always gonna be perfect.
35:43
SPEAKER_01: And I have this thing where I say cancel and continue.
35:46
SPEAKER_01: I'm a dance captain now, so when I'm teaching people the show, I'm like cancel and continue and the new swings because sometimes it really is just so much information, and with day-to-day life, and now you know we're in the run for like over a year now, or hit coming up on our year mark, where it's just so much and so many moving pieces that as long as you're safe and you didn't run into anybody, then it's fine.
36:09
SPEAKER_01: And sometimes my brain has to be like, Oh no, I forgot what this traffic pattern is, but let me just get out the way, and then you learn another skill of just like making it work, making it work that has kind of helped and with the cast and communicating with the cast.
36:25
SPEAKER_01: Like, I'm like, okay, this is a little rough for me.
36:28
SPEAKER_01: Everybody help me out, and they're like, We got you, you know, and it's kind of we call it shove with love to where yeah, but it is just a lot of information and a lot of studying when you first start swinging.
36:41
SPEAKER_06: Yeah.
36:47
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38:23
SPEAKER_00: I was gonna say I have a similar process.
38:25
SPEAKER_00: I still like to take a lot of notes.
38:27
SPEAKER_00: Uh there's one I was really excited when you asked me about this episode, actually, because I had one experience where I think this was this was just last season, where we had this piece and it was not a full company piece, but it was a large group.
38:41
SPEAKER_00: And I was two different tracks and I was learning the tracks at the same time, and they were two people that stand next to each other and often do the same things with minor.
38:55
SPEAKER_00: So I also did like I would take notes where I would draw out the formation and like make X's for the little people, and then label which person am I and what's the initials for that for the original person that that role was created on.
39:09
SPEAKER_00: So, like, you know, today I'm Samantha, tomorrow I'm Megan, or later today I'm Megan.
39:14
SPEAKER_00: Right now I'm Samantha, whatever.
39:17
SPEAKER_00: But it was also complicated because one of the women that was next to me, I was learning this one girl, and the girl who I was learning, she was learning the person standing next to me.
39:28
SPEAKER_00: Jesus.
39:28
SPEAKER_00: So it's like three people standing next to each other, and all of us each role is between two of us, and like we would stand next to each other and look at each other.
39:37
SPEAKER_00: Am I young or unique?
39:38
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.
39:40
SPEAKER_00: So and also like mid-dance sometimes, because you would make it to a certain position or a certain formation where it's like, okay, I've reached this landmark.
39:49
SPEAKER_00: Right.
39:50
SPEAKER_00: What's next?
39:51
SPEAKER_00: And you just had to take it piece by piece because there was no way to like feel totally 100% confident from the start of the dance.
39:59
SPEAKER_00: So you kind of just figure it out as you go, and everybody helps each other.
40:02
SPEAKER_02: And well, and not to expect perfection, because both of you kind of alluded to that.
40:05
SPEAKER_02: It's like it's ne it's probably never going to be perfect.
40:07
SPEAKER_02: And our job is to keep the show going and to not crash and burn.
40:11
SPEAKER_02: So, like, whatever we can do to just like keep it going, I I love to hear that because I think as you know, competitive dancers, there's a lot of perfectionism that comes into play, and there's a lot of, oh my God, if we don't do it perfect this one time, and at least with professional work, you do get more opportunities.
40:27
SPEAKER_02: You get tomorrow, you get the next show to say, Let me do this a little bit better this time.
40:31
SPEAKER_02: And so I think for kids that's important to hear that, like, you know, not even professional dancers and and Broadway people are perfect all the time because you have scenarios like that where who am I today?
40:40
SPEAKER_02: I don't remember, but I'm gonna do this kickball change and get over here and hope for the best.
40:45
SPEAKER_07: Exactly.
40:45
SPEAKER_07: But you did mention some like, you know, Britt, you mentioned like shove with love, which that term we use all the time in Broadway because when a swing goes on, we all have to kind of collectively work together to help the swing.
41:00
SPEAKER_02: Support them, right?
41:01
SPEAKER_07: Everybody else is like if you have a regular ensemble on stage track, you are you know your show.
41:09
SPEAKER_07: Nothing changes.
41:10
SPEAKER_07: You get you put your costume on, you go out, you do the same exact thing every single night.
41:15
SPEAKER_07: You kind of almost, I mean, you shouldn't go on to autopilot, let's be real, but like at the same time, sometimes you might go into autopilot.
41:22
SPEAKER_07: When a swing comes on, there's a new, there's a new person on stage, and it might be a different, it might feel like a different environment.
41:27
SPEAKER_07: And it's not just about you going in autopilot that today.
41:31
SPEAKER_07: It's about let's help this swing get through the show.
41:34
SPEAKER_07: And you almost have to kind of put them first and help them if you because like their brain is on overdrive.
41:40
SPEAKER_07: They're just trying to get through it, especially if it's their first time going on and it's new to them.
41:44
SPEAKER_07: So I think the shove with love is uh a perfect example of teamwork.
41:49
SPEAKER_07: And I think we find that very often in competitive dance.
41:52
SPEAKER_07: Um, you know, there's a lot of talk about being a soloist and it's all about being soloos.
41:57
SPEAKER_07: Yeah, yeah, yeah.
41:58
SPEAKER_07: There's like a trillion million solos at competition.
42:00
SPEAKER_07: I judge them, I watch them, everyone has a solo.
42:02
SPEAKER_07: But are you able to dance with the team?
42:05
SPEAKER_07: Are you able to dance in a group?
42:07
SPEAKER_07: Are you able to understand what happens when you have to do a reblock last minute?
42:11
SPEAKER_07: How do we work as a team together?
42:13
SPEAKER_07: Are you gonna remember what the reblock is and the the change?
42:16
SPEAKER_07: Or is if an understudy is going on, if studios even have understudies, which like that is also very rare.
42:22
SPEAKER_07: Like a lot.
42:23
SPEAKER_07: I mean, Randy, did did we grow?
42:25
SPEAKER_07: Did we have understudies?
42:27
SPEAKER_07: Did y'all did you like in the later years of the studio have understudies and anything at the studio?
42:31
SPEAKER_00: In the later years, yes.
42:33
SPEAKER_00: And I think they're more so actually used now, but for me, there were times where people would understudy things, and that kind of just meant like we're just kind of lightly suggesting that you learn this just to keep things so that you wouldn't actually be like put in the things.
42:48
SPEAKER_07: Yeah.
42:48
SPEAKER_00: But I think it is more real now.
42:50
SPEAKER_07: Yeah, there's there are studios who are catching on.
42:53
SPEAKER_07: Like and when I've gone and done guest work, there have been some studios that are like, so we have you know, three people in the back learning as understudies just in case, you know, they'll they'll jump in.
43:02
SPEAKER_07: And I was like, that's fantastic.
43:04
SPEAKER_07: Like, thank you for that.
43:05
SPEAKER_07: Because you never know.
43:06
SPEAKER_07: The last I I can't tell you the amount of times that we've had to do a reblock like at competition in a hallway because someone got sick or injured and there's a hole in the formation.
43:16
SPEAKER_02: Like that's so much harder than just plopping somebody in there from day one, you know, as as an opportunity, as a special thing to do, or uh just learning experience.
43:26
SPEAKER_02: Whatever, whatever way you can get somebody in the room, it's a lot easier, I think, to do that than to have everybody panic, you know, the day over the day before.
43:35
SPEAKER_02: So spot speaking of rehearsals, I want to ask some questions about what it's like to rehearse as a swing or an understudy, because I feel as if it's a different world than uh it would be if you were just a regular Joe.
43:49
SPEAKER_02: So Brittany, I guess let's speak more on like a Billy Elliott where it was a set thing that had already been going on, as opposed to a mean girls where you were like almost helping create it.
43:59
SPEAKER_01: Yes.
44:00
SPEAKER_01: So Billy Elliott, the rehearsal process was it was a lot as a swing to be honest with you, because I think their expectation of everyone was just so high.
44:12
SPEAKER_01: But it was, like I said, a gift to me that I got to swing that and that be my first um swing job because it was already set in London.
44:23
SPEAKER_01: So basically all they did was take the entire thing, charts, they had Bible, everything, and then they plopped it over here.
44:31
SPEAKER_01: So everybody's track was already created.
44:33
SPEAKER_01: So it was a lot of homework as far as you know, I had to learn.
44:39
SPEAKER_01: I started out with three tracks, I think.
44:40
SPEAKER_01: So I was learning three tracks at once.
44:42
SPEAKER_01: But what was great about it was it was already set, the charts were already done, the dance Bible was already made, so none of it changed.
44:50
SPEAKER_01: Right.
44:50
SPEAKER_01: So once I started to add tracks on, the show was just the show.
44:56
SPEAKER_01: Sounds lovely.
44:57
SPEAKER_01: It was lovely.
44:59
SPEAKER_01: Sounds great.
44:59
SPEAKER_01: But I wanted to actually like piggyback real quick to the what Courtney was saying about working together.
45:04
SPEAKER_01: What was interesting about Billy Elliott, and I think it's it's great for like the the young dancers to hear is a lot of the dancers in Billy Elliott were competition dancers.
45:14
SPEAKER_01: And I specifically remember going back to the way the tracks were made, right?
45:18
SPEAKER_01: They took Billy Elliott and they took it over here and they plopped it.
45:21
SPEAKER_01: So a lot of the competition dancers, of course, were people who were just used to winning.
45:26
SPEAKER_01: And then they got they were part of this Broadway show where that track went to the back court and that track went over here.
45:33
SPEAKER_01: Yes, and it was such an experience because they were like, What do you mean I'm not in front?
45:39
SPEAKER_01: Wow.
45:39
SPEAKER_01: I'm not what do you mean?
45:41
SPEAKER_01: But the way it worked is everybody had a chance to be in the front.
45:44
SPEAKER_01: Everybody you could see everyone, sure.
45:46
SPEAKER_01: You go to a Broadway show, everyone could be seen.
45:48
SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
45:49
SPEAKER_01: But the learning of the tracks and for the the competition dancers and the newbies was a very hard thing starting out.
45:57
SPEAKER_01: Oh really?
45:57
SPEAKER_01: And they were the ones that had to teach us about teamwork.
46:00
SPEAKER_01: They were like, it's not about you.
46:02
SPEAKER_01: Right, it's about this whole group of people, it's about the show as a whole.
46:06
SPEAKER_01: We're gonna all work together.
46:07
SPEAKER_01: You can be seen wherever you are.
46:10
SPEAKER_01: Um also you're getting paid.
46:12
SPEAKER_02: I have literally always said this.
46:14
SPEAKER_02: Like, I want to be tree number two and get the same paycheck and not do all those key things.
46:19
SPEAKER_02: No, thank you.
46:22
SPEAKER_01: Right, no, I know.
46:22
SPEAKER_01: I'm like, oh, put me, put me over here.
46:24
SPEAKER_01: I'm gonna step touch.
46:25
SPEAKER_02: I'll just like really energetically and get my paycheck.
46:28
SPEAKER_02: Right.
46:28
SPEAKER_02: Thank you.
46:28
SPEAKER_01: Uh-huh.
46:29
SPEAKER_01: Right.
46:29
SPEAKER_01: Um little kids don't get it.
46:31
SPEAKER_01: They don't get it.
46:31
SPEAKER_01: But yeah, but we had to go through that because they were all, what, between the age of eight and sixteen, and they so that was an experience.
46:39
SPEAKER_01: But then Mean Girls was a completely different experience because I was part of the out-of-town tryout of Mean Girls.
46:46
SPEAKER_01: So they had done a lab, they had created the show in this lab, but then when we took it out of town, we would do previews, which, if you're not um familiar with the preview, you do the show for an audience, and then the creative team takes notes on like what works, what doesn't, and then you come back the next day, you have five hours, and next thing you know, they're putting a new song in or a new scene in, and they're completely making new dance numbers.
47:10
SPEAKER_01: And so the people who are their normal tracks are learning that, and then the swings are learning are stressing out backstage for all the multiple tracks and new pieces.
47:22
SPEAKER_01: So that was a a different level of like stress, I think I've experienced.
47:28
SPEAKER_01: But again, it took a lot of teamwork because it was, you know, for me, I'm like, yes, I'm learning these multiple tracks, but also we're all learning new material.
47:38
SPEAKER_07: That's true.
47:38
SPEAKER_01: So we all had to work together to be like, what is this vocal part?
47:43
SPEAKER_01: What's happening here?
47:44
SPEAKER_01: But it definitely was a new element to it because the show changed every preview, like every preview.
47:49
SPEAKER_01: And I actually surprisingly went on for all three of my first priority tracks in DC because injuries happened.
47:57
SPEAKER_01: Wow.
47:58
SPEAKER_01: And then so I was like part of the rehearsal creating the track and things like that.
48:02
SPEAKER_01: So that was a new experience when it comes to like creating an original show, and even with Anne Juliet, we did an out-of-town tryout.
48:10
SPEAKER_01: And yes, they brought the show over from London, but there are also a lot of changes with our show.
48:15
SPEAKER_01: So the added element of learning the multiple tracks along with new music and scenes and choreography is definitely like a very hard thing.
48:26
SPEAKER_01: It was a lot of homework.
48:28
SPEAKER_02: And we when you say homework, you mean I went to rehearsal for eight hours and then I went home for another two and a half and did homework and then tried to get some sleep when home.
48:37
SPEAKER_02: Yep, without that song in my head constantly and what vocal track was I.
48:41
SPEAKER_01: Yes.
48:42
SPEAKER_01: Yes, because also, I mean, when you sign on as a swing, that first rehearsal, if somebody is out, they expect you to go in.
48:50
SPEAKER_01: Which is insane.
48:51
SPEAKER_01: There is no, we're just gonna wait until so, and now COVID has even threw in another layer to that because when we started rehearsals with Anne Juliet, you know, the COVID cases were there, and you would just show up the next day and they'd be like, so-and-so is out, they have to go home.
49:08
SPEAKER_01: And so it was a lot of, yeah, it was staying up long after the everybody else is at home, probably sleeping with their one track, and just making sure that I knew the choreography, that I have at least enough notes, you know, where I can kind of get through it if I needed to.
49:24
SPEAKER_01: So, yes, it was a lot of like time on my own, just working on harmonies, working on lines, choreography, blocking, the whole thing at night.
49:34
SPEAKER_07: I want to jump in really quick, and then I would love to hear from Miranda because I'm sure that as you're listening, Miranda, you're probably like, wow, I've experienced exactly that in creating new work.
49:44
SPEAKER_07: Similar things.
49:45
SPEAKER_07: But I do want to just make a point uh to all of our listeners out there.
49:49
SPEAKER_07: If you were listening to Britney, she wasn't just talking about choreography when it comes to Broadway.
49:54
SPEAKER_07: You and we've talked about it on our musical theater episode before.
49:57
SPEAKER_07: And I'm sure if you've seen a Broadway show or a musical, dancers are dancing, but they're also singing.
50:03
SPEAKER_07: And sometimes they also have to use their voice and do a scene and have lines on stage, which which again, it might not be for everybody.
50:12
SPEAKER_07: There might be certain shows where you your track, now that we know what that is, has no lines at all.
50:18
SPEAKER_07: Or your track might be in a scene where you have to learn this scene and learn how to read lines.
50:24
SPEAKER_07: So that is another element on top of just the choreography and the blocking and the traffic patterns and the prop moving that you have to add to being a swing, which is something that I didn't even know for the longest time.
50:35
SPEAKER_07: I assume that if if I'm a soprano, I'm always singing soprano if I'm a sing, a swing.
50:40
SPEAKER_07: And that is not true.
50:41
SPEAKER_07: You have to change your your vocal lines that you're singing based on whose track you're in that night.
50:48
SPEAKER_07: If they, if you are an alto and that's who you're going off for, you got that's what you gotta sing tonight.
50:53
SPEAKER_07: And you have to know what their harmonies are.
50:55
SPEAKER_07: Like that that blows my mind.
50:57
SPEAKER_07: Yeah.
50:57
SPEAKER_07: I know.
50:58
SPEAKER_07: Especially for, you know, if there are dancer dancers who are jumping into a swing position and singing is already a little tricky for them.
51:05
SPEAKER_07: That's a whole another layer that's gonna be extremely challenging to navigate.
51:09
SPEAKER_07: Cause so many people have always been like, oh, Courtney, you'd be such a great swing.
51:12
SPEAKER_07: Cause I'm like, people are like, You're a great dancer.
51:14
SPEAKER_07: You have a great, you have you pick up fast, you have a smart brain.
51:16
SPEAKER_07: You could be a swing.
51:17
SPEAKER_07: I'm like, I don't know if I'd feel extremely confident to pull off all the vocal expectation.
51:23
SPEAKER_07: Uh, you you kind of have to be a triple threat to be a swing.
51:26
SPEAKER_07: And honestly, Brittany, that's why you've had such a great career as a swing, because you're such a great triple threat.
51:30
SPEAKER_01: Thank you.
51:32
SPEAKER_07: All right, Miranda, tell us all about your rehearsal journeys.
51:36
SPEAKER_00: Well, actually, packing of off of something you just said, you just mentioned confidence.
51:41
SPEAKER_00: I think this is a huge, it's a very intimidating thing because as a professional, as Britain was saying, as you were all saying, you are expected to be able to jump in, not just like kind of scraping by knowing the steps, but like, you know, you might be, and I have been, thrown into performances not really knowing what I'm doing, where I'm supposed to be, and you really have to fake it until you make it.
52:06
SPEAKER_00: But after doing that a couple of times, it definitely builds your confidence because you realize that there's this whole other I kind of enjoy it because it it turns on this other part of your brain that sometimes you don't realize is there, and like this whole other spark inside you that is just it's like a little superpower that's hidden.
52:28
SPEAKER_00: And sometimes these scary situations force it to be a little bit more.
52:31
SPEAKER_00: Well, I think it's magical.
52:33
SPEAKER_02: Like in those moments where you are relying on other people, yourself, your own knowledge of something that's brand new, and when it happens, like that's magic.
52:44
SPEAKER_02: You know, yes, it's magical when everybody has been rehearsed, we know what we're doing, we've done the show 50 times, everybody is on point.
52:50
SPEAKER_02: Like that's that's a pretty cool thing, too.
52:52
SPEAKER_00: But you're rarely gonna get that.
52:53
SPEAKER_00: Right, exactly.
52:53
SPEAKER_02: Like something's gonna change.
52:55
SPEAKER_02: There's gonna be one element that's gonna be different.
52:57
SPEAKER_02: And then, you know, like you said, Miranda, when you have those three dancers who all know each other's parts and it happens one time, like that's gotta be the most like electrifying feeling when it happens right, you know?
53:08
SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
53:09
SPEAKER_00: And being being properly rehearsed, I'm not sure about Broadway if if you know the ensemble knowing one track makes it any easier with that, but our rehearsal process is sometimes just it absolutely insane because you're trying to learn multiple tracks that maybe stand next to each other the whole time with other people who are also learning multiple tracks.
53:30
SPEAKER_00: You can't necessarily look for certain people in the room because they might be somebody else that day.
53:36
SPEAKER_07: Right.
53:36
SPEAKER_07: That sounds stressful.
53:38
SPEAKER_00: And then on top of that, you know, you're never doing the same show twice, and we might not touch that piece for another month or two, and you better come back knowing all of those tracks and be ready to go.
53:51
SPEAKER_00: Oh my god.
53:51
SPEAKER_02: On on whatever stage you happen to be at that week, because you're on tour.
53:55
SPEAKER_00: Yes.
53:56
SPEAKER_00: Yes, in whatever time zone, what you know.
53:59
SPEAKER_07: Yeah.
54:00
SPEAKER_07: Wow.
54:00
SPEAKER_07: I mean, I'll I'll chime in really briefly because I I now that I think back, I guess I've swung more than I think I have, but I feel like that I haven't officially gained my like real swing credit until this past summer.
54:16
SPEAKER_07: And our podcast listeners might remember that I announced that I was going back to the stage this summer and I performed in West Side Story at the Muni.
54:24
SPEAKER_07: And that's a show that's been with me my entire career.
54:26
SPEAKER_07: I know that show like the back of my hand.
54:27
SPEAKER_07: I could do every single part of that show.
54:29
SPEAKER_07: Boys do.
54:30
SPEAKER_07: Like I know the aura.
54:32
SPEAKER_07: But then I got to rehearsal and it was an original choreography.
54:35
SPEAKER_07: And that stressed me out.
54:37
SPEAKER_07: And I was, I was getting, and we only had a week rehearsal process.
54:41
SPEAKER_07: So, you know, that made me nervous.
54:42
SPEAKER_07: And then I've also never really been an offstage swing before because when I done the show before, I was the assistant dance captain, but we were all internal onstage swings.
54:51
SPEAKER_07: So every there was no such thing as an offstage swing in my production.
54:55
SPEAKER_07: So everyone kind of understudied each other.
54:57
SPEAKER_07: So one of the jet girls would turn into a shark girl and we'd just be down a jet girl if we, you know, a shark girl was out.
55:04
SPEAKER_07: Or if someone had to jump in to be Maria, then someone would jump into the sharks and maybe play double duty as a jet and a shark.
55:10
SPEAKER_07: Like there was just always a way to figure it out internally.
55:14
SPEAKER_07: And I understudied different parts in that production.
55:17
SPEAKER_07: But this one was like, it was just, I think what made it hard and kind of similar to your uh, I'm sure both your experience of learning new material that was like constantly changing.
55:27
SPEAKER_07: I think that was what made it hard for me as a swing to like take all these notes.
55:32
SPEAKER_07: Okay, this person crosses downstage.
55:34
SPEAKER_07: And then we get back to the rehearsal the next day and it would completely shift around.
55:38
SPEAKER_07: Oh, let's start the whole thing on stage right, and let's have uh the you actually I want you over here, enter over here instead.
55:44
SPEAKER_07: And I'm just like, I can't keep these notes straight.
55:47
SPEAKER_07: And something else that I want to quickly ask, because this is kind of a new thing for me, and I'm curious to hear how it works for um the company world.
55:54
SPEAKER_07: And I'd also love to hear from you about those, Brittany.
55:57
SPEAKER_07: In all of my years, and this is important for our listeners to hear and dancers to hear, in all of my years working as a professional dancer, I have never been allowed to record and videotape anything in rehearsal until recently.
56:12
SPEAKER_07: I think this is slightly changing a little bit.
56:15
SPEAKER_07: The last year, the last two years?
56:17
SPEAKER_07: Well, I haven't read a month since then.
56:19
SPEAKER_07: But my first West Side story, it was the first show where I went and I, and again, I wasn't even sure.
56:25
SPEAKER_07: I went as a swing saying, hey, stage management, would it be okay if I filmed some footage at the end of rehearsal for my own personal use to be able to take some notes, make some charts, and study what I need to study for my tracks?
56:40
SPEAKER_07: And they said, yes, absolutely.
56:43
SPEAKER_07: But every other show that I have ever done, even for the swings, they weren't allowed to film anything because it is copyrighted choreography that they don't want to get out anywhere.
56:54
SPEAKER_07: And even when it comes to like getting mat getting the show material, like as a professional, it is very rare that we actually ever see ourselves performing that show on video.
57:04
SPEAKER_06: They never give us the the production footage because oh, it's it's intellectual property, it's copyright, it's copyright, you can't have this choreography.
57:11
SPEAKER_06: Yes.
57:12
SPEAKER_02: So I is it different?
57:13
SPEAKER_00: How are you supposed to use it?
57:14
SPEAKER_00: In your world.
57:15
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, is it different?
57:16
SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
57:17
SPEAKER_00: We use something called Media Silo.
57:19
SPEAKER_00: Oh, where it's like a sharing, it's kind of like a video thing where we have a whole library of all of the pieces and you can just go and watch them, but only we have access and like passwords.
57:30
SPEAKER_02: Oh, that's great.
57:31
SPEAKER_02: That's amazing.
57:32
SPEAKER_00: But we also need that because just because you're doing a certain piece doesn't mean that it's always that piece.
57:38
SPEAKER_00: Like they might the artistic team might choose which version of that piece or who they like doing that role and who they want you to, you know, copy in some way.
57:49
SPEAKER_00: So you're not necessarily there there are no, you know, there is no Bible, which we often are like, right.
57:57
SPEAKER_00: But um, because nothing's ever consistent really because there are so many versions of the same.
58:02
SPEAKER_02: But so, like in in your rehearsals, so you have this archive sort of of rep that you have access to watch.
58:07
SPEAKER_02: In your rehearsals when you're learning, are you allowed to to film in the moment?
58:12
SPEAKER_02: Or has that not been your experience?
58:14
SPEAKER_00: Usually, yes.
58:15
SPEAKER_00: I would say for the most part, the so we have on that archival site, we have footage from shows, and they try to keep it, you know, rather or relatively updated to the more recent version so that everybody's on the same track as as to which one we're doing.
58:33
SPEAKER_00: Makes sense.
58:34
SPEAKER_00: What choices have been made, what changes have been made.
58:36
SPEAKER_00: And then we also have rehearsal footage.
58:39
SPEAKER_00: So every day, especially while it's that's mostly during a creation process, every day the entire rehearsal is filmed and posted.
58:47
SPEAKER_07: That's amazing.
58:47
SPEAKER_00: So also if you miss work, you can watch this video.
58:50
SPEAKER_07: And that's being done by the company itself, like a stage manager or something.
58:54
SPEAKER_00: Yes, yes, our stage manager, you know, sets up little GoPros in the road.
58:59
SPEAKER_02: That's dreamy.
59:00
SPEAKER_02: That is like my dream.
59:01
SPEAKER_02: I can't believe so.
59:02
SPEAKER_02: Broadway doesn't do this.
59:03
SPEAKER_02: I'm guessing.
59:04
SPEAKER_01: Does Broadway do that?
59:05
SPEAKER_02: We we know better.
59:06
SPEAKER_02: Listen, we know better.
59:10
SPEAKER_01: So interesting enough, and Juliet did do that.
59:13
SPEAKER_01: Nice, but the stage managers had a drop box.
59:16
SPEAKER_01: But I think, like I said, I think COVID has kind of changed that a little bit because it used to be you would hopefully get through the entire rehearsal process before a swing has to go in.
59:28
SPEAKER_01: Right?
59:29
SPEAKER_01: That was always the hope.
59:30
SPEAKER_01: COVID has now changed so many things that there were just so many swings that were going in day one, and so many people having to miss work that they did do this dropbox um for us.
59:42
SPEAKER_01: But I will say what's interesting as a person who has learned without having to use a video, it is why my brain is so detailed, because in Billy we couldn't have a video.
59:54
SPEAKER_01: Matilda, I had access to one, but I was on the dance captain side.
59:58
SPEAKER_01: But I've learned by not having a video, which means that I am only able to use my brain to figure out what's going on.
1:00:07
SPEAKER_01: And I feel sometimes in the Broadway world, because of the video, a lot of people don't know the show.
1:00:14
SPEAKER_01: Like they know the show, but they don't quite understand the show, which to me is a little bit of a they rely on the video too, yeah, it's a little bit of a crutch.
1:00:24
SPEAKER_01: They they rely on it too much because now, like I said, now that we've been going for a year, the video is set opening night, but we all know people start to be like, hmm, I'm gonna do this.
1:00:35
SPEAKER_01: And then next thing you know, you're literally like, that person, what's happening here?
1:00:39
SPEAKER_01: You know, things do kind of morph a little bit.
1:00:42
SPEAKER_01: And so me as a dance captain, that makes my job that's why my job is so important, because I have to try and go back to what it originally is.
1:00:50
SPEAKER_01: But if you don't, I think I think we kind of rely on the video a little too much now because, like I said, Broadway, it's supposed to be set.
1:00:59
SPEAKER_01: Yeah, so the more that you understand it, to me, it's what makes swinging easier when you do start to do multiple tracks.
1:01:09
SPEAKER_01: And then I don't know about you, Miranda, but we get into cut show land where we don't have enough swings to cover a track.
1:01:17
SPEAKER_01: So then I have to create the puzzle pieces of how the show works, but because the more the swings understand and we know what set pieces have to go on, it makes it a little easier.
1:01:28
SPEAKER_01: So yeah, so I think there's like a pro and con.
1:01:30
SPEAKER_01: I'm still I like that I didn't learn.
1:01:33
SPEAKER_02: I mean, I think it's like with anything else, you have the sort of analog way of doing it, which has worked perfectly well for everybody for all of time.
1:01:41
SPEAKER_02: And then all of a sudden you either, you know, COVID made things happen because we just had to do something, or somebody just said, okay, we have this technology, let's use it.
1:01:50
SPEAKER_07: Yeah.
1:01:50
SPEAKER_02: You know, I I think you're right, there's pros and cons.
1:01:53
SPEAKER_02: But I remember, and Brittany, you probably remember this too from Royal Caribbean.
1:01:56
SPEAKER_02: You know, the dance captain had the access to the video every week.
1:01:59
SPEAKER_02: And it was their job to watch the video because they're on the stage, you know, most of the time.
1:02:03
SPEAKER_02: They can't swing out.
1:02:04
SPEAKER_02: So there somebody has to be keeping track of are we still do we still look like the original product that we came here to do?
1:02:10
SPEAKER_02: And so I think videos we should have a dance captain episode.
1:02:13
SPEAKER_01: Oh, yeah.
1:02:14
SPEAKER_01: We got lots of friends that could do that too.
1:02:16
SPEAKER_01: That's like so interesting.
1:02:18
SPEAKER_01: The dance it's the dance captain.
1:02:20
SPEAKER_01: I mean, swinging is a is a thing in itself, but dance captain land is like you said, you have you have to keep track of where the set pieces go and what set pieces get cut.
1:02:30
SPEAKER_01: Like, geez.
1:02:31
SPEAKER_01: I when I tell you the and Juliet, I can close my eyes and literally know what set pieces come on where, where the the revolve rotates, what spike marks are where.
1:02:43
SPEAKER_01: I but it took a lot of studying.
1:02:46
SPEAKER_01: Like after hours studying, when I was in tech, I have a um iPad with good notes.
1:02:52
SPEAKER_01: If you ever want to swing dance captain or anything, good notes is a great app to get writing down everything.
1:02:59
SPEAKER_07: I don't know, I wouldn't have been able to do it without it, I swear.
1:03:02
SPEAKER_01: Scribbling down, but also I feel responsible for people's safety as well, right?
1:03:07
SPEAKER_01: So I'm like, I at least have to understand enough to keep people safe if things start to happen or if and we've had it happen, you know, people get sick in the tweet or in the middle of the number, or something happens and it's like we gotta get this set piece off or the set piece on.
1:03:26
SPEAKER_01: So yeah.
1:03:27
SPEAKER_01: It's crazy.
1:03:29
SPEAKER_00: It is.
1:03:29
SPEAKER_00: And that's truly mastery too of the show.
1:03:32
SPEAKER_07: And it it is interesting because like even even you just talking about the dance captain world, it's I will say that like when I was swinging this summer, I was not the dance captain or assistant dance captain, but there were so many times where I kept thinking I should have been.
1:03:45
SPEAKER_07: Not because I'm I'm the best.
1:03:47
SPEAKER_07: No, it was because I am learning so much different material, and I have to analyze and study so much extra stuff than anyone else has to, that I'm actually one step closer to knowing the the entire show more than someone that's just studying their one track.
1:04:03
SPEAKER_07: And so you had an on-stage dance captain.
1:04:05
SPEAKER_07: We had an on-stage dance captain, yeah, which was which is usually, you know, you think about it, it's like it's possible.
1:04:10
SPEAKER_07: Absolutely, it's possible.
1:04:12
SPEAKER_07: But it also makes sense for the swing who is able to be offstage and observe the show being the dance captain so they can see what's going wrong, what's working, what's not, maintaining it properly.
1:04:22
SPEAKER_07: So, but then when I hear you talk about it, I'm like, okay, so you already have to know all these roles as a swing, and now you have to know the whole darn show as a dance captain.
1:04:30
SPEAKER_07: Like that, that should be to me almost two separate people, not the same person, like completely and basically as a stage exactly, yeah.
1:04:39
SPEAKER_07: Yeah, and you were on Brittany.
1:04:40
SPEAKER_07: I'm sure you work directly with the stage manager often to figure out the cut tracks and who's going on and things like that.
1:04:47
SPEAKER_01: Yep, absolutely.
1:04:48
SPEAKER_01: It's literally, I mean, and our show we have an extra layer to that.
1:04:52
SPEAKER_01: If you haven't seen Angel yet, but we have a lot of we have two revolves that rotate, and we also have not any spoilers, but there's some flying happening, there's some pyro.
1:05:03
SPEAKER_01: So everybody has like a job the way our union works.
1:05:06
SPEAKER_01: It's like you got one person that does the power button, you have one person that just does the revolve.
1:05:10
SPEAKER_01: So we have to all work together again for the safety of the cast.
1:05:15
SPEAKER_01: If that revolve fires late, me as a dance captain, I'm like, this is late.
1:05:20
unknown: Right.
1:05:21
SPEAKER_01: How do we fix it next time?
1:05:22
SPEAKER_01: Like we're all constantly in communication in the stage management office, just trying to like make the show A happen with the creative vision that was set, and B, keep everyone safe, you know?
1:05:36
SPEAKER_07: That's the most important thing.
1:05:38
SPEAKER_07: And making the show go off without a hitch.
1:05:41
SPEAKER_07: Like there, I'm sure if you've ever seen shows often, and honestly, I well, how do they do it at in um concert dance?
1:05:50
SPEAKER_07: Do they announce when an understudy is on, or does it do they not announce when an understudy is on?
1:05:54
SPEAKER_00: They do.
1:05:55
SPEAKER_00: And actually another perk of our contract, if they forget to announce that you're going in for something, you get paid like$50.
1:06:04
SPEAKER_00: Sweet.
1:06:05
SPEAKER_00: I think that'd be cute.
1:06:07
SPEAKER_00: That's a cute little book.
1:06:08
SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
1:06:09
SPEAKER_00: Shoot, I don't think they do.
1:06:10
SPEAKER_00: But of course now that we have digital programs, they're still on top of it.
1:06:14
SPEAKER_00: So it's hard to do that.
1:06:15
SPEAKER_07: Okay, so they have to announce they don't like announce it over over at the time of the show.
1:06:21
SPEAKER_07: Yeah.
1:06:21
SPEAKER_07: So Miranda Quinn will be in for revelations tonight in$50.
1:06:27
SPEAKER_07: Not$50.
1:06:28
SPEAKER_07: Sometimes they do that.
1:06:29
SPEAKER_07: Yeah.
1:06:30
SPEAKER_07: So well I'm assuming there's a there's well mm is there a pay increase to go on in your understudy role in concert world?
1:06:40
SPEAKER_00: No.
1:06:40
SPEAKER_00: However, there are times when you might get thrown into a piece that you know because either because you're an understudy or because you're in another cast.
1:06:52
SPEAKER_00: And so you end up going on stage and if that puts you I believe it's if you do more than three ballets in one show, you get extra pay.
1:07:01
SPEAKER_00: So sometimes that could you know put you over the limit or if you haven't had the if you're already past the number of days you're supposed to be working without a day off and you have to go in on this show that you were supposed to be off that could result in pay but it's not a given.
1:07:16
SPEAKER_02: So yeah just a couple of little spoilers for our uh upcoming episode on pay rates in the professional world.
1:07:21
SPEAKER_07: Yeah.
1:07:22
SPEAKER_02: A couple little teaser moments here with with the money conversation.
1:07:25
SPEAKER_07: And this is why we have unions, everybody both of our guests are within two different dance unions in the industry.
1:07:33
SPEAKER_07: And there's a lot of work that a lot of dancers will do and we'll talk about this in our pay rates episode where there are it is non-union.
1:07:40
SPEAKER_07: And these types of protections that uh that Brittany and Miranda talked about throughout might not exist in the non-union world.
1:07:47
SPEAKER_07: And uh that's why in their own place.
1:07:49
SPEAKER_07: So you can get a little pay bump here, a little pay bump there when you're supposed to, when you're getting worked overworked or working hard.
1:07:58
SPEAKER_07: And I know uh Britney for understudies in Broadway shows, they do get a pay bump if they go on but you as a swing, you just get a higher weekly salary over the ensemble to be a swing, but you don't get paid extra if you go on.
1:08:13
SPEAKER_01: Yes.
1:08:13
SPEAKER_01: So we have a built-in fee in our extra swing writer, which to me I'm like it's still not like you know it's a start.
1:08:22
SPEAKER_01: But now and then also so and Juliet there's a lot of featured parts.
1:08:27
SPEAKER_01: So along with the swing bump I have featured parts like pay that I get and then of course when you go on for an understudy which is a principal there is a a pay bump to that.
1:08:38
SPEAKER_01: Great.
1:08:38
SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
1:08:39
SPEAKER_07: And stay tuned you'll hear more yeah so we will talk all about that in in our upcoming pay rates episode that everyone's been dying to hear about dying.
1:08:48
SPEAKER_07: Y'all this was so informative.
1:08:50
SPEAKER_07: I learned so much hearing about your understudy cover swing journeys as professional dancers and I think it's gonna be extremely eye-opening for everyone listening.
1:09:01
SPEAKER_07: I'm sure people are probably gonna walk away thinking I still am like just so confused as to how people do this, what is involved.
1:09:10
SPEAKER_07: I mean there is just so much more to dance than just dancing when you become a professional not even just in the whole branding marketing getting the jobs auditioning now you have the job.
1:09:21
SPEAKER_07: Look at all this extra extra stuff involved with the job.
1:09:25
SPEAKER_07: Yes you're a great dancer yes you got hired yes you're getting paid but now you have to understudy you got to be ready to go on you have to know which lines you're saying like there's just so much more than than we think.
1:09:36
SPEAKER_07: And I just want to say that if you are ever able to see a show where the understudies are going on what the the swings are going on and you see it in your program, please make sure you give them extra shouts and praise at the end at the curtain call because they deserve it.
1:09:51
SPEAKER_07: They are the ones that are making the show stay afloat without a hitch and I'm sure you probably won't even notice that the understudy or the swing is on.
1:09:59
SPEAKER_07: That's how good they are and that's the point of it.
1:10:03
SPEAKER_07: So shout out to our fabulous guests Britney and Miranda for joining us this was an awesome chat and I feel like that we we might be like one of the first I don't know I have to do research but like I feel like there's not a lot of podcasts out there about like being a swing like you know a general chat about understudying dance.
1:10:22
SPEAKER_07: Yeah I was honestly trying to look it up before and I couldn't find I know Britney you've been on other podcasts I'm sure you've talked about that in your interviews but like I don't know if there's like a specific podcast about like I'm a swing on Broadway.
1:10:35
SPEAKER_07: I'm an understudy in dance company.
1:10:37
SPEAKER_07: So here we are world we gave it to you dance world everyone should listen and our guests thank you so much.
1:10:44
SPEAKER_07: How we always have our guests lead us out is just with one final thought about the topic today.
1:10:50
SPEAKER_07: So you can talk to whoever you want to speak to out there in this beautiful dance world.
1:10:55
SPEAKER_07: It could be professional dancers who are interested in swinging.
1:10:58
SPEAKER_07: It could be current competitive dancers who are maybe looking at a professional career.
1:11:02
SPEAKER_07: It could be about it could be to dance studios on what you should be doing to help prepare your dancers for this type of job.
1:11:09
SPEAKER_01: Whoever you'd like to speak to out there regarding swinging and understudying I would say if you are a person that swinging interests you and you know that you pick up choreography quick and you love the challenge just don't shy away from possibly like auditioning to be a swing.
1:11:31
SPEAKER_01: I know some even though you might have all the skill sets sometimes it is a little nerve wracking going into a process being like can I do this?
1:11:39
SPEAKER_01: Can I not but I just really encourage you to like take that skill set and realize how valuable it is and go for it.
1:11:46
SPEAKER_01: And if you're interested in swinging say it because a lot of times casting is like great like we found people that want to swing because it really is a magical thing when you do all the work and you go on stage and you go wow I did it like I get to bouse and I'm like yay you know it's really is a feeling that is so special and I think it's great if you have the skill set to do it and you have the interest just really lean into that.
1:12:14
SPEAKER_00: Yeah so I mean it sounds like no matter what kind of environment you end up in being a live performer this is live art and things change and things happen all the time and we all have to be prepared to you know keep the show running.
1:12:30
SPEAKER_00: But as we were saying you know it's it is definitely scary and confusing in the moment but oftentimes I think you'll surprise yourself by what you're capable of and how many things you're able to juggle at once.
1:12:44
SPEAKER_05: We hope you enjoyed this week's episode all about what it takes to be a swing and understudy in the dance world.
1:12:50
SPEAKER_05: Shout out to our special guests Brittany and Miranda for joining us.
1:12:54
SPEAKER_05: Don't forget to follow them on social media.
1:12:57
SPEAKER_05: You can find Miranda at Miranda Ming4 and Brittany at Brit and Nicholas.
1:13:03
SPEAKER_05: And don't forget you can see our guests live in action on stage performing as professionals in the New York City area.
1:13:10
SPEAKER_05: You can currently see Britney Nicholas performing as the swing in Anne Juliet on Broadway and Miranda performing with the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater don't forget to follow Making the Impact on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Podcasts, and pretty much everywhere you listen to podcasts.
1:13:27
SPEAKER_07: If you want to hear even more about what it takes to be a swing on Broadway, we have an extra 20 minutes of bonus content that is going live to our Platinum Premium subscribers now.
1:13:37
SPEAKER_07: Want to tune in?
1:13:38
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1:13:43
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1:13:52
SPEAKER_07: Join now at Impact DanceAjudicators dot com slash platinum premium or click the link in our show notes.
1:14:00
SPEAKER_02: Coming up in the next few weeks stay tuned for episodes on keeping dancers safe from harmful industry practices, our next studio spotlight episode and pay rates for the professional dance world We hope your dance season is going great.
1:14:13
SPEAKER_07: Thanks for tuning in.
1:14:15
SPEAKER_07: We'll see you next week.
1:14:16
SPEAKER_07: Until then keep dancing