
Behind every great choreographer there is a just-as-great assistant choreographer—at least, that’s the case on the Disney+ megahit “High School Musical: The Musical: The Series.” The show’s assistant choreographer, Alan Salazar, explains how he and choreographer Zach Woodlee make every movement moment come to life and offers his No. 1 trick to help actors feel comfortable in their bodies.
What does the role of the assistant choreographer look like?
The role of assistant choreographer is ever-changing. It definitely depends on the production you’re working on and, most importantly, the choreographer you’re working with. You’re basically in charge of setting up the environment for everything to go well. You learn the ins and outs of how the choreographer likes to work, their most inspiring environments, things like getting the music set up and even just the room set up and making sure the materials are ready to go. With Zach, it’s a lot of conversation, brainstorming. It’s a lot of trying to create a map of the things that are most important to start work on in order to get to a place where we can start actually making moves. If we’re starting to work on a specific musical number, the first thing we do is read the script and highlight all the elements that we think we will be in charge of. From there, we start to visualize and imagine how the scene will play out, and then any specifics that we will be interacting with, if there are set pieces or props. In this imagination, we will see the final project and then translate that. And then it’s going through departments and separating responsibilities. What are the things we will need to successfully get everyone on the same page?
What does a typical day for an assistant choreographer look like?
I essentially got to shadow Zach through the last two seasons and learned so much about how he creates, communicates, runs a room, and how there is an order to those things as far as his process goes. The most exciting thing for me is when I do get to assist, when I do get to collaborate with others. My favorite part is learning about how they think and process in their imagination, and how it comes to fruition. Personally, think that’s the most exciting part. I get to see step-by-step, behind-the-scenes work. Half the time, that’s just trying to get the other creatives on the same page, to understand why we need this platform to roll really fast in all directions, or why we need this chair to be locked into the ground. So many elements go into a dance scene, and I think the difference between choreography for film and choreography for stage is that you can just be so much more specific with what you want to see. Most of our time is [spent] preparing to get all of the elements in place so we can execute the vision and get it ready to go, so on the day of the shoot it’s ready for everyone else to do their part.
I want to ask a bit more about the differences between choreographing for film versus stage. Are the choreographers for on-camera projects working with the camera department?
It really depends on the number. There are some numbers that require minimal input from us. It’s already set up and on a familiar set, so if it’s, like, a classroom set, we know the parameters, we know typically how the cameras are set up and the limitations of it. Maybe we want to do a specific shot that rotates 360 degrees, where you have to see the entire room, that is a specific thing where everyone is working parallel with each other toward the shoot day. It’s about communicating with all departments, definitely working closely with the DP and the director to see what’s worth fighting for. We have these ideas that are so specific, we have to make sure that they’re going to be possible to shoot and that they’re going to be worth the setup. It’s finding that balance of the things that you want to happen, things that feel efficient for the production, and then, more importantly, are they worth it to drive this story forward? Or are they just like, Well, this is fun? It should be an element of all of them. If we can get the fun stuff in there, which I think usually makes a scene more exciting or special, it’s bonus points for everyone, where we can shoot high and everyone’s on the same page, like, “Let’s make it happen.”
You have a performance background (and were, in fact, in the second “High School Musical” film). How was it that you came to the choreography side?
I started dancing in junior high and then started at a dance studio in high school. I was about 15 years old, so I had a bit of a later start. I joined the competition teams, and I was a year or two older than everyone else on the team. There came an opportunity where one of my director friends owned a dance studio and needed a dance teacher. Because I was the only one with a driver’s license at the time, he suggested, “Sure, he can do it. It’s once a week.” That kinda started the ball rolling for being in the teacher role. I don’t think I was a good teacher. I don’t think I was a good choreographer, but I enjoyed it, and it’s what I started to focus on…. I was traveling around the state at different studios, and that got me to choreographing competition teams. I did that in Utah for about 13 years at every place that would have me. At the same time, I was still assisting my teachers. I slowly started to expand my abilities and the tools I had to pull from. Then, when I started with actual jazz technique, I learned how to become a better teacher: different ways to explain and adapt to the individual, not just speaking to a room. My passion for teaching really grew and I was continuing to choreograph. It definitely veered me away from performing as much. Now, I will take the opportunities as they come. I’m a little bit more particular with what I will agree to. I’ve been choreographing in some space for 20 years now. The skills I picked up as a teacher have facilitated all the work I do now, like working with nondancers.
Let’s talk about working with nondancers. What are the ways you help actors feel comfortable with movement?
It comes down to catering to the individual. I think sometimes there’s a disconnect between choreographers who choreograph dance, right? They focus so much on the intricacies and styling. They get a little stuck on “This is what it is and this is what I want it to be” and hope everyone adapts to it, which is great if you have the means and the bodies that can do that. In most situations, you’re working with an actor or performer, and the job is to get them to a place where they feel comfortable with the material, where they’re executing timed beats that they have to hit, maybe certain traveling and locations and marks that they have to hit at certain times. It’s determining, What are the most important elements of this? Is it just emotional? It’s not letting the dancing and the movement become too heavy-handed that it overshadows their performance. You have an idea and you present it to them, and you see where those ideas meet them and how you can push them as close to where you want them. Then you adapt and see what might be more natural for them. It’s a lot of communication; it’s watching their body language, where they’re locking up, what isn’t moving. It is just this kind of trial and error and, in the end, it’s always a collaboration. The more confident and comfortable the performer feels, they feel like they’re in on it, they have their own stamp on it. It doesn’t feel like they’re being forced to do these things that aren’t them. We can see that. It’s building a relationship where they trust you and you trust them. You get to the point where you’re like, Are we good? Are we on the same page? If they feel great, you trust that once the cameras are rolling, they’re going to take it and make it their own.
You work with a ton of young actors. What is the advice you give them when they just can’t seem to feel grounded in their bodies and in the movements?
A lot of it is as simple as encouragement and giving them the permission that they don’t have to be perfect. Also giving them priorities: “It is more important that you get here at this moment than it is that you do right-left-right-left-right to get there.” It’s giving them a little bit more autonomy within the choreography, so they have the freedom to react in the moment and feel things more organically, just like they do when they’re acting. There’s always little changes and little choices they're making along the way that make it come to life. They need to have that when they’re also moving. So, a lot of it is just encouragement and permission. For some of them, it’s rehearsal. Some of them will pick up these things fairly quickly, and we know our rehearsal is going to be half the amount of time that we scheduled today. For others, it’s reading the room and understanding, “Oh, we might have to add a couple rehearsals before we get on-camera.” It’s building that relationship and communication where they feel like they can trust you and that you’re not gonna make them do anything that’s gonna make them look silly. On the other end, you can trust that they’re going to do the work necessary to be comfortable and ready to roll.
Because, ultimately, the movement is part of the storytelling.
Right, and it can definitely take away from a story when things look forced or awkward, so you want it to feel as natural as them playing the character.
What is the advice you’d give fellow performers who want to break into the choreography side?
It’s expanding your understanding of what a choreographer does. I had a passion for music. I had a passion for movement and I had a passion for just being creative, and that led to building relationships with my teachers and mentors. My biggest advice would be to find mentors, ask questions, and shadow those you are already working with to understand their point of view, because every single choreographer has a different process. I think even expanding to the music industry and the TV and film industry, it’s just a whole other world. The priorities change. It’s no longer about you and your cool world. It’s [asking], how can you best help the final product and the final vision? You have to be more detail-oriented in your vision before you even start creating. You have to expand your knowledge of all different dance styles, because the more tools you have in your tool belt, the more you realize at any given moment to elevate a scene or an idea. Don’t stop learning and ask questions and absorb. And don’t be afraid of being in that position of assistant; don’t ever feel like you’ve solidified who you are as an artist or your capabilities. I think dancers, teachers, and choreographers all have really great skill sets that can translate into so many different job settings. If they’re not taking those opportunities, they’re limiting their potential for having those opportunities in the future.
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