In 1492, Columbus sailed the ocean blue, probably to the tune of lutes and crumhorns, but in August 2019, Holland America Line and producing partner RWS Entertainment Group launched onto the seas the Step One Dance Company, a touring dance ensemble that’s making an even bigger splash into expectation-shattering territory for cruise line entertainment.
How to prepare for a dance audition.
As Bill Prince, Vice President of Entertainment of Holland America, describes the conception of Step One, “We decided it was time to freshen things up. We wanted to do something more contemporary, more relevant, more current.”
Performing across eight of Holland America’s ships, multiple Step One companies, each comprised of six elite dancers, are utilizing state-of-the-art technology paired with world-class choreography to revolutionize what it means to be a dancer at sea while redefining the traditional audience experience onboard.
Echoing Prince’s sentiments, Holland America’s Vice President of Branded Communications Brett Thurman imparts, “Step One is a strong pillar in our branding. I think it represents an evolution of where Holland America is going.”
So what are the ingredients that go into reinventing this branded model, and what does that mean for both audiences and industry members? Or as Step One’s Creative Director John Charron posed the question when coming to the table, “How do we get a better quality dancer, not quantity?” Let’s break it down.
Tips on Auditioning for Cruise Lines COMPANY MEMBER: Foremost, in contrast to Holland America’s previous contracts known as the Legacy Production model, gone is the old-school regulation of dancers wearing both hats of company member and crew member. Where dancers were previously expected to perform duties delegated to ship crew, dancers on a Step One contract are solely considered performers.
“You are a performer with guest privileges. That is very attractive,” explains Franklyn Warfield, Senior Casting Director at RWS, meaning every dancer will also enjoy the freedom of having full access to the ship when not performing. And to Prince’s agreement, “It changes life onboard.” Perhaps leaving more time to warm up those développés and pas de bourrées on the verandah (with a Bahama mama in hand).
FLEXIBLE CONTRACT: When asked about Step One’s efforts to earn the trust of agents who are more often cautious to see their talent sail away, Charron pitched, “We offer short contracts. We’re not asking people to sign their life away for a year. We’ll give you 12 weeks; we’ll even give you just six weeks if it means getting a great performer. We’re willing to work with a dancer’s schedule and have a real roster of talent.”
PRIVATE CABIN: Now, going offstage. Every dancer is housed in a private cabin, a benefit previously reserved for just singers on a cruise contract. “We feel that if you really want to up the quality of the talent beyond the traditional cruise ship performer, you have to make this shift to change the environment for them!” exclaims Prince.
This first-of-its-kind experience encourages personal space and sees a return in enhanced performances onstage, and as Warfield concurs, “It’s just a sign of respect. It shows the agents that this is a higher level. We are taking [the dancer’s] quality of life into account.”
HIGHER PAY: Last, but certainly most enticing, reducing the typical size of a performance group to only six people allows for a higher pay. According to the latest Step One audition post, it boasts a generous $1,000 per week onboard. With the aforementioned included housing and meals, the job literally pays for itself. But reinventing the model from behind the scenes is only half the game for Holland America.
WORLD STAGE: In front of the curtain, the marriage between performance and innovation takes place in Holland America’s million-dollar venue, The World Stage. This stage features a two-story, 270 degree wraparound LED screen measuring 250 feet in length and nearly 16,000 pixels wide, engulfing the audience in high-definition, immersive visuals synchronized to the performers’ movements allowing both the dancer and the theater to be projection mapped.
THREE DIFFERENT SHOWS: It’s these visual elements, never before seen on this scale on any other cruise line, that are then the foundation and canvas for the three shows Step One currently performs: “Humanity,” “a vibrant and energetic exploration of the human spirit though dance and music,” “Stages,” “a three-act ballet featuring three couples in three different stages of their relationship,” and “Resonance,” the newest of the three shows that “fuses movement and sound as the dancers interact with imagery of musical instruments.”
CREATIVE TEAM: As they say, it takes a village, and there’d be no show without its team. Each of Charron’s shows feature video design by Batwin+Robin and high-caliber choreography from a renowned creative team that includes Principal Choreographer and Associate Creative Director Melanie Lewis-Yribar, and Contributing Choreographers Ron Todorowski, Brooke Wendle, Chip Abbott, Luis Salgado, Brittany Cherry (a Season 10 contestant on “So You Think You Can Dance” and a troupe member on “Dancing With the Stars”), and Patti Colombo (Emmy award winner and choreographer for the Tony award-winning production “Peter Pan”).
How cruise ship work benefits a performer’s career.
Perhaps one of the biggest reasons Step One works so well is that the performance is not language dependent, unlike musicals and reviews. Because Holland America Line sails around the world and receives passengers of many tongues, dance, and thus Step One’s productions, will always speak to everyone. Ideally, this is the best argument for redefining a dance contract for cruise ship entertainment.
As for the Step One model that’s busy reinventing the wheel, that wheel keeps spinning, and the drive for something more appears to be unanimous across the board. “There’s the opportunity to bring it more forefront and not just on the ships,” says Thurman, with seconds and thirds from Warfield and Prince.
As Charron closes the conversation, he has the future in mind, “I’d love to see this company become an actual land company. It has been discussed, in some dreams. Wouldn’t that be great?” Audiences, dancers, and agents might be in agreement on that one.
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