OPPOSITE
Joshua Bergasse on the set of Smash Bergasse choreographing a scene from Smash PHOTOS Will Hart LEFT
Two years ago, Joshua Bergasse was a working choreographer with a respectable list of credits under his belt, mostly in the regional theatre. Still, despite several high-profile New York gigs, he had not yet broken through—at least in terms of reaching wide audiences. Then along came Smash, the NBC series that turns a bright spotlight on how Broadway musicals come together. Michael Mayer, a director who was a consulting producer on the series, had admired Bergasse’s choreography for a New York University alumni gala. Mayer forwarded his reel along to Smash executive producer Steven Spielberg, and Bergasse was hired. The first season of Smash followed the progress of a show within a show—a musical biography of Marilyn Monroe called Bombshell—from the germ of an idea through rehearsals, backers’ auditions, and workshops, culminating in an out-of-town tryout in Boston. Bergasse staged the musical numbers in Bombshell, and also oversaw movement of every kind for the series, from intimate pas de deux to a no-holds-barred Bollywood sequence. The series was a hit, and Bergasse earned an Emmy Award for his choreography. A native of Oak Park, Michigan, Bergasse got his professional start as a dancer. His credits include the original Broadway company of Hairspray and the national tour of Movin’ Out. He also taught extensively and received certification from the Jerome Robbins Foundation to stage the Robbins choreography for West Side Story. Eventually it became clear he would have to make a choice between performing and choreography. Bergasse, now 39, has returned to Smash for season two, which debuts on NBC on February 5. Once filming concludes this spring on sound stages in Greenpoint, Brooklyn, and on location throughout the Big Apple, Bergasse has a couple of yet unannounced theatrical projects on deck. We met on a November afternoon at a café near his apartment in Upper Manhattan.
JOSHUA BERGASSE since 2001
WINTER 2013 | SDC JOURNAL
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