choreographed Kylie Minogue’s first tour of the USA. He is currently the Assoc. Director for a burlesque show in London’s west end called “The All New Hurly Burly Show.” Additionally, well-known dancers like Tucker Barkley, Laura Edwards, Brittney Stewart, Tre Holloway, Ryan Chandler, Frances Manzo and more came through Monsters’ first LA Show. Their combined list of credits in both dance and choreography is unprecedented in the convention industry and include: Britney Spears, Michael Jackson, Janet Jackson, Black Eyed Peas, Christina Aguilera, Whitney Houston, and Mariah Carey, plus countless films, videos and television shows. 2008 Show Cast member, JaQuel Knight, went on the win the VMA for Best Choreography for Beyonce’s hit “Single Ladies: Put A Ring On It”. Over the years, this list has continued to grow and make us very proud. What exactly is The Monsters Show and how does it work? Throughout each season’s convention tour, four to six finalists are selected in each city and we rotate the audition choreographers from city to city so that a variety of styles are represented. Finalists receive a VIP Tour Pass which enables them to attend unlimited Monsters conventions free for one year. The finalists are videotaped at the conclusion of each weekend and at the end of the tour, the Monsters faculty meets to review the footage and narrow the cast to about 14 dancers. The months leading up to this point are filled with planning, scheduling and working with the faculty to develop a
new story for the show! Fast forward to this weekend… The video is ready, we’ve collected almost all the headshots and the faculty eagerly awaits our Sunday night get-together! For you sports fans out there, this is our equivalent of the NFL Draft! Allow me to paint you a picture of exactly how this Sunday is gonna go down… The finalist video is arranged per city from beginning to end. Becky and I will lay out the headshots and resume of each finalist as their footage is played. I’ll remind the choreographers which city it is and who choreographed the piece. They’ll make notes, talk about the performances, and sometimes even argue about them. Each choreographer has different likes and dislikes, and notice people for different reasons. One dancer may have forgotten a section of choreography but their performance element was amazing, or they remembered them smashing it in class. Others may be impressed with a dancer but have concerns about how they might look doing their style. This goes on and on for hours, and it seems as though each year gets more difficult as the level of talent increases. I have a feeling we’re in for a marathon meeting this year! After the faculty finalizes the cast, comes the most exciting and most difficult part. This Show is very, very special to Becky and I and we consider each of these “kids” one of our own. We spend two weeks together; at times 15 hours a day, pushing them, taking care of them (sometimes to the hospital), seeing their
highs and lows and ultimately celebrating their hard work in front of sold out screaming audiences. Calling the newly selected cast members is the most rewarding part of this entire process. From tears and bone-rattling screams to silent disbelief, knowing how much that call means makes it all worthwhile. That also leaves the most difficult and heart-wrenching side for us; knowing the disappointment that those who do not receive the call must be feeling. It is always our hope that they will turn that disappointment into a greater desire to train and to work even harder to improve at their craft. In many instances, dancers are show finalist for 2 or 3 years before actually being selected for the show. We are all very excited to welcome the 2010 Cast into the family! Stay tuned to monstersdance.com to meet them. The Monsters Show will be held at the El Portal Theatre in North Hollywood, CA August 6-7, 2010. Shows do sell out in advance so be sure to purchase your tickets soon. Also, don’t miss Monsters’ week-long dance intensive August 2-7, 2010. Register online at monstersofhiphop.com or call 888.566.6787.
www.monstersofhiphop.com