Top 10 Greatest Broadway Choreographers of All Time
The true artists are often behind the scenes! For this list, we’ll be looking at the most influential composers of movement from the theater world.
Transcript
00:00 You know, I think every director/choreographer, we sort of have the same journey.
00:04 We were all kids in the chorus at one point.
00:06 Welcome to Ms. Mojo, and today we're counting down our picks for the top 10 greatest Broadway
00:11 choreographers of all time.
00:13 Be brave, step outside your comfort zone, and this experience has really taught me that.
00:17 For this list, we'll be looking at the most influential composers of movement from the
00:21 theater world.
00:22 Which Broadway show do you think has the best choreography?
00:26 Let us know in the comments.
00:29 Number 10 Tommy Toone
00:40 This ten-time Tony Award-winning Broadway icon is best known for two things.
00:45 Being an exceptionally tall tap dancer, measuring at almost 6'7", and his career both onstage
00:52 and behind the scenes.
00:54 His performer, choreographer, and director's range knows no bounds, and he leaves an indelible
00:59 mark on every musical with which he's involved.
01:02 We know that Broadway has a universal mystique, and I am proud and humbled to be a part of
01:08 our Broadway universe.
01:11 It's vast and inclusive.
01:14 You wouldn't necessarily think that shows like The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas,
01:18 Grand Hotel, A Day in Hollywood, A Night in the Ukraine, and The Will Rogers Follies share
01:24 a choreographer.
01:35 But he picks the perfect movements to drive the narratives, almost like a sommelier picking
01:39 out the finest wine.
01:41 That's the Tommy Toone magic touch.
01:48 Number 9 George Faison
02:13 An alumnus of the Alvin Ailey Dance Company, this choreographer is notable for his modern
02:18 and balletic styles.
02:26 In 1970, Faison appeared in the musical Pearly and later founded the George Faison Universal
02:32 Dance Experience, where he developed his craft.
02:35 He has dozens of Broadway credits, from Don't Bother Me, I Can't Cope to 1600 Pennsylvania
02:41 Avenue.
02:42 But you're probably most familiar with his work in The Wiz, which premiered on Broadway
02:47 in 1975.
02:48 He choreographed the fun, fast-stepping Yizan Down the Road and several of the show's ballet
02:53 routines.
03:00 This earned him a Tony Award for Best Choreography, making him the first African-American to win
03:05 the prize.
03:13 Number 8 Jerry Mitchell
03:33 Let us hear you say "yeah" for this masterful choreographer.
03:40 Mitchell started his career on the stage and had the privilege of working under the likes
03:44 of Agnes de Mille, Michael Bennett, and Jerome Robbins.
03:47 He's incredibly versatile, often letting the show's storytelling shape his movements.
03:52 Indeed, he's helped reimagine some of our favorite movie scenes as pop and dance numbers.
03:57 And in Snap, anyone?
04:14 Mitchell also earned Tony Awards for his work in La Cajofal and Kinky Boots.
04:18 No style is out of his range, from the old-school dirty rotten scoundrels and dynamic on your
04:24 feet to the high-spirited hairspray.
04:39 Is there any wonder he's one of today's most sought-after choreographers?
04:44 Number 7 Gillian Lynn
04:45 The late dame Gillian Lynn began her career as a ballerina before jetéing into the role
05:10 of choreographer.
05:12 While her roots are primarily in ballet and opera, she also contributed to musical theater
05:16 in shows like Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, The Phantom of the Opera, and, of course, Cats.
05:32 The latter is exceptionally dance-heavy and features some of musical theater's most iconic
05:37 pieces, the Jellicle Ball, for instance.
05:49 It was quite the challenge, given that she also had to convince audiences to believe
05:53 in these dancing cats.
05:55 Perhaps in someone else's hands, this would have been a cat-astrophe.
06:12 But her striking choreography dazzled audiences and helped suspend their disbelief.
06:17 Needless to say, her creativity and vision were perfect.
06:22 Number 6 Michael Kidd
06:24 What do shows and films like Finian's Rainbow, Guys and Dolls, Can-Can, Seven Brides for
06:42 Seven Brothers, and The Bandwagon have in common?
06:53 They all feature the vigorously imaginative and artistic style of five-time Tony Award
06:58 winner Michael Kidd.
06:59 Kidd described his choreography as, quote, "human behavior in people's manners, stylized
07:04 into musical rhythmic forms."
07:11 You can recognize his movements for their more conversational manner and how he used
07:16 what he called "real-life gestures" to inspire his work.
07:28 You can see this in everything he's done, from charming jazz ballets to adrenaline-inducing
07:33 acrobatic showstoppers.
07:35 In 1981, he took his rightful place in the American Theatre Hall of Fame.
07:41 Number 5 Michael Bennett
07:42 The metaphor is a chorus line.
07:44 It's being part of a great team.
07:46 And being part of the human race is very nice.
07:48 I don't think it'd be fun to be the only human being around, you know?
07:51 Seven-time Tony winner Michael Bennett's first choreographic role was in the 1966 musical
07:55 A Joyful Noise.
07:57 However, his first big hit was with the 1968 show Promises Promises, featuring the iconic
08:03 Turkey Lurkey Time number.
08:15 He became a big name on Broadway throughout the 70s and 80s with Company, Follies, Dream
08:20 Girls and a chorus line.
08:23 "Dancers just talk about Broadway and their lives.
08:27 I began to hear musical numbers."
08:28 Bennett and longtime collaborator Bob Avian are why many theater kids can't hear "5,
08:33 6, 7, 8" without bursting into this famous number.
08:46 Bennett wasn't necessarily defined by a particular style.
08:49 Still, many of his routines feature sharp, controlled movements requiring high stamina
08:54 and athleticism.
08:55 Sadly, he was taken before his time, but his choreography defined an era of musical theater.
09:01 "He wanted to take that empty space called the stage and do three things to tell the
09:08 truth, make the audience happy, and to keep his dancers working for a long, long time."
09:19 Number 4.
09:20 Agnes DeMille
09:21 "By putting this impulse, this driving impact behind every gesture, the roping and the pulling
09:27 and the stretching, watch these gestures without the impact."
09:32 DeMille didn't just break into the typically male-heavy field, but she practically reinvented
09:37 the genre.
09:38 One of her first Broadway hits was the 1943 musical Oklahoma.
09:43 Until then, dance numbers provided interludes to the show's plot.
09:46 However, thanks to her approach, Oklahoma was among the first shows where the choreography
09:51 tied into the dialogue, cementing its place as a landmark musical.
09:55 "The style may be stretched, elaborated, made more broad for effect, but the meaning of
10:01 the dance must not be altered."
10:03 The Farmer and the Cowman is a fun example, but the show's dream ballet is often considered
10:08 to be groundbreaking for how it invited audiences into the character's psyche.
10:21 DeMille went on to choreograph Carousel, Brigadoon, Paint Your Wagon, and more, leaving
10:26 her legendary mark everywhere.
10:28 "Like a sharp breath, and then they just dissolve into luminous air."
10:39 Many choreographers still cite her as an inspiration.
10:43 Number 3 Susan Stroman
10:45 "So the choreography even taps into the architecture of New York.
10:50 And you see the Coreens where they would have holding balls in their hand, these Art Deco
10:55 figurines."
10:56 Stroman is another choreographer who started her career on the stage.
11:00 However, she switched lanes in the late 80s when she got her big break choreographing
11:04 Kander and Ebb's Flora, the Red Menace.
11:06 This began a long collaboration with the duo that included shows like And the World Goes
11:11 Round, Steel Pier, and The Scottsboro Boys.
11:25 In 1992, she earned her first Tony Award choreographing the Gershwin musical Crazy for You.
11:31 She later won another for the 1994 Showboat revival.
11:35 And in 2001, she won the Best Direction and Best Choreography awards for the record-breaking
11:40 musical The Producers.
11:42 It's hardly surprising that Stroman is one of her generation's most in-demand and celebrated
11:46 director-choreographers.
11:49 Number 2 Jerome Robbins
11:51 "To a choreographer, an empty stage or an empty rehearsal floor where you begin is a
11:55 rather awesome place because it's where you begin, where you put your first mark down,
12:00 where you take your first step.
12:02 And it's sort of like a painter deciding where to put the first line down on a canvas."
12:06 Fewer choreographers have shaped the American dance scene quite like Jerome Robbins.
12:11 An alumnus of what's now known as American Ballet Theater, Robbins' dance background
12:16 and natural talents created some of the most prolific choreography ever.
12:20 His mark can be seen in shows like On the Town, Gypsy, Fiddler on the Roof, and more.
12:31 However, his greatest legacy is probably West Side Story.
12:39 The dance numbers are tightly intertwined with the narrative, practically replacing
12:43 the need for dialogue.
12:44 He used classical ballet overlaid with modern jazz and a conversational tone to powerfully
12:49 relay the characters' emotions.
12:52 Just look at the prologue.
13:03 It effortlessly sets up the story without the need for words.
13:06 No one did it quite like Robbins.
13:08 "Jerome Robbins Broadway is both a musical legacy and a theatrical leap forward by an
13:14 artist whose greatest gift is to recognize our simplest dreams and then make them fly."
13:22 Before we unveil our top pick, here are a few honorable mentions.
13:27 Sabion Glover.
13:28 This tap-dancing extraordinaire won a Tony Award for his work on Bring in the Noise,
13:32 Bring in the Funk.
13:46 Bill T. Jones.
13:47 His innovative approach to movement earned him Tony Awards for Spring Awakening and Fella.
13:52 "Then what else do you have?
13:53 Your ideas.
13:55 And if you can't dance your ideas in the studio with my dancers and in front of the media,
14:01 and I'm often in front of the media, how do you make your case?
14:05 Language."
14:06 Jack Cole.
14:09 The father of theatrical jazz dances credits include Kismet, A Funny Thing Happened on
14:13 the Way to the Forum, and Man of La Mancha.
14:27 Andy Blankenbuehler.
14:28 In the Heights, 9 to 5, Bring It On the Musical, and Hamilton.
14:32 Need we say more?
14:49 Casey Nicholaw.
14:50 A modern musical choreography icon, credits include The Book of Mormon, Aladdin, Something
14:56 Rotten, The Prom, and many more.
15:10 Before we continue, be sure to subscribe to our channel and ring the bell to get notified
15:15 about our latest videos.
15:17 You have the option to be notified for occasional videos or all of them.
15:21 If you're on your phone, make sure you go into your settings and switch on notifications.
15:27 #1 Bob Fosse
15:40 Even the most casual musical theater fan can instantly recognize Fosse's trademark style.
15:45 Those sharp isolations, punctuated hand gestures, turned in knees, angular shaping, seductive
15:51 hip rolls, and of course, everyone's favorite, jazz hands.
15:55 Fosse's movements were as much about stillness and subtleness as they were about giving audiences
16:00 that old razzle-dazzle.
16:13 And he was no stranger to chucking in a bowler hat, either.
16:16 Although typically rooted in jazz, his choreography featured elements of ballet, music hall, folk
16:22 dance, and more.
16:24 The Pajama Game, Sweet Charity, Pippin, and Chicago barely scratched the surface of his
16:29 most notable credits.
16:43 He practically reinvented modern Broadway dance and earned numerous awards for it.
16:48 Today, he remains a household name and an inspiration to many.
17:03 Do you agree with our picks?
17:05 Check out this other recent clip from Ms. Mojo.
17:08 And be sure to subscribe and ring the bell to be notified about our latest videos.
17:12 [music]