CREATIVE TEAM INTERVIEWS
INTERNATIONAL ASSOCIATE
CHOREOGRAPHER
SIMONE MISTRY-PALMER
Simone’s career encompasses performance as well as choreography. She has appeared in several productions in the West End and in UK national tours, including Motown the Musical, Dirty Dancing and Hairspray. Simone performed in the London 2012 Olympics Opening Ceremony, and has also performed on TV shows such as Britain’s Got Talent and X Factor. Simone also teaches dance across the UK.
I worked with Anthony Van Laast from the beginning of the process of putting the show together. I had been recommended to him and I was already working as Resident Choreographer for another show in the West End of London, Motown. We had an intense four -week workshop process where Anthony and I worked with Phyllida Lloyd, and Nick Skilbeck.
I did a lot of research: looking at footage of Tina, both of her in the 1960s and 1970s, but also her more recent work – we needed to get the essence of Tina, and her choreography, but also be able to create original choreography. This was an opportunity to be highly creative.
Anthony and I have talked about Tina being a play with song and dance, as opposed to a straightforward musical: there are some numbers which are very much about performance (for example Proud Mary) whereas other numbers such as Private Dancer and Open Arms are more storytelling numbers. Private Dancer, for example, is about creating the world in which Tina finds herself after divorcing Ike – he’s haunting her – but also giving the moment in time in terms of narrative, as well. Sometimes dance can create a spectacle but sometimes very simple movement that attracts the eye is just as effective, if not more so.
Proud Mary is an example of a number which looks very free and spontaneous. Actually, though, it’s highly choreographed, even down to the hand gestures in the air and placement of Tina’s hand on the microphone stand as she’s singing. You can follow the development of the choreography as the song progresses: it starts off slow and very expressive, almost sensual, but then it gets increasingly ‘punchy’ – those moments match the big moments of the vocal performance. Have a look at the way the Ikettes’ choreography matches their vocals too – for example, leaning into the microphone to sing.
There are two moves to look out for in Proud Mary which are based on moves that Tina taught us when Anthony and I were lucky enough to spend time with her. The ‘Sally Walker’ is a kind of sway which is used in the spoken introduction of the song and it was inspired by the playground rhyme ‘Sally Walker’ – that’s what Tina calls that move. The other move is the ‘pony’ – you see lots of different variations of this but even moving backwards into the line formation you see Tina and the Ikettes use it (in this instance flicking their right foot out, but it’s basically a pony step). In her work with Ike, Tina took charge of the choreography and as Anthony has already said, it was the one thing that she could control: Ike had control over everything else.
As International Associate Choreographer I oversee auditions, and work on the show in its various international locations. This includes London, Broadway (New York), Hamburg, Utrecht (Holland), and the next show which will be in Madrid. I’ve also worked on the cast changes – Adrienne Warren was our first Tina, but for every cast, there are other actors who are the alternate and cover Tinas as well as principal performers who’ve taken the role. All of the Tinas are equally important and there is always room for them to bring their own edge, rather than creating carbon copies of what’s been done before.
“In this industry, everyone is equally important. It’s about community.”
Once a show has been created and is up and running, there is maintenance to do, making sure that everything remains as tight and accurate as when it was performed for the first time. We’ll watch the show and call extra rehearsals for anything that needs sharpening up. There are also a lot of other factors that are involved in running this show over a long period of time: physical training sessions for the actors playing Tina, physiotherapy to help prevent or heal injuries the performers might sustain. It’s challenging dancing in heels on a raked stage, for example, and the show requires a LOT of stamina. Performers will also work with Toby, our Musical Director, to help look after their voices. It’s a demanding show.
I absolutely love my job. I always knew I wanted to work in the industry and worked up from being a performer, to a Dance Captain on a show and then on to Resident then Associate Choreographer. Because I’ve been a performer I can really relate to the performers – I have a good overview of the production and the experience of being in a big show like this. I also love the challenge of working on international productions where I have to think on my feet: for example the script is in a foreign language and so the original choreography might need tweaking. I’ve got to be flexible and be able to come up with solutions. It’s definitely a great show to work on.