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CITY LIGHTS AND THE BROADWAY STAGE CHECK OUT WHAT NEIL HASKELL IS RAVING ABOUT…
Neil Haskell
MUSIC
NEIL HASKELL IS CURRENTLY PERFORMING IN TUCK EVERLASTING ON BROADWAY!
NEIL’S CURRENT FAVORITE ARTISTS ARE:
FAVORITE FOODS
ED SHEERAN
Recommended Conditioning To Keep Endurance and Athleticism On Point for Performances
BIG SEAN
Ronnie Nelson
KANYE WEST
Before Training/ Performing
After Training/ Performing * CHIPS AND SALSA!
Clothes To Dance In
ADIDAS SOCCER PANTS THAT TAPER AT THE ANKLES.
Street Clothes SLIM JEANS TEE SHIRT HIGH TOPS BUFFALO BILLS HAT
* * * *
EGGS CHICKEN PROTEIN SHAKES CAFFEINE BEFORE A SHOW (UNLESS IT’S OPENING NIGHT… TOO MANY JITTERS!)
Favorite Broadway Show To Perform In
BRING IT ON: THE MUSICAL. IT WAS CHALLENGING, AND I GOT TO DANCE, TUMBLE AND LEARN HOW TO DO CHEERLEADING STUNTS. PLUS, THE CAST WAS RIDICULOUSLY FUN TO HANG OUT WITH!
“I THINK THE BIGGEST CHALLENGE IS KEEPING YOUR BODY EVENLY BALANCED. WHEN YOU PERFORM IN A SHOW EIGHT TIMES A WEEK, YOU ARE DOING THE SAME REPETITIVE MOVEMENTS OVER AND OVER. YOU HAVE TO RESPECT YOUR BODY AND GIVE IT THE TREATMENT IT DESERVES. GIVE YOURSELF A PROPER WARM UP AND COOL DOWN. OUTSIDE OF PERFORMING, BALANCE YOUR BODY BY TAKING DANCE AND YOGA CLASSES, LIFTING WEIGHTS AND DOING CARDIO AT THE GYM.”
Dream Broadway Show To Perform In
PIPPIN! PLAYING PIPPIN WOULD BE AN INCREDIBLE ROLE THAT WOULD STRETCH ME AS A PERFORMER. WHO KNOWS, MAYBE AUDIENCES WILL MISS IT ENOUGH THAT IT WILL GET ANOTHER BROADWAY REVIVAL IN THE NEAR FUTURE!
Favorite So
You Think You Can Dance Performance
MANDY MOORE’S SWEET DREAMS DANCE WITH SABRA. NOTHING BEATS A SOLID ‘80S JAZZ DANCE!
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TravisTALK Viewpoint: Authenticity and Expression In each issue of Inside Dance, renowned dancer and choreographer, Travis Wall, shares from his life experiences, recounting some of his best memories and also sharing insight into his processes and mindset. In this issue, Travis talks about using his real life experiences and emotions in his pieces…
Photo courtesy FOX
I’m just myself and, at the end of the day, I never ask myself, ‘Oh, am I sharing too much with the world?’ This is what I want to share, and I’ve never thought twice about it. Some people come up to me and say, ‘I cannot believe you just put that story on television.’ Listen, if Adele has a heartbreak and she writes a CD about it, hurrah! That’s what she did. Dance is my art. If something affects me, I’m going to express myself. Madonna said it best, ‘Express yourself!’ I’m not a private person. I mean, I definitely keep things that need to be private, private. However, I feel as though I’m inspiring a lot of people. I’ve heard so many stories like, ‘My father only lets me dance because I say I idolize you, and he watched you dance. He lets me keep dancing because he’s a fan of you.’ When you hear that stuff, that’s so cool. You forget about how many people you inspire!
Do you have a question for Travis or a topic you’d like to see him cover in Travis Talk? Tweet it to us @InsideDanceMag.
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GUYS ON TOUR Backstage with Adrian Lee, Bryan Tanaka, Burim "B-One" Jusufi and Cassidy Noblett Together, Adrian Lee, Bryan Tanaka, Burim “B-One” Jusufi and Cassidy Noblett have racked up a list of accomplishments so stellar you might think there would be a level of arrogance and complacency among them. However, along with being immensely talented, driven and diverse, they’re refreshingly grounded.
By Christy Sandmaier
Photos by Aaron Felske
BECAUSE BABY, YOU’RE A FIREWORK It’s a business being born this way. Their résumés boast performances with a pantheon of mega-watt headliners including Madonna, Lady Gaga, Katy Perry, Rihanna, Britney Spears, Beyoncé, Iggy Azalea and Janet Jackson. Their portfolios are stacked with Super Bowl halftime shows, Cirque du Soleil tours, episodes of Glee, a season or two of So You Think You Can Dance, Kids Choice Awards, an Entertainment Weekly cover, appearances on Saturday Night Live and Jimmy Kimmel Live!, a handful of commercials, modeling gigs, countless auditions and even a few feature films. Hailing from Los Angeles, Bryan Tanaka got his first gig in an iPod commercial, and he found himself on the fast track soon after performing with Destiny’s Child in a Dallas Cowboys halftime show and landing a spot on the Destiny Fulfilled world tour. Just one year later, he headed back out on the road with Mariah Carey on her high-profile Emancipation Of Mimi tour. Today, he is on the brink of launching a new era in his career where he will not only be performing, but creating and producing as well. He draws strength and motivation from the team of dancers and artists around him. Tanaka says to, “Surround yourself with the right people. Always.”
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Adrian Lee, who started with Bad Boys Of Dance and then went on to do Shania Twain’s Shania: Still The One show in Las Vegas, takes nothing for granted in this business. “I think one of the hardest parts of the dance industry is to not get comfortable. You have to always keep growing in different ways because as soon as you become stagnant, there will be someone working that much harder than you, waiting for their own moment.” B-Boy Burim Jusufi relies on that edge as motivation. Jusufi says, “Someone else might have better technique, better skills and more experience, but it’s your work that will get you the job. As an artist, you have to set yourself apart and be your own person. You don’t want to be like everyone else.” “Being part of Bad Boys Of Dance was an incredible first job,” Lee says. “I was 19 and it was my first time working and traveling as a professional dancer. We were mostly overseas and it was a wonderful way to both see the world and also get a lot of experience and time on stage. I learned so much about performing and what it was going to take to become the performer I wanted to be.” Just two days away from leaving for an 11-city run in Asia as part of Katy Perry’s Prismatic World Tour when we spoke, Cassidy Noblett was totally calm and completely down-to-earth. “Everybody that
“It’s one thing when you go to a concert and watch it, but it’s something so different when you’re getting ready to be a part of it.” -Noblett
comes to that show wants to be there. The moment the crowd starts roaring, it’s an adrenaline rush. You can’t replicate that feeling anywhere else.” Yes, there’s always an adrenaline rush. There’s also an aura created by the road, busses and airplanes, if they’re lucky, living life out of a suitcase and squeezing in a meal before sweating off five pounds during a 90-minute show. It’s not glamorous at all. It’s work.
A DAY IN THE LIFE... Their love for performing is renewed each night they’re on stage. There’s always more to learn, whether it is new choreography, music, fashion, stages, cities or cues. For Noblett, his role has changed over time having worked as a backup dancer for Janet Jackson, Beyoncé, Christina Aguilera, the Black Eyed Peas and the Spice Girls, among many other prominent performers, to becoming a team leader. As one of two dance captains in Prismatic, he likes to point to day one when asked about a typical day on a high-powered pop tour. Noblett
says the gym is first on the day’s schedule, while a bite to eat and a healthy amount of meditation follows. He then settles in to watch the DVD of the previous night’s performance. Call time is usually around 2:00 pm when they get on the bus and head to the venue and hit catering. Rehearsal and a sound check are soon to follow. Noblett then heads for physical therapy and another meal, with the hopes of also squeezing in a 30-minute nap. Ninety minutes before the show, he starts stretching. The evening ends with the show, dinner and the bus ride to the next city. However, don’t think for a minute a full night’s sleep is in the works. “The majority of the time, we’ll wake in the middle of the night, unload, head to the hotel, try and go back to bed and then wake up and do it all over again.”
PREPARE FOR THE UNEXPECTED With all of the preparation, the unplanned moments happen, of course; costumes malfunction, dancers go down and back flips go awry, but they are pros and they can handle it. Even Madonna went down during the Brit Awards and fans had the luxury of watching it over and over after it went viral. Noblett, who admitted to a faceplant during a Beyoncé show and had no doubt how many fans saw it says, “The thing I laugh at the most is when I fall on stage. On every tour, at least one time, I’ve fallen.” His advice? “Strike a pose or just throw in a two-step.” MAY/JUNE 2015
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DAILYDANCERDIET
SUMMER NUTRITION TIPS
Inside Dance is excited to announce our brand new nutrition feature! Liana Blackburn, a successful dancer and creator of DailyDancerDiet, transformed her lifestyle by making healthy diet changes, and she now wants to share her personal nutrition and health tips with YOU! Blackburn is a vibrant dancer who is on a journey to a healthy lifestyle. We invite you to share this journey with her and discover what little diet changes you can make that will make you a happier and healthier person!
By Liana Blackburn 50
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TEACHER4TEACHER Gotta Dance Atlanta Prodigy Program Dare Dream Dance – CiCi Kelley Atlanta, Georgia DareDreamDance.com • Got2DanceKidz.net
CiCi Kelley is the founder of Dare Dream Dance and also the founder of the Gotta Dance Atlanta Prodigy Program. Read on to find out more about her success as a dancer, choreographer and teacher!
Tell us about your professional background as a dancer and choreographer. At what point did you also decide to pursue teaching? I’ve been blessed with the opportunity to dance with some of the most profound artists of our time, throughout my career as a dancer. I’ve danced for Beyoncé, Tina Turner, Jennifer Lopez, LL Cool J, Outkast, Wyclef Jean and Toni Braxton. It has been a thrilling ride! I started choreographing in 2006, and I’ve had the pleasure to present my artistry for The Georgia Lottery, Atlanta Falcons, Toni Braxton, the movie Last Vegas and Bolden!, as well as the Bowl Games of America’s Russell Athletic Bowl. I love what I do! I decided to add teaching into my repertoire when I started to train youth for different competitions and performances in 2010. I began to fall in love with experiencing the “I got it” moment with them as they obtained a new skill set. Watching a young dancer transform is, by far, one of my proudest career highlights. I also began to enjoy training young adults who were maybe new to the scene in ATL to help them reach some of their goals. It’s interesting because I became a mom in 2011, and my maternal instinct kicked in, not only for my child, but for any child that wanted to receive training to become a better dancer.
Phazes Of Love Red Carpet With
As a mentor and teacher, what drives you to guide young lives and prepare them for “the dance world”? As a mentor, I strive to prepare a young dancer with tangible tools that will help them in their career by teaching and showing them what’s needed. However, I also make sure to involve them in the process of how to become successful. As a teacher, my drive is directly in the classroom where the development and magic happens! Coaching a student through numerous lessons and countless hours is an undeniably hard task. Building a relationship with their parents, both inside and outside of the classroom, to ensure their child’s success through dance is truly an awesome experience. Tell us about the development and growth of your prodigy program? The GDA Prodigy program is a youth intensive training curriculum I created and direct at Gotta Dance Atlanta. It’s an exciting program with some of Atlanta’s most talented young dancers, and it helps gear them for a professional career in commercial dance. I officially started the curriculum in 2013 with four kids and now the program has grown into three divisions with 20 students enrolled. Students must acquire a minimum of 17 hours per week for classes in Ballet, Jazz, Hip Hop, Acro, Stretch, Terminology/History, Leaps and Turns, Contemporary and weekly intensives. Students also receive training with a host of Master classes and one-on-one sessions with the most sought after choreographers in the dance industry. Students have the opportunity to perform around the city as well as participate in conventions like Pulse and Monsters of Hip Hop.
GDA Prodigy Students
Prodigy program auditions will be held in July in preparation for the 2016-2017 season.
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Choreography set
ting for Morgan
Freeman for the
film Last Vegas
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