How to Teach Choreography
Make it Sparkle Video with Richard Frazier
Community Theatre Director
5:23 (runtime)
Director’s Notes
Artistic Director Richard Frazier begins his choreography process by identifying the style of the music, the story, and his personal style. He applies an athletic style with elements from different training backgrounds, tailoring it to the needs of the story.
He utilizes a blend of styles to match the unique sound of the music, as exemplified in 'Something Rotten', where he combines traditional renaissance and hip-hop pop styles. Richard emphasizes the importance of understanding the style of the movement and letting it evolve organically.
Richard listens to the songs repeatedly, focusing on the orchestration to establish an overarching theme. He uses this to create visual pictures he wants to hit and allows himself the flexibility to determine how to transition between these images.
He relies heavily on stage pictures in his choreography, which permits him to incorporate movement without requiring a full cast of trained dancers. By utilizing simpler dance steps, he caters to various skill levels and keeps everyone engaged.
Richard acknowledges that sometimes only a small group may be needed for more complex dance breaks. If within their skill range, he may allow these performers to contribute to the choreography, provided he maintains guidance on style, storytelling, and focus.
Richard advises considering the costumes when choreographing, as they can limit movement. Choreography should complement what performers can do in their costumes. He also suggests teaching the hardest numbers first, giving performers more time to familiarize themselves with complex routines.
About Richard Frazier
Richard began his journey with Theatre Macon in 2011 as the choreographer for The Rocky Horror Show. Since then, he has gone on to choreograph and direct a number of Theatre Macon hits to include Les Misérables, 42nd Street, and Beauty and the Beast before being hired as Artistic Director in August 2018. Richard is a graduate of Columbus State University and holds a Bachelor of Science in Theatre Education. After graduation, he was hired at Northside High School in Warner Robins, Georgia, where he served as the Theatre and Dance teacher for 7 years. Currently, he serves on the Georgia Thespians State Board which encourages and supports the manifestation of theatre education in middle and high schools in Georgia. Richard has also served on the Board of Directors for the Educational Theatre Association; a non-profit organization which celebrates, advocates, and promotes middle and high school theatre education nationwide. In his career, Richard has worked on more than 100 productions spanning many disciplines within the theatre and is looking forward to working on another 100 with Theatre Macon.