INTHE RAW As layers of celebrity are peeled further and further back in the age of reality television, the viewing audience is increasingly exposed to more of the process that goes into the creation of a final product. Designers, supermodels, stylists, and choreographers are all stepping up to center stage for their moment in the spotlight. Few talents deserve the attention more than Mia Michaels. Her resume reads like a choreographer’s dream. Celine. Prince. Madonna. Cirque du Soleil. And most recently, as a celebrity judge on So You Think You Can Dance. movmnt caught up with Mia recently, enjoying a moment behind the scenes with her, a luxury she is not often afforded now.
Jeffery Taylor with Lauren Adams and David Benaym
Did you have fun doing So You Think You Can Dance? I had a really good time. I wouldn’t be doing it again if I didn’t.
How did you get involved with it? [The producers] are all Europeans, mostly from London, and were big Celine Dion fans. They saw the show about three or four times. How was it working for Celine? Great! I loved working with her. Her sense of humor is fantastic, always making jokes. We laughed more than we rehearsed. She was great, very eager, very generous as a performer, and to her dancers. She gives so much to the artists. I wish that all dancers were taken care of the way Celine takes care of her dancers. How did you like working with Franco Dragone? My experience with Franco was amazing – the most amazing experience. Was that the first project you worked with him on? Yeah. He was taking submissions for new choreographers. He wanted to branch out. He just opened his company in Belgium. He had just left Cirque and he was looking for new energy. He was working on this new project with Celine. He knew it was going to be a dance show, but when he goes into a project he doesn’t like to border himself into concepts or anything. He just likes to say, “This is the project and now let’s let it breathe and see what it is because we don’t know what it is until it tells us.”
And I always think that’s such a great way of creating because you’re not locked into anything. You just let it inspire you. He had submissions from choreographers from all over the world and my agent submitted me. At one point, there were about six of us being considered for the project. The next thing I heard was that he was going to use all six of us because he wanted it to be a big dance show and he thought it would be interesting to use a lot of different energies from different choreographers. Then two weeks later I got a phone call basically saying, “Franco just decided he wants to use you because you’re so versatile and your reel has so many different styles on it that he thinks that you’re the one!” I remember so clearly; I was in my apartment in Chelsea. I didn’t have a lot of money. I was struggling... When was this? It was... 2002. A lot of things can happen in four years… So much! Wow, so much... I remember it was a Friday night at about five o’clock. I was sitting on my windowsill and I got this phone call and they said, “You need to leave in about a week and you’re moving to Belgium for six months and then you’ll be going to Vegas for six months.” And I knew… I knew that project would change my life. I knew it as soon as I got the call. I knew that not only in many ways would it change my life as an artist, it would change me. And I remember putting the phone down and crying out of gratefulness because I had been struggling for so long to pay bills and to just be heard. I put my furniture outside on the sidewalk for the homeless, packed my bags, took my dog and my bags, and I moved to Belgium. And my life has been forever changed. It gave me the outlet to keep going, to pursue the things that I wanted to do. My dreams are much more colorful now. They’re much brighter. They’re not the poor artist’s dream. There’s something really beautiful about the rawness of no money, and I never want to lose that. But I dream much bigger now. The name of your company was called RAW. Why is that? Because I like the untapped. I like the quality of not produced and not structured. I like the reality of the dirtiness of what it is and the reality of what it is to live in this world.
It seems like your process is very organic… I’m very much about seeing what the artist brings to me that I can manipulate and... play - it’s more about a playground. Franco said something to me once, “If you don’t find one moment of magic in a rehearsal, you’ve lost an entire day.” And one moment of magic is not necessarily a dance step or something that looks amazing, but it might be that person over in the corner lighting a cigarette, or someone that fell and is on their hands and knees and can’t get up. It’s those moments of humanity that make him - and me - tick. A whole piece could be derived from one person just watching someone fall, as opposed to, “OK! This is the choreography, kids! Here it is!” And I think that’s where I’ve grown; I’ve moved out of that. I’m very aware. I have eyes in the back of my head I’m more aware of the humanness - the dancers bitching in the corner, or someone that’s just not feeling it that day, or someone that is mad at themselves. I really allow the individual to come out now more than ever. When I had my company, it used to be all about technique and fierceness and strength and the wow factor. And now, yeah, it’s important to entertain, especially
From left to right: Brian Friedman, Mia Michaels, Nigel Lythgoe and Dan Karaty people edit that out because it doesn’t read to the masses. I’m really happy for them and for the dance community that they’ve kept that in.
How did you approach working with dancers with such a wide range of backgrounds? You try to get them through to the next round. I think a good choreographer knows how to find the strengths and eliminate the weaknesses as best as possible. That’s something I was really trying to do.
Do the dancers respect this? Sometimes they’re hungry for that, and sometimes people are not ready to open themselves up to that place. Dancers like to hide behind movement, because it’s very safe. If they’re good at what they do, they can hide behind the choreography without showing their guts and their soul. Tell us about So You Think You Can Dance and the second season about to start in a few weeks. Second seasons are always harder for every show. How are you going to approach that in your role as a choreographer and a judge? I have to say, I’m really proud of Fox, honestly, and Nigel because they never said once to me, “I need you to be more commercial.” They really embraced who I am as an artist and they want that on the show. And it’s really important that they’re keeping that. So many
Is that challenging? Sometimes. But if their work ethic is really good, you can smooth over it painlessly.
What’s next? I’m going to work with Anna Vissi again, the Greek superstar. She’s amazing! I’ve been working with her for a while. Then I’m going to Moscow to work with Philip Kirkorov, who is probably the biggest pop star in Russia. He’s hilarious! Then I’m going to do Hello Dolly! at Papermill. It’s going to be really interesting for me to do musical theater.
! y oll should be a progression of your last. If you do the same work all the time, you’re never growing. Constantly progressing, moving forward. What did you take from it? What did you learn from it? Some of the most painful experiences you have are the ones that make you go to the next level. It’s up to you to pick yourself up and keep going.
How do you go about preparing for something like Hello Dolly! I don’t jump into a project until a couple days prior because I go from one project to the next. Wherever I’m at in that moment, I focus on that. So anywhere from two days to the night before, or maybe even the morning of preproduction with a cup of coffee, I’ll start listening to the music.
You have worked with artists like Prince and Madonna. What did you learn from them? Prince was awesome! Madonna was Madonna. I’ve come to a point in my career where it’s not worth abuse or having no fun at all. We work so hard; if you’re not enjoying it and people are just ancers like to hide behind movement, because it’s very safe. Is this a first? I’ve done regional theater, but people are afraid of me on Broadway. They’re afraid to take a chance. But what they don’t realize is that I come from a traditional jazz/Broadway background. What would you say the basic approach to your work is now? I’m in a place where I want every job I do to move me to the next level. Twyla said this once to me, and it stuck with me, that every piece of work that you do
nightmares, then it’s not worth an extra line on your resume. That’s the one thing I learned - if it’s not working for you, it’s OK. It’s just not the right place or time. It doesn’t mean that you’re a failure. You have to enjoy your process and you have to enjoy your life, because it’s so short. And if you’re not enjoying it, then what’s the point of doing it?
when people are paying $200 a seat. Yes, you have to entertain your audiences. But I would not be a happy artist if it was only about the entertainment factor. I have to walk away from a project changed. I need to feel different. I need more than just amazing movement. But I had to go through that in order to get to where I am now. I had to have my company and have the best technical facilities and the best dancers to jump around and do ten million pirouettes, because now that doesn’t impress me. That does nothing for me. Now it goes past that, and it goes into the humanity of who they are as dancers, as artists. I remember saying it on the show, “The human is first, the artist is second, and the dancer is third.” And I stay true to that.
