Andy Blankenbuehler won a 2008 Tony Award for his choreography in the Tony Award-winning Best Musical In The Heights (also Lortel Award, Calloway Award, Outer Critics Award and Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Choreography). He also choreographed the Broadway revival of The Apple Tree and 9 to 5 (Tony nomination). Other recent projects include the West End production of Desperately Seeking Susan, Waiting For The Moon (music by Frank Wildhorn), the world premiere of the musical A Little Princess (music by Andrew Lippa). He has staged concert work for Elton John and Bette Midler, and he conceived, directed and choreographed the hit Caesars Palace production, Nights on Broadway.

As a performer, Andy has danced on Broadway in Fosse, Contact, Man of La Mancha, Saturday Night Fever, Steel Pier, Big and Guys and Dolls. He appears as a guest choreographer on TV's "So You Think You Can Dance."

Lin-Manuel Miranda with Andy Blankenbuehler

Does it take a special kind of dancer to become a choreographer?

Not all dancers make good choreographers. It takes an analytic approach that not all dancers bring to their work. In my case, dancing did not always come easy. I had to work extra hard to intellectually understand what I was trying to achieve. Where some people just have amazing physical gifts that make their work dazzling, other dancers, like me, have to work a little harder to achieve the same goals. That extra works makes you understand the craft in a different way—you understand the guts of it more, the gears. So even while I was still performing, I had my eye on the choreographer, really breaking down his or her choices (as an exercise). And I could sense myself moving towards that position.

Was IN THE HEIGHTS your Broadway debut as a choreographer? How did you come to the attention of the show's producers and, ultimately, get the gig?

Actually, In the Heights wasn't my Broadway debut, but most people think that because it was the first show that got me a lot of attention. I actually choreographed the revival of The Apple Treewith Kristin Chenoweth the season before. I did a "good" job with The Apple Tree.  I didn't say anything truly special.  (The heartbreak of being a creative artist is that we can't always say something in an extraordinary way every time out.)  But with Heights, all the ingredients were there for me to bring everything I had to the plate..... thus, it did feel like a debut of sorts!

I had been pestering the producers for several years, because they did the kind of work I wanted to be a part of. They had been watching me from a far, as well.  Heights needed the kind of story telling ability that they knew I could accomplish. They introduced me to the rest of the team, and my interviews started from there.  In the end, it was just meant to be.  I believe that.

Corbin Bleu and Christopher Jackson from the Broadway Company

You have said that going into IN THE HEIGHTS, you didn't have much experience with Salsa and Hip Hop and that it was a "different vocabulary for me." Tell us how you approached the project and worked to embody the Latin music styles. What were your greatest challenges? Were there any surprises in your creative process?

I knew I had a lot of research ahead of me, but more than anything else, I was truly inspired by Lin's music. It told very clear stories, and it told them in a very exciting way. I just had to figure out what kind of language I wanted to use to bring the music to life.  I then looked at so much Hip Hop and Latino movement, analyzing it, seeing how it translated to music...I spent about 6 months just getting myself ready to start choreographing.
I knew that I wanted to be very authentic with the Latino styles and, to accomplish that, I surrounded myself with professionals. Every time my instincts took me in a direction, I tested all my ideas on them. They would help me to find the details in the dance that would keep the styles true.  And I also made the decision to only use the Latino movement in a more "social" dance way.

In contrast, I made the decision early on that the Hip Hop vocabulary could be used in a much more impressionistic fashion. So, I worked even harder to make that movement familiar to my body. I grew up doing classic American jazz (Jack Cole...) and tap. In many ways, those styles weren't so different than Hip
Hop...the core of musicality and shape were often very similar; it was just the final coat of style that was different.

It took me so many more hours to choreograph Heights than a normal show, because I had so much more research and experimentation to do. But in the end, that research and that attention to detail is one of the things that make it special.

Unlike most Broadway musicals, IN THE HEIGHTS seems dance driven and the actors appear to be constantly in motion as the story unfolds. Talk about your vision for the show and your collaboration with director Thomas Kail. How did it affect what you looked for during the casting process?

I'm not sure that we intended Heights to be "dance driven," but the show was musically driven. And that music danced in its soul. The music that Lin writes begs to be danced, and so it was natural for me to hear and see movement throughout. But also, it was a show about life in the city.  And in NYC, there is movement and rhythm all around us. You may say, no one is dancing down the sidewalk going to work...but I beg to differ. Watch someone totally stressed out, rushing down a crowded sidewalk to try to get to work, and you'll see a dance.

Tommy was very open to my ideas. Worked out a ton of ideas in advance, and then in the room, we just threw all the paint against the wall. New ideas came to life in the room. New ideas came to life on the stage. A new musical just continues to grow and deepen as long as you continue to bring a fresh perspective (and the willingness to work) into the room.

Corbin Bleu and Marcy Harriell in the Broadway production

The dance in IN THE HEIGHTS has been described by critics as "a joyous synthesis of street style and Broadway athleticism" that "catches fire with intense heat filling the stage and flowing outward." To stay healthy and injury-free, do the performers have a specific warm up that you recommend before each performance?

The performers in Heights really have to take care of themselves. Any dance show that you're doing 8 times a week quickly wears at your body, so the dancers have to be very disciplined in both their warm up and the consistency of their movement on stage. We have been very lucky to find dancers on the road and on Broadway who absolutely love their craft and this show, and they have worked so hard to be there 100% every night. We go through a lot of ice packs...and we travel with a physical therapist.


Who inspired you to dance? At what age did you start formal training?

I started dance class at age 3 (tap, ballet). And so I was a studio kid my whole childhood. I think that I liked it, but I didn't love it. When I was a sophomore in high school, I did a production of Godspell, and that's when I got hooked. I loved it desperately after that. Who has inspired me?  In no particular order:  Gene Kelly, Michael Jackson, Gregory Hines, Baryshnikov, Fred Astaire, West Side Story, the Nicholas Brothers, Justin Timberlake, Bob Fosse, Jerome Robbins....the list goes on and on. Inspiration is what makes it all happen. It's what defines the dream, and it's what keeps you pushing towards the dream. And when you reach your dream, and you realize that your inspiration has continued to evolve with your journey, its what defines the next dream.  I believe that dreams become mile markers, if we work hard enough and have enough passion.

What's your regimen to stay in dance shape?

I'm up at 6:30, make coffee and do email until 7:30. I eat breakfast with my wife and two kids, then I go to the gym for an hour (PT exercises, elliptical trainer and machines), steam and shower. I take the subway to my dance studio/office, eat another small breakfast, answer more emails until 10am, then the Internet and the ringer on my phone get turned off. I put on about three layers of clothing (I'm all about keeping warm) and I do a 30-minute dance warm up. Then, I put a song on and I'll improvise for a few minutes, videoing everything, to get things moving. Then I start out on that day's agenda. I go home at 6:30,  finish the day with a couple of icepacks—depending on how tough the day was.


What's the next project you are working on?

I'm currently directing and choreographing the stage debut of the film property "Bring It On." It's going to be a very exciting show, with a score by Lin-Manuel Miranda (In The Heights) and Tom Kitt (Next to Normal). After that, there are a few things that I can't talk about yet. My big goal is to one day write the projects that I direct and choreograph. I'm not the world's best writer, but I think I have some interesting ideas!

For More on In the Heights.
To see more In the Heights choreography.
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