|
 A
Towering
Force
By Nancy Wozny
Mia Michaels is a towering figure on the dance scene, and
that’s not only because she stands 5' 11". Her career spans
successes on the commercial and concert fronts, a rare
occurrence in the dance world. Many Americans (at least 24
million of them) know her as the outspoken, clear-talking
judge and multitalented choreographer of last summer’s hit
television show
So You Think You Can Dance.
Jazz aficionados know her from R.A.W. (Reality at Work), her
short-lived but successful dance company. Her work with rock
and pop stars—including Madonna, Prince, Ricky Martin, Gloria
Estefan, Celine Dion, and Greek superstar Anna Vissi—is
legendary. Thousands of students know her teaching from her
convention work with The Pulse and Joe Lanteri. Her
choreography for Cirque du Soleil’s
Delirium
has been a smash hit. You might recognize her moves on a
Coldwell Banker commercial, and if you tune into the next
Super Bowl you can catch her work on a Visa commercial. If you
are still not impressed, she’s also taken a shot at
Hello, Dolly!
for the Paper Mill Playhouse in New Jersey.
Despite a jaw-dropping resume, Michaels credits her
ballroom/jazz dancer father, Joe Michaels, for giving her the
foundation to launch a formidable career. Born into a dance
family (her mother, Ruth, was also a ballroom dancer),
Michaels got an early start in studio life; by age 7 she was
knocking on her friends’ doors and announcing it was time for
rehearsal. Her father was her first dance teacher, starting
her off with jazz. “He made everyone fall in love with dance,”
says Michaels. She caught the choreography bug in her father’s
class and was always fiddling with the movement to make it
more interesting. “I was the girl in the back changing the
combination; lucky for me, my dad was the teacher,” she says.
Joe Michaels Miami Dance Center was a Florida landmark for 37
years and the go-to place in Miami. Michaels and her sister,
Dana, took over the studio after their father retired in 1989
but sold it 10 years later. “Having a studio wasn’t enough for
me,” says Michaels.
Michaels continued her training at the Miami Conservatory, New
World School of the Arts, Jacob’s Pillow, and Interlochen Arts
Academy. In high school she dropped out of traditional dance
classes to become a break-dancer; hints of her jaunt into
poppin’ are visible in her hard-to-categorize choreography.
But despite the postmodern edge to her dances she claims to
have never taken any modern classes. “My work is not
mainstream,” she admits. “But it’s finally being accepted.”
Michaels formed and funded R.A.W. in 1998 and managed a tour
of Korea along with a critical New York season. “R.A.W. put me
on the map,” she says. “I would be in the studio for hours and
hours creating work; I put the dancers through Mia boot camp.
It was beauty and hell.” Those years were a crucial time in
Michaels’ growth as a choreographer. The company was
 well
received and landed the young dancemaker on the August 1998
cover of
Dance Magazine.
Besides her own company, Michaels has set work on Les Ballets
Jazz de Montreal, Miami City Ballet, Jazz Theater of
Amsterdam, and Joffrey Ballet II. She closed shop on R.A.W. in
2000 so that she could pursue other opportunities but says she
has not ruled out starting another company some day.
The choreographer names Madonna’s Drowned World Tour 2001 as
her first big break. “Although it wasn’t the best experience,
it opened doors for me.” She says her work on Celine Dion’s
A New Day
at the Colosseum at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas opened another
set of doors. The show has been sold out since it began in
2003, and that’s 4,000 people per night.
Performed on an enormous stage half the size of a football
field, with a foot-high rake, one of the largest LED screens
in the world, and a cast that includes 46 dancers,
A New Day
is a grand-scale project. The performance arena feels more
like a giant public space than a traditional theatrical
setting. “The steep rake is hard on the dancers, but it’s
beautiful,” says the choreographer. Her fluid physicality
creates a storm of movement that defines a distinct landscape
for each song.
Tina Cannon, a dancer in
A New Day,
says that Michaels’ choreography keeps her guessing—and
prevents her from getting stale. “She’s extremely innovative;
her movement is so dynamic, and she is one intense person,”
she says. “She takes conventional movement and pushes it to
the limit.”
Thanks to the deft moves created for her, Dion looks like a
pro even though she’s never danced before. “She is so open and
completely trusted me,” Michaels says. “We had a ball and
laughed all the time.” She uses the “less is more” approach
when working with singers. “I didn’t want it to be too dancey;
it’s about their instrument. My job is to create the world
around them.” The experience has been overwhelmingly positive
and has catapulted her career to the next level—and earned
Michaels a 2004 Emmy nomination. “The show is so emotional for
people,” she says. “It’s so much about love, the loss and
finding of love.”
After her second season of
So You Think,
Michaels may well be the United States’ first celebrity
choreographer. She wasn’t afraid to tell ballroom dancer (and
winner) Benji Schwimmer that he was a tad limited, or to
suggest that Natalie Fotopoulos stop trying so hard. She came
across as one of the most authentic voices on the show, and
the participants seemed to appreciate her cut-to-the-chase
comments. These days people stop her on the street and comment
on how much her work has inspired them. “It’s amazing to me to
have my work affecting so many people,” she says. “I feel
really blessed to be put in that position.”
Michaels’ choreography was a regular feature on
So You Think.
Her piece
Calling You,
for Travis Wall and Heidi Groskreutz, was a personal favorite,
and she says there is talk of an Emmy. Her knack for mining
dancers’ secret talents showed through loud and clear in this
poignant love duet involving a flower and a park bench, which
left the judges speechless. The dance has proved a favorite on
the show’s tour as well. “That piece was so personal to me,”
she says. “I had given a friend a flower recently and drew
from that experience. The whole piece came out in 30 minutes;
I just had to allow things to happen.”
Despite an over-the-top schedule, Michaels makes room for a
few gigs at conventions and competitions. Reminiscing about
how she used to accompany her father to Dance Educators of
America conventions as a child, she says that world holds a
warm place in her heart. “Walking into a convention makes me
remember my dad; there’s just so much love in the room. It’s
home to me.” She will be teaching at The P ulse
dance convention in New York this season, along with many
So You Think
veterans. Explaining that she gets energized by teaching a
roomful of young dancers, she adds, “I have a lot to give as a
teacher. Also, at my height it’s a very positive influence for
young dancers to see that you don’t need a typical dancer’s
body. I’m a big girl.”
Pam Chancey, director of The Pulse, sees Michaels’ impact on
the students she teaches. “While her stature in the dance
world can be intimidating, her personality is actually quite
grounded and accessible. She sees herself not as the celebrity
she has become but as a dancer giving back to the community
she loves,” she says. “[Her] creativity is boundless and her
choreography is like no other style—its freedom always leaves
dancers with much to explore. Her impact on the industry has
resounded for years, touching young dancers who have grown up
to pass along her passion to their own students.”
Despite her affection for the competition/convention circuit,
Michaels believes there’s room for improvement. “Where are the
days of the likes of Bob Fosse, [when] people sought out their
own vocabulary?” she asks. “I’m seeing this watered-down,
moderny-jazz thing; everybody is doing the same thing.” She
still thinks that competitions are a sound place for
choreographers to showcase their work but warns them not to
resort to imitations of imitations.
Michaels applies the same standards to her own work. “I have
to say I haven’t always loved my work. There are moments that
are beautiful, but I can’t sit there and think I’m brilliant,”
she says. “I strive to be brilliant; I have not achieved that
level of artistry yet.” Copying herself is a major offense in
this choreographer’s book. “I have to walk away with something
new, even if it’s a turn or leap; our bodies need [to go]
where they have not been.”
Michaels credits her success to her ability to relate to all
kinds of people. “People relate to the human quality. Plus I
bring a certain amount of the ‘Huh?’ factor,” she says,
referring to her way of twisting the familiar turn, leap, or
gesture into something people have never seen before but can
connect with. She’s a true crossover dance artist who touches
a universal nerve with her free-form choreography. For
Michaels it boils down to her philosophy: “I believe every
single person can dance; everybody has a primal instinct to
move.”
The choreographer is bursting with excitement as she talks
about her next project: a TV pilot about life in a dance
studio. “Each episode will resolve in a dance at the end of
the show,” says Michaels. Although the details are still in
progress, she feels confident that the project will get the
go-ahead.
Shortly before his death two years ago, Joe Michaels saw
A New Day.
He used to joke about his daughter’s “modernish, frou-frou”
style but was moved to tears when he saw
the show.
“I was so happy he got to see it, and I know he was proud,”
says Michaels. “It was the last thing I was able to give to my
dad. If he had lived to see the second season of
So You Think You Can Dance,
I know he would be bringing a TV set to work.” Michaels, who
says she feels her father’s presence often, carries his
unfaltering love of dance wherever she goes.
This choreographer may have hit the big time, but she never
forgets her father’s enduring gifts.
Learn more at www.miamichaels.com.
Photo captions (from top to bottom):
Dancers perform A New Day, choreographed by Mia Michaels.
Photo by Tomasz Rossa.
Mia Michaels. Photo by MONTANA USA.
Mia Michaels (second from left) as a judge on So You Think You
Can Dance. Photo courtesy Teresa Campbell.
Send
Page To a Friend
|
