Dancing on air: Meet 10 smooth operators | John Moore | Arts & Entertainment

Live storytelling starts with a playwright, a director and actors. But those aren’t the only creatives involved with making our local musical theater productions come to life on a stage.

The Colorado theater community is blessed to have a host of talented choreographers who infuse our musicals with creativity, improvisation, imagination and energy. And they are as essential in the telling of a story as a pen is to paper.

“Being an effective storyteller is a huge piece of being a successful choreographer,” said Fort Collins’ Kenny Moten, who directed four musicals for four different theater companies in 2022. “In a musical, movement serves as the connective thread between story and song, and you want that to feel seamless.”

Adding movement and dance to stories is also one of the most intimate components of creating any stage musical. Now more than ever, Moten said, the choreographer must create an environment that makes everyone in the room feel safe.

“When performers are asked to make these difficult and physically demanding moves up to eight times a week, they definitely need to know that someone has their backs,” Moten said. “That is a fine line that the best choreographers ride really well.”

Here are 10 who brought fresh life to their musical productions in 2022:

• Carrie Colton, The Candlelight’s “The Scarlet Pimpernel”: Colton is the rare choreographer who is equally adept at both dance and stage combat. “She is a very smart teacher, and she makes her performers feel comfortable and confident in the work we are doing,” said actor Sarah Forman. “She sets her actors up for success, and she is our loudest cheerleader.”

• Jessica Hindsley, Arvada Center’s ”‘Beauty and the Beast”: “There is no one I know who is better at storytelling using choreographing than Jessica,” said Moten, whose favorite  dance moment in the show was when the full company starts doing a step moment during the song “Gaston” because, he said, “it is so full of joy.”

• Dominique Kelley, DCPA Theatre Company’s “Rattlesnake Kate”: Something about the story of a pioneering Colorado frontierswoman spoke to Kelley. “When I finished reading the script, I thought, ‘Well, that’s my story. I’m Kate,’” Kelley said. Yes, this tall, Black, queer man from Connecticut found connection to Colorado snake-slayer Kate Slaughterback. Emily Ferguson of Westword wrote that Kelley “brought the show’s layered, liberating overtones to new heights with dynamic movements that were wholly American and accessible to people.”

• Patrick Mueller, Aurora Fox’s “Futurity”: Best known for creating immersive works with his own dance theater company called Control Group Productions, Mueller tapped into the inherent sorrow within a surprisingly joyful steampunk musical set in the Civil War. And he had the additional extreme challenge of choreographing performers who had to act, move, dance and play musical instruments at the same time. Actor Damon Guerrasio said Mueller’s style is notable for its fluidity. “Everything he does is in service to the story,” Guerrasio said.

• Christopher Page-Sanders, Town Hall Arts Center’s “Once on This Island”: Page-Sanders, who has been infusing Denver stages with new life since arriving  from St. Louis in 2018, “pushes people to become as good as he knows they can be,” said director Betty Hart. “And every actor he works with learns and grows – and thanks him for it by the end of the process.” Hart points to the umbrella-enhanced song “Rain,” when the God of Water brings on a meaningful storm. “The entire song was powerful, not just for the incredible singing of the entire ensemble, but Christopher allowed us to go on this journey of what rain and storms are capable of doing – so you felt it as well as saw it.”

• Angie Simmons, Miners Alley Playhouse’s “Hair” and OpenStage’s ‘Cabaret’: “Angie is known as a dancer’s dancer, because she is a dancer herself, in the truest sense,” said “Hair” director  Len Matheo. “Her actors love her for that.” Matheo’s favorite moment was when the ensemble moved together as a bunch across the stage during a playful song. “The way pulled that off was incredible,” he said.

• Kitty Skillman Hilsabeck, Arvada Center’s “Kinky Boots”: This anthem to tolerance and general fabulousness calls for one big dance after another, and Chris Arneson of BroadwayWorld Denver called Skillman Hilsabeck’s work “the perfect dose of dopamine.” Her dance numbers, he said, “had the elderly women in front of me out of their seats.”

• Ronni and Debbie Stark, Town Hall Arts Center’s “Newsies”: This award-winning mother-daughter team best known for their work with the disability-affirmative Phamaly Theatre Company is back working a show together for the first time in six years. The intuitive pair turned “Seize the Day” into a gymnastic extravaganza featuring cast member Jasmyn Pierce, who, smartly, happens to be a gymnast (and also appeared in Miners Alley Playhouse’s “Hair”). “But one of my fave moments in the show was the song ‘New York,’ where they lined up the performers in a V-shape at the beginning of a tap number so that everyone watching from all three sides of the stage could see,” said director Steve Wilson. “That was a surprising and amazing number.”

• Nick Sugar, Town Hall Arts Center’s “The Wedding Singer” and “Xanadu”: Even after three decades, Sugar is finding new ways to bring the fun. Chris Arneson of BroadwayWorld Denver said Sugar’s energetic choreo was a constant throughout “The Wedding Singer” – and that “each number has something different to offer.” Veteran actor Annie Dwyer was wickedly hilarious as the villainous goddess Melpomene, especially pulling out all the stops for a ridiculous ‘80s-era freeform rap anthem called “(Never Too Late to) Move That Thang.” “Nick always gets his cast to move their thangs,” Dyer said with a laugh.

• Kelly Van Oosbree, Performance Now’s “The Drowsy Chaperone”: This prolific double-duty director and choreographer is highly regarded for her ability to incorporate comedy into her dance numbers. “She’s brilliant and organized, thoughtful and creative,” said Nancy Evans Begley, who won a Henry Award for her portrayal of Drowsy. “She also has a particular, unparalleled ability to choreograph partnering – which is an uncommon gift. Plus, she’s fun and funny.”

Note: The True West Awards, now in their 22nd year, began as the Denver Post Ovation Awards in 2001. Denver Gazette Senior Arts Journalist John Moore celebrates the Colorado theater community by revisiting 30 of the best stories from the past year without categories or nominations.