Masters of the Stage

In this discussion with Director-Choreographer Lynne Taylor-Corbett in February of 2000, listen to a two-time Tony nominee share her research into the complex history and techniques of competitive swing dance. She tells about the improvisation and experimentation involved during her workshop process to adapt this dance form for the Broadway stage in the 1999 production of Swing! We also get a glimpse of the stories that influenced her career; from her first encounter with a professional dancer in her hometown of Denver that propelled her to New York, to her work touring Africa and the Middle East with the Alvin Ailey Dance Company, as well as her first Broadway experiences choreographing Chess and Titanic. She explains how she built her career from the joy she feels for the theatre audience's enthusiasm for watching dance. This ninety minute interview ends with a frank discussion of the Director-Choreographer relationship, in which she describes the best collaboration as being a fluid, non-threatened relationship built on trust. This insight into the life of an undeniably talented theatre maker is a revealing glimpse into the strengths and struggles of a working Director-Choreographer, which should command the respect of any theatre professional.