Stepping
Up!
Locally trained choreographer
Joshua Bergasse makes a
"smash" on new NBC series.
Joshua Bergasse
on
Smash Executive
Producer Steven
Spielberg: "I haven't
met [him) ... but he is
very involved with the
production."
Suzanne Chesser
Contributing Writer
S
mash, the new hit TV series about
staging a Broadway musical, will
have an in-person presence in
Farmington Hills later this month.
Series choreographer Joshua Bergasse,
also playing an onscreen role as an assis-
tant choreographer named Josh, will lead
a master class at his mom's dance studio,
Annette and Company, where his talents
were first expressed and where he has
taught.
Bergasse, who has been working on
Smash for a year to get it ready for airtime,
has brought performance and choreo-
graphic experience to the music-filled epi-
sodes, which he discussed during a recent
phone interview from New York.
"I like that there's finally a TV show that
talks about what we do here so people can
relate to that:' says Bergasse, 39, whose
touring roles placed him in the Fisher
Theatre spotlight with West Side Story and
Movin' Out.
"Doing the choreography is my real pas-
sion because I love creating dance moves.
Being on camera is a really fun and excit-
ing extra perk."
Smash follows a fictitious cast and
crew developing a musical about the life
of Marilyn Monroe. At the center of the
dramatic story lines are the career and
personal experiences of a songwriting
duo, Julia Houston (Emmy Award winner
Debra Messing) and Tom Levitt (Tony
Award nominee Christian Borle).
Competing for the role of Marilyn
have been Karen Cartwright (Katharine
McPhee) and Ivy Lynn (Megan Hilty).
Rounding out the show are producer
Eileen Rand (Oscar winner Anjelica
Huston) and director Derek Wills (Jack
Davenport).
Producer Steven Spielberg came up with
the idea for the show and approved the
selection of Bergasse.
"I haven't met Steven Spielberg," says
Bergasse, a graduate of Berkley High
School who decided on his career direc-
tion while in a summer arts program at
Oakland Community College. "He hasn't
come on the set, but he is very involved
with the production.
"The way technology is today, every-
thing that we shoot gets uploaded daily,
sometimes twice daily, to a website. He is
able to see it, take notes and comment. I
haven't spoken with him, but I've heard his
voice over the phone"
Bergasse explains different perspec-
tives of doing choreography for camera
in comparison to doing choreography
for stage while looking back on various
assignments.
His TV credits include So You Think You
Can Dance and expansive commercials.
Stage credits, in and out of New York,
have involved productions of Bomb-Itty of
Errors, Captain Louie, Fame the Musical,
Guys and Dolls, Carousel and Beehive
among many others.
"When you're choreographing for the
camera, you usually just have to worry
about what's in the shot',' Bergasse says.
"For the stage, you
have to worry about
everything because
you don't know where
someone from the
audience may be looking.
"For this show, a lot of the numbers are
done as if they're on the stage. Because it's
about being on the stage, people see a lot
more than they normally would. That's the
way they wanted the look of the show."
Bergasse has lots of interaction with
the main characters who are not tak-
ing on dancing roles. Debra Messing, for
instance, is seen at the edge of some musi-
cal sequences, and he works with her on
those just about daily.
Actual workdays can stretch into the
evening and continue into weekends, a
schedule understood by Bergasse's wife,
dancer Kristine Bendul, who travels the
musical stage circuit.
"Every day is different as it comes
from the writers:' says Bergasse, planning
dances to new music created by Tony and
Grammy Award winners Marc Shaiman
and Scott Wittman.
"Yesterday, I started on set, making sure
a musical number was staged correctly.
Then, I went into a production meet-
ing. Afterward, I spent a couple of hours
answering emails that had to do with the
show, like scheduling, and stayed in the
studio with the dancers from 3-10 p.m. to
create a new number."
Bergasse hires the ensemble dancers,
generally allowing for a core group of 10.
He's had as many as 100 for one routine.
U
z
On NBC's Smash, Jack Davenport (as
Derek Wills), Joshua Bergasse (as Josh)
and Christian Borle (as Tom Levitt)
watch Megan Hilty (as Ivy Lynn) audition
for the role of Marilyn Monroe for a
Broadway production called Marilyn the
Musical, with dancers Leslie Odom Jr. (as
Sam Strickland) and Keith Kuhl.
"Casting has not been easy because
there are so many great dancers audition-
ing," he says. "We get the best of the best.
The dancing comes quickly for Katharine
and Megan, and it's wonderful working
with them:'
On Presidents Day, with time off from
the series, Bergasse did some teaching at
the Broadway Dance Center, where he has
been on the faculty since 1998.
As shooting winds up for a season of
15 Smash episodes, the cast and crew are
keeping their fingers crossed for word that
there will be a second set of shows.
"We don't want to make any plans or
take any other jobs because everybody
wants to be there if we get picked up for
next season:' says Bergasse, whose spiritu-
ality was nurtured at Congregation B'nai
Moshe. "We're holding our breath:' Ci
Smash airs 10 p.m. Mondays on NBC.
March 1 . 2012
39