If
you love to see passion come to life on stage and a cast of incredibly talented
dancers, a national tour that hit the road this weekend is the perfect show for you. Shaping Sound Dance Company is traveling across North America with a
production that brings the “wow” factor. Founded by Travis Wall, Nick
Lazzarini, Teddy Forance and Kyle Robinson, following their stint as a reality
TV show (All The Right Moves), Shaping Sound has become something so much more.
The
theatre show kicked off in LA on May 18th and already I’ve come across tons
of great reviews online. I’m hoping I’ll
get a chance to see them live when they hit NYC. Here are the rest of the tour
dates:
Amongst
the cast members, there is even a bit of Canadian pride. 21-year-old Joey
Arrigo found his way from Toronto to Los Angeles and I got to chat with him
about his experience in the cast, what it’s like living in LA and what he’s
most looking forward to. (You may recognize him from So You Think You Can Dance
Canada.)
Christina
Dun: How are rehearsals going?
Joey
Arrigo: Rehearsals are absolutely amazing. This is my first project working
with this company and from the work that I’ve done before, it differs so much
because working with these guys is such an experience. Working with such
talented artists fuels you every day. Everyday is a good experience and I’m
always happy to be in the room. So rehearsals have been going amazing.
CD:
How did you get involved with the company?
JA:
I met all four boys working on conventions and going to conventions. I assisted
for JUMP Convention, where Teddy and Nick are teachers and just from assisting
their classes and working with them a lot, they asked me from there if I was
interested in being part of the company.
CD:
What are you most excited for?
JA:
First off, I’ve never been on a full tour of the United States before, even
working with conventions I go to these cities to work the conventions but I
don’t leave the hotel for the entire weekend so it’s like I haven’t even been
to the city. So it’s nice that I‘m going to get to go on a tour of the United
States and see all these cities and be able to actually see parts of the city
and perform in them and get to experience them. And also, since these four guys
have such a high-profile name in the country and are confident, it’s going to
be great to share the stage with them and I’m really excited to have my name
associated with the company.
CD:
What’s it like working with everyone?
JA:
The group dynamic is absolutely amazing. I feel that everywhere I’ve worked,
there’s always been somebody I butt heads with and I feel that there’s always
somebody I have to really work through to get along in the process of creation
in the show or whatever. But here, I just feel like everybody’s here for the
same reason and I feel like everybody’s here because they want to dance. They
want to do dance and it means something to them. And they want to create a good
show so everybody’s on the same page and there’s nobody I feel is holding back
or anything like that. I feel like we’re a good group and we’re working well
together, so I’m really excited about that.
CD:
How would you describe the show? What makes it unique?
JA:
It’s very story-driven. We all play characters in the show and it’s cool to
experience that side of a show when you can really explore the movement and
improve yourself as a dancer while trying to play a character. So I think that
really sets apart the show from other dance shows; it’s more than just dance,
it’s a full production. So I’m really excited about that.
CD:
What character do you play?
JA:
The character the boys have given me is that they’ve titled me “The Antagonist.”
So that’s someone who is the troublemaker in the show, the one who causes
problems. So I like that, just to add some shading to the show.
CD:
What’s the biggest challenge you’ve come across so far?
JA:
I guess the biggest challenge is that all the dancers in the show are actually
based here in LA, and I am not. I’ve lived in Toronto my whole life and I went
on a world tour with a company previous to this, so I didn’t have an address
and I was living out of a suitcase. And once again, right now I’m just staying
with one of the other company members, in their apartment. So basically, I feel
like I’m not at home, not at my home base working at this. Also being in LA, I
don’t have a car and it’s hard to access things. But I mean, I’m saying that’s
the hardest thing, and it’s not even that hard because I’m here and I’m doing
what I love. I’m here because this job is fulfilling and I wouldn’t say there’s
anything hard about this because I’m enjoying it so much.
CD:
How does the Toronto dance scene compare to the LA dance scene?
JA:
I would kind of say that it doesn’t. The Toronto dance scene is, well I mean, I
grew up there and I absolutely love Toronto, it’s such a great city. I love the
people there and everything and every time I go home I miss them so much and I
just miss the energy of Canadians. But the dance industry there, there’s just
not as much work there for a dancer. So everybody who is really serious about
making a dance career that have come from Toronto does whatever they can to get
their work visa to move to Los Angeles so they can have a successful career.
CD:
What pushes you to continue dancing?
JA:
Definitely I would say the aspect of getting better as a dancer and improving
as a dancer and not being the same dancer you were the day before. I know a lot
of dancers that get comfortable and then they realize they don’t like dancing
anymore because it gets boring to them and it becomes all the same. I feel like
the dancers who really try to push themselves really look at themselves and try
to be better than they were the day before, those are the dancers who stay
motivated and keep striving for passion.
CD:
What advice do you have for other aspiring dancers?
JA:
There’s really two things that fuel me as I was growing up, even now as a
professional and someone who keeps working in the dance industry. Definitely
number one is training and class and technique and knowing about your body and
knowing what your body can and can’t do. And trying to figure out ways to
improve and strengthen and make your body stronger so that you can dance the
way that you want to. So I would say training is number one. Number two is just
remembering why you love dance because the dance industry all over the world,
small and big, is full of so many things that can twist your brain and make you
question. It is an artsy industry so there are lots of things that twist your
brain. I would say that the number one thing is remembering why you love dance
and remembering that dancing is for you and not for anybody else. Keeping your
sanity is definitely important.
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- Christina
