With no lead vocalist, no live band and plenty of spontaneity, dancers are the main characters of a two-and-a-half-hour production packed with nonstop, full-out professional choreography from the industry’s most brilliant working dancers and choreographers. This production is The Choreographer’s Carnival, a well-revered tradition in the dance community.
The Carnival: Choreographers Ball
The Carnival: Choreographers Ball celebrates 25 years of showcasing the most elite dancers in the world this year. The show runs in Hollywood, Chicago, New York, Atlanta, Canada, Sydney, London, Italy, and Tokyo. The production is rumored to have been inspired by the late Prince’s choreographer showcase at the short-lived ‘Glam Slam Nightclub’ in Los Angeles. It remains the longest-running showcase for dancers to perform, experiment, innovate, network and celebrate. While dancers are usually in the foreground of a film or video, supporting a lead artist, or heavily directed and scripted, they are the main event at Carnival.
The show was created in 1998, by Carey Ysais and Paulette Azizian in Los Angeles, to give working choreographers and dancers a platform to showcase original work completely free of constraints from artists, production companies, directors and corporations. Although the show isn’t a competition, only the most skilled dancers grace the stage. Elite choreographers like Brian Friedman and Monika Felice Smith have presented work on the Carnival stage, while Janet Jackson, Debbie Allen and Paula Abdul can be found in the audience to get a peek at the industry’s best emerging talent. An audition is required to be a part of the show and each performance is expected to be a minimum of five minutes complete with its own story or theme. Most pieces include props and costumes and are usually performed by about six to 20 dancers. The entire showcase has up to 14 choreographers and lasts until late in the night, sometimes past 1am. Music plays between performances, naturally initiating freestyle circles and nonstop dancing throughout the audience. And this whole curation happens every single month.
The room is filled with working and training dancers who share spaces in audition rooms and frequent the same studios in North Hollywood. Dancers and friends of dancers support one another, discovering new friends, recruiting like minds and celebrating their shared love for the craft. There is an unspoken air in the room of the known excellence that so many of them create. Stars, in their own right, provide full experiences powered by raw passion alone.
Brittany Deweese, L.A.-based dancer and choreographer, knows this room all too well. Not only is she an occasional dance partner with the founder Paulette, but she is crafting yet another performance for the upcoming Carnival this October.
Brittany Deweese’s influences
Although Deweese has dreamed of being a choreographer since she was just a little girl, she believes that it wasn’t until moving to L.A. that she finally found her authentic creative style. Deweese took on the role of “Urban Death” at Zombie Joe’s, an underground theater company in North Hollywood, specializing in horror theater. She describes this role as a preparation for the original work that she was destined to create. “If I can do this, I can do anything after this,” Deweese says. She recalls being drawn to horror films for as long as she can remember but credits the role for leading her to actualize this genre as a staple in her artistic trajectory.
Several dynamic performances and undeniable dedication led to Deweese directing her first original show under the theater company leading to the birth of Cabaret Macabre. This show expanded her work from a dancer and performer to a choreographer, director, and video editor. Deweese combines dance, horror and comedy to produce immersive experiences that sit at the intersection of live theater and dance. This innovative blend is both frightening and thrilling yet well-received throughout the dance industry. “I found my niche. I feel that I am recognized as the Spooky Girl,” Deweese proclaims.
This October, Deweese is preparing her fifth piece for Carnival, and the timing couldn’t be more perfect, as this month’s event lands just four days before Halloween. The inspiration for the director’s upcoming piece comes directly from the full show she is currently working on — Cabaret of Curiosities opening September 28, at Risky Business in Burbank, California. This show is an evolution of Deweese’s niche, as she continues to draw from her favorite elements of theater, terror and comedy all while dancing in a stiletto.
The creative process
Deweese begins her process with an extensive three-hour audition made up of performance prompts, choreography and a freestyle dance round. She carefully chose two dancers from the dozens that attended to add to her existing cast of three. Deweese chose dancers based on their ability to improvise, dance and complement the overall vision of the production. These five diverse dancers make up the casts of Cabaret of Curiosities and will also be featured in the choreographer’s Carnival performance. This Carnival piece intends to provide a peek into the show that will run every Saturday night.
Deweese and her cast have been rehearsing since the beginning of September. She jokes that she started rehearsals with the same line she began her rehearsals with from her previous show: “So, guys, what do you want to make a show about?” She encourages her cast to offer ideas for the show, providing a fun and collaborative creative process, while never losing sight of her overall vision and aesthetic. She explores these ideas with hilarious trial and error as she refines them to a more cohesive message. She laughs through her attempts to balance artistic vision with practical constraints, displaying a true enjoyment of the creative process. When met with issues such as proper lighting, adequate space or costuming, she would seemingly transform them into unique additions that seemed intentional. She embraces her challenges and allows them to shape the foundation of her work.
Performance day
“The first time I ever saw Carnival was on YouTube,” Deweese recalls. “And when I finally came to a show, I remember being overwhelmed but still inspired to put my work on the stage one day.” Deweese is now presenting her fifth piece at Carnival with her beginnings still in mind. She remains transparent about the nervousness that arises as the event approaches but makes it clear that it does not get in the way of a great performance. But nothing matches the day of the show, it’s the magic that comes out of the walls of the theater, everything comes together.”
The magic Deweese speaks of is not the only element that allows the piece to come together. It is an addition to the collaborative effort of the cast. The dancers work together to provide costumes, help with hair and makeup, and even practice their dance backstage up until the last minute before the performance.
Trust in the process, dedication to the vision and an incredible amount of hard work assured a successful performance yet again. Deweese and her cast are perfect examples of the mindset held by so many of Carnival’s featured performers. This mindset is reflected throughout the entire production as each piece bears proof of earned skill and undeniable creativity.
Support the Carnival
No one wins an award or earns any money. This show happens each month from the pure love of the craft and the endless creativity and drive that flows so freely from this community. It stands as one of the only social spaces for dancers to come together to connect. Its importance in the industry is reflected constantly in the successes of its featured performers. Carnival is a place of networking, workshopping, promoting and recharging. Carnival nurtures inspiration and innovation throughout the community and carves a space for free expression.
You can support this community by buying a ticket and attending the monthly event. You can also support Brittany Deweese by attending Cabaret of Curiosities every Saturday night at Risky Business.
By Kelsee Woods of Dance Informa.
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