Learn more about Amy Campbell's choreography in this Q&A.
How do you collaborate with the Director and Musical Director?
My first point of call is to get very familiar with the Director's vision for the piece and make sure I am building a world which supports the narrative of the show. When it comes to a creating a number, I will have chatted to both our Director and Musical Director (MD) about initial staging ideas and then I will have prepped a vocabulary and a vision before hitting the floor with the cast. Once I have a draft, I constantly check in with both the MD and Director to make sure it's reading and aligns with what they both need. I always like to try and surprise them a bit, too! On a show like Kimberly Akimbo, it's super important that the choreography lifts the storytelling and not distracts from it. It was also important to make sure that not only each number had a strong physical point of view, but that across the entire show there was consistent and evolving movement language.
Where do you draw inspiration from when choreographing this show?
Fortunately, I grew up in the 90s, so it wasn't a big stretch to remember what influences were prolific at the time! I drew inspiration from the pop culture of New York and New Jersey in the 90s, TV shows, researching show choir competitions and of course what icons and music were born of this time. I created a visual diary of videos and images that caught my eye and felt like they could provoke movement ideas. It's not always 'dance steps' that inspires the vocabulary at first.
The cast of Kimberly Akimbo. Photo: Sam Roberts
Are there are movement motifs we should keep an eye out for?
There are a lot of subtle music theatre 90s references that the teen quartet get to perform. It was so fun creating their mash-up of a vocabulary, even on rollerblades.
How would you describe the movement style/language of this show?
I would say it’s all ‘text-based choreography’ as actor Marty Alix likes to say. It's joyous, buoyant and subtly detailed to let each scene and song really shine.
Do you consciously think about variation in your work? If so, how?
I do think of variation constantly in my process! Formations and unison are not usually within my early drafts. But music, tempo and text largely influence the styles I will pull from initially. I always like to have a world built with many stylistic influences and I always leave space for a sense of collaboration and personalisation with each actor I get to work with.
The cast of Kimberly Akimbo. Photo: Sam Roberts