DanceBreak 2004

Robert La Fosse, Mia Michaels, Bob Richard, Jody Ripplinger, Lainie Sakakura and Matt Williams.

Filmed at the New 42nd Street Studios.

DanceBreak 2004 video

Video shot by Richie Westlein

Robert La Fosse was a Principal Dancer at American Ballet Theater and Principal Dancer and choreographer for New York City Ballet. His extensive repertory includes leading roles in over 100 works, as well as Bob Fosse's Dancin' and Jerome Robbins' Broadway (Tony Nomination.) As a choreographer, he has created over 50 works for ballet, opera, musical theater, film and television. His musical theater productions include Carousel, Anyone Can Whistle, Lady in the Dark, The Great Gatsby, Pippin, West Side Story, and the world premiers of Splendora, A Child's Garden, Rockwell, Positive Me!, Surviving Grace, and The Seven Deadly Sins.

Danced by: Erin Coakley, Lenny Daniel, Jaymes Hodges, Eric Jackson, Jason Lacayo, Michelle Lookadoo, Krissy Richmond, Carol Schulberg, Rebecca Sherman, Bret Shuford.

Mia Michaels' passion for dance has resulted in works of unique vision and beauty. Her work for Celine Dion's "A New Day" earned her an Emmy and an American Choreographer Award Nomination in 2003. She has choreographed for such artists as Madonna, Ricky Martin, Gloria Estephan, and Prince. She choreographed a concert tour for the Greek recording artist Anna Visi in 2004. Mia has created ballets for such companies as Les Ballet Jazz de Montreal, Jazz Dance Chicago, Oslo Dance Ensemble, and her critically acclaimed New York company, RAW. She has held faculty positions with Alvin Ailey America Dance Theater and the International Dance Festival of Italy.

Danced by: Ionna Alfonso, Michael Balderrama, Joey Dowling, Rhett George, Manuel Herrera, Corinne McFadden, Mark Mayars,, Cindy Welik.

Vocalists: Cory Glover and Janice Robinson or Gina Breedlove and Jeremiah Adjai

Bob Richard, as a performer/choreographer/teacher for over twenty year, has travelled the world: Japan, The Soviet Union, Europe, The United States, and Canada. He has taught at Moorehead University and NYU, was a mid-west regional representative for the International Tap Association and spent eleven years with various jazz and ballet companies. Bob was recently nominated for a Bay Area Critic's Circle Award for his choreography on Damn Yankeees at the American Musical Theater of San Jose. Other credits include: Fiddler on the Roof, Brigadoon, West Side Story, Music Man, Unsinkable Molly Brown, Annie, Anything Goes, and Paint Your Wagon, the final show ever performed under the canvas tent of California Musical theatre.

Danced by: Rachel Bress, Charley Brumbly, Maria Davidson, Keith Fortner, Kurt Kelly, Ivory McKay, Kathy Meyer, Shane Rhodes, Erin Sacks, Tonya Wathen.

Jody Ripplinger is currently featured in the U.S National Tour of Spirit: the Seventh Fire, which she also directed. In New York, her work was seen Off Broadway last season in People Are Wrong at the Vineyard Theatre, and Laurence O’Keefe and Nell Benjamin’s Cam Jansen at the Lamb’s Theatre, directed by Gordon Greenberg.Jody received excellent reviews for her choreography on The Most Happy Fella (5th Avenue Theatre) Anything Goes (Ordway Center); The Grand Duchess of Gerolstein (Opera Theater of St. Louis); and most recently, Miss Saigon (The Gateway.) In Canada she choreographed the original hit musicals Father's House, Showstoppers!, Come Rain or Come Shine, and The Player Principal (Dora Award* Nomination.) An enthusiastic contributor to the development of new musical theatre, Jody provided the musical staging for the AEA Showcase Productions of House Plague, a Romeo and Juliet Story, Berlin, and Elvis: And American Artist, all in NYC.

*Canadian Equivalent of the Tony Award.

Danced by: Ben Cameron, Victoria Cave, Angie Creighton, Robert Creighton, Kisha Howard, Reginald Holden Jennings, Mahi Kekumu, Deborah Leamy, Allison Thomas Lee.

Lainie Sakakura has choreographed Syncopation at Penguin Repertory Co. ("sheer movement provides it's dramatic momentum, visual grace and defining metaphor."- N. Y. Times); Hot Mikado at Marriott Theater (Joseph Jefferson Award Nomination; ("Sensational choreography." Chicago Sun Times); Jimmy Buffet Daydreamin' in Havana tour. Co-choreographer: Damn Yankees at Marriott Theater (Joseph Jefferson Award Recipient.) Many associate, assistant and co-choreographer credits including : Dance Reconstruction: Fosse on Broadway (associate choreographer) and Pajama Game at City Center Encores! She has an extensive performing career from Ballet Hispanico of NY to the original casts of five Broadway shows. Teacher for the Joffrey Ballet School Summer Program. Proud member of SSDC.

Matt Williams choreographed Will Ferrell's Tony-nominated and Astaire Award-winning Broadway show, You're Welcome America.  Last fall, Matt created the choreography for the world premiere of Wicked creator Stephen Schwartz’s new opera, Séance on a Wet Afternoon, which arrives at New York City Opera in 2011.  Off-Broadway, he choreographed Paul Scott Goodman's Rooms, directed by Scott Schwartz.  Matt created, produced, and choreographed his first full-length dance play, WARD 9, at the 2008 New York Musical Theater Festival, for which he received the festival’s award for Best Choreography.  Since 2004, Matt has been the choreographer and manager of the Big Piano Show at FAO Schwarz toy store in New York City where he recently performed for First Lady Michelle Obama and her family.  Matt is also the resident choreographer for the internationally acclaimed Circus Smirkus.  Matt's choreography has appeared at The Alley Theater, Lincoln Center, Irish Repertory Theatre, La Mama, The Rubicon Theatre, Stamford Center for the Arts, Metrostage, and Geva Theatre. Most recently, Matt assistant-directed the Broadway production of All About Me starring Dame Edna and Michael Feinstein.  Matt holds a BFA in choreography from UC Irvine. He is married to former New York City Ballet soloist Jennifer Tinsley, with whom he has a beautiful one-year-old daughter, Chloe. 

Danced by: Amy Chiang, Joey Dudding, Sean Mamola, Ivory McKay, Carson Reide, Dani Schaffel, Robert Tunstall, and Matt Williams.