A dance in wheelchairs. A performance on stilts. A re-creation of iconic Madonna moves. No doubt all three would pose a major challenge for some choreographers. So how does Woodlee keep the choreography coming?
Never seen the show? Now, in Season 2, New Directions is ready to prove that they can beat them next time around. Zach Woodlee: My parents owned a dance studio while I was growing up in Texas, so my three brothers and I had to take dance classesβit was cheaper than hiring a babysitter. Two of my brothers are now police officers and one is a fireman, but they can all still do time steps!
After high school, I went to college for geriatrics. I wanted to run recreational programs at retirement and assisted-living homes.
But then I met a girl who was going out to L. She invited me to go along with her, so I auditioned and got a scholarship to train for a year at The Performing Arts Center. Once the scholarship was up, I started auditioning for commercial work.
My back was going out and I figured my dance days were limited. Eventually I told her I felt I was ready to choreograph on my own. ZW: Crazy! The show is so performance-heavy that everybody gets involved with the dance numbers. Our crane operators and camera guys count in eights and know the dances. The pace is so fast. I only get eight hours to teach the choreography for each routine.
