{"id":43611,"date":"2019-04-05T08:24:54","date_gmt":"2019-04-05T14:24:54","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/artistsofutah.org\/15Bytes\/?p=43611"},"modified":"2019-04-22T11:27:44","modified_gmt":"2019-04-22T17:27:44","slug":"talking-salt-jazz-and-broadway-with-nick-palmquist","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/artistsofutah.org\/15Bytes\/talking-salt-jazz-and-broadway-with-nick-palmquist\/","title":{"rendered":"Talking Salt, Jazz and Broadway with Nick Palmquist"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><em>Kathy Adams has been a dance reporter for two daily newspapers over a cumulative 20 years. She tells us \u201cthere have been few opportunities to write in depth about jazz or theater dance.\u201d So after discovering Nick Palmquist\u2019s class work on Instagram and later watching his rehearsal with SALT Contemporary Dance, she was thrilled to pick his brain about the current state of jazz, theater dance,\u00a0and Broadway.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n<div class=\"jetpack-video-wrapper\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/player.vimeo.com\/video\/328847219?app_id=122963\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" frameborder=\"0\" title=\"Nick Palmquist Class\" allow=\"autoplay; fullscreen\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/div>\n<p>No one can take credit for inventing the fusion of jazz dance and hip-hop. But choreographer Nick Palmquist can lay claim to marrying classic jazz idioms with a street aesthetic and flipping the script on preconceptions about the art form.<\/p>\n<p>The choreographer and in-demand teacher at New York\u2019s famed Steps On Broadway studio is in Utah to create a new work on <a href=\"https:\/\/saltdance.com\/\">SALT Contemporary Dance<\/a>, opening next week at The Marriott Center for Dance on the University of Utah campus (April 12 and 18-20). Palmquist hopes people will leave their expectations at the door because, he says, \u201cJazz dance for the concert stage is probably not what they think it is going to be.\u201d<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_43615\" style=\"width: 693px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><a href=\"http:\/\/artistsofutah.org\/15Bytes\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/palmquist.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-43615\" class=\"wp-image-43615 size-large\" src=\"http:\/\/artistsofutah.org\/15Bytes\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/palmquist-683x1024.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"683\" height=\"1024\" srcset=\"https:\/\/artistsofutah.org\/15Bytes\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/palmquist-683x1024.jpg 683w, https:\/\/artistsofutah.org\/15Bytes\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/palmquist-350x525.jpg 350w, https:\/\/artistsofutah.org\/15Bytes\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/palmquist.jpg 750w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 683px) 100vw, 683px\" \/><\/a><p id=\"caption-attachment-43615\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Photo by James Jin, courtesy of Nick Palmquist<\/p><\/div>\n<p>Palmquist holds such innovators as Bob Fosse in high admiration, and his passion for the genre is intricately wound in its history. In addition to recent jobs on \u201cSaturday Night Live,\u201d \u201cThe Tonight Show,\u201dand the male ensemble in \u201cThe Rockettes New York Spectacular,\u201d Palmquist was a cast member of <a href=\"http:\/\/www.adm21.org\/\">The American Dance Machine<\/a> (for the Twenty-first Century), a living archive established in 1978 to preserve original Broadway choreography. Learning and performing the work of Agnes de Mille, Jerome Robbins, Fosse, Michael Bennett, and Mia Michaels helped fine-tune his attention to stylistic detail and hone his backstage sensibilities. It\u2019s part of what sets Palmquist apart from the commercial dance crowd (a term he bristles at). So do his attitudes on gender normative dance roles, the democracy of Instagram, and the diminishing role of the dance ensemble on Broadway.<\/p>\n<p>Palmquist\u2019s interest in dance began with the familiar story of the small-town boy who follows his sister to class and ends up following his dreams to New York. He was first drawn to the raw athleticism of martial arts and gymnastics, but said it all clicked \u201cthe day I saw guys dancing to music.\u201d He graduated with honors in dance performance from Oklahoma City University and headed for New York. It wasn\u2019t an easy transition since OCU didn\u2019t have the networking opportunities offered by many colleges today that function as talent agents for students launching performance careers.<\/p>\n<p>At first, Palmquist\u2019s headshot alone drew enough attention to get bookings \u2014 \u201cchoreographers seemed to like the color of my hair, which is sometimes just how it goes.\u201d Yet he began to find Broadway shows to be less interested in creating choreography and casting dancers for the ensemble, and more interested in triple threats or performers who can be tracked into multiple slots at the will of the producers.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAmerican Dance Machine was all the best numbers from the best shows on Broadway, and it inspired my love of narrative and storytelling,\u201d Palmquist said. \u201cIt gave me insight into the spirit of what a Broadway show used to be built with.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><strong>Kathy Adams: What do you aspire to as a performer and as a choreographer?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Nick Palmquist: As a performer, I love the ensemble experience. I want to feel really valuable to a show \u2014 as if you didn\u2019t watch me in the show you would have missed some important information. When I choreograph for the concert stage, each dancer is integral to the arc of the narrative. What I look for in a Broadway show is a reason for the dancers to be dancing in the story \u2014 not just a break from the dialogue.<\/p>\n<p><strong>What is the career path for becoming a Broadway choreographer?\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>There isn\u2019t a blueprint for that. Assistant choreographers are not credited for their work, so until you\u2019re the head choreographer there is no record of what you\u2019ve contributed. Michael Bennett danced in the 1961 touring company of <em>West Side Story<\/em> under Jerome Robbins and began assisting in choreography on Broadway after that. But you don\u2019t hear much about him until 1976 when he wins a Tony for <em>A Chorus Line<\/em>.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Jazz companies as a concept have disappeared, why?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Everything has become fusion \u2014 both dancers and choreographers are so versatile. But I think it\u2019s about finding the value in pop music as jazz \u2014 Rihanna\u2019s \u201cLove On The Brain\u201d is jazz.<\/p>\n<p><strong>How do you think jazz is best adapted for the concert stage?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Twyla Tharp\u2019s <em>Come Fly With Me<\/em> works well because it has a narrative arc, yet the show is completely centered on dance. It has interludes that set up the dancing so you don\u2019t have the start and stop of a concert or a \u201crecital\u201d where the connection is either nonexistent or arbitrary. Most dance pieces are too long and especially if you\u2019re going to use pop music as jazz often does, a four-minute song hooks you in.<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_43614\" style=\"width: 760px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><a href=\"http:\/\/artistsofutah.org\/15Bytes\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/palmquist2.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-43614\" class=\"size-full wp-image-43614\" src=\"http:\/\/artistsofutah.org\/15Bytes\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/palmquist2.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"750\" height=\"500\" srcset=\"https:\/\/artistsofutah.org\/15Bytes\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/palmquist2.jpg 750w, https:\/\/artistsofutah.org\/15Bytes\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/palmquist2-350x233.jpg 350w, https:\/\/artistsofutah.org\/15Bytes\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/palmquist2-300x200.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 750px) 100vw, 750px\" \/><\/a><p id=\"caption-attachment-43614\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Palmquist teaching in Utah, courtesy of SALT and Lexie Corbett<\/p><\/div>\n<p><strong>In the transition from film to stage,<em> Newsies<\/em> lost the charming boy-energy and ended up with acrobatics. What happened?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Budgets? Broadway is a place for tourists so the goal is to be commercially successful.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Wasn\u2019t Broadway always for tourists? The 1970s cerebral-concept-musicals like <em>A Chorus Line<\/em> sold tickets.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Audience expectations have changed \u2014 sets, costumes, technological-generated effects all compete for attention. Paradoxically, budgets are smaller and casts are smaller and it seems dance is at the bottom of the priority list because even really strong dancers can\u2019t book a job unless they\u2019re a triple threat or willing to get tracked into numerous spots on any given night.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Is that what you meant about ensemble choreography?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>When Robbins, Fosse,\u00a0and Bennett were creating work, they choreographed distinctive characters. Now everything has to be reproducible so you can move it or tour it.<\/p>\n<p><strong>What is it about Fosse in particular that you admire?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>There are lots of dancers and choreographers who carry on the Fosse legacy, but that sometimes means his canon of steps. I\u2019ve always been struck by his use of stillness \u2014 the emotional content continued to flow through his movement, even when there was none.<\/p>\n<p>I\u2019m also drawn to the unisex nature of his ideas \u2014 not just specific movements but the ideas. In his work, Fosse showed a spectrum of people \u2014 their wants, their needs, their commonalities and differences \u2014 not because they were men and women but because they were people.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_43613\" style=\"width: 693px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><a href=\"http:\/\/artistsofutah.org\/15Bytes\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/palmquist3.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-43613\" class=\"size-large wp-image-43613\" src=\"http:\/\/artistsofutah.org\/15Bytes\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/palmquist3-683x1024.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"683\" height=\"1024\" srcset=\"https:\/\/artistsofutah.org\/15Bytes\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/palmquist3-683x1024.jpg 683w, https:\/\/artistsofutah.org\/15Bytes\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/palmquist3-350x525.jpg 350w, https:\/\/artistsofutah.org\/15Bytes\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/palmquist3.jpg 750w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 683px) 100vw, 683px\" \/><\/a><p id=\"caption-attachment-43613\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">courtesy of Nick Palmquist<\/p><\/div>\n<p><strong>Let\u2019s talk about SALT.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>What I\u2019ve loved about working with SALT is the artistry. My definition of art is refining your perspective as a choreographer, and conveying that clearly to the dancers who communicate it to every member of the audience. It has really meant a lot to me to create art with this company \u2014 it\u2019s a luxury to go into the studio one day and come back the next to see if it still holds up.<\/p>\n<p><strong>You are an advocate for the democratization of art through Instagram but at the same time seem really embarrassed about it.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Yeah, well it\u2019s a little embarrassing to self-promote \u2014 you can post your show, your picture and even a review of yourself all on your own page. But I have followers from all over the world \u2014 lots of moms, kids, people who don\u2019t dance at all, but they all weigh in with their opinions. When I post video of my class, people often comment on aspects of a dancer that I\u2019m not asking for \u2014 beautiful feet, great extension. But I think viewers are actually responding to confidence and musicality, which is harder to describe. Instagram viewers are making that dancer into a star without the pre-approval of a producer or a critic \u2014 they\u2019re reaching that conclusion on their own.<\/p>\n<p><strong>As a retired critic, I don\u2019t get very excited by the current Tony Award-winning choreographers<\/strong> <strong>\u2014<\/strong> <strong>Susan Stroman, Christopher Gattelli, Andy Blankenbuehler.\u00a0 Blankenbuehler seems to be the go-to guy for Broadway.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>They are very good stylists. And working within someone else\u2019s vision is tough.<\/p>\n<p><strong>I know you feel strongly about the way women are defined onstage.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>I think that as a culture we\u2019ve agreed on certain things about how women are portrayed onstage. Women are allowed to be sexy \u2014 although it\u2018s circumscribed by what men think is sexy about women instead of finding out what women think they do that is exciting. And men are not allowed to be sexy. The stage direction is always guys get off the stage \u2014 okay girls hit it!<\/p>\n<p><strong>Who, other than Fosse, choreographs empowering movement for women in movies or stage shows?\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Michael Bennett and Kenny Ortega offer a spirit, a sense of freedom, and authenticity without being overtly sexual. The balcony scene in Ortega\u2019s <em>Dirty Dancing<\/em> is hands-down the sexiest in any movie ever.<\/p>\n<p>Free and uninhibited movement builds confidence and shows you love what you\u2019re doing. I want the men and women I choreograph for in class or onstage to feel that they don\u2019t have to be \u201cperfect\u201d when looking in the mirror because it\u2019s the dancing that has brought out the perfect creature in them.<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_43612\" style=\"width: 760px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><a href=\"http:\/\/artistsofutah.org\/15Bytes\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/palmquist4.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-43612\" class=\"wp-image-43612 size-full\" src=\"http:\/\/artistsofutah.org\/15Bytes\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/palmquist4.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"750\" height=\"500\" srcset=\"https:\/\/artistsofutah.org\/15Bytes\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/palmquist4.jpg 750w, https:\/\/artistsofutah.org\/15Bytes\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/palmquist4-350x233.jpg 350w, https:\/\/artistsofutah.org\/15Bytes\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/palmquist4-300x200.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 750px) 100vw, 750px\" \/><\/a><p id=\"caption-attachment-43612\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Courtesy of SALT and Lexie Corbett<\/p><\/div>\n<p>Nick Palmquist at\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/saltdance.com\/\">SALT Contemporary Dance<\/a>, The Marriott Center for Dance on the University of Utah campus, April 12 and 18-20.<\/p>\n<p><em>This article is published in collaboration with <a href=\"http:\/\/lovedancemore.org\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">loveDANCEmore.org<\/a> and appears in their April 2019 Digest.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Kathy Adams has been a dance reporter for two daily newspapers over a cumulative 20 years. She tells us \u201cthere have been few opportunities to write in depth about jazz or theater dance.\u201d So after discovering Nick Palmquist\u2019s class work on Instagram and later watching his rehearsal with [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":43612,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_piecal_is_event":false,"_piecal_start_date":"","_piecal_end_date":"","_piecal_is_allday":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[3391,3390,3389],"class_list":["post-43611","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-dance","tag-kathy-adams","tag-nick-palmquist","tag-salt-contemporary-dance"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/artistsofutah.org\/15Bytes\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/palmquist4.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-06-01 05:20:59","action":"change-status","newStatus":"draft","terms":[],"taxonomy":"category","extraData":[]},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/artistsofutah.org\/15Bytes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/43611","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/artistsofutah.org\/15Bytes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/artistsofutah.org\/15Bytes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/artistsofutah.org\/15Bytes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/artistsofutah.org\/15Bytes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=43611"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/artistsofutah.org\/15Bytes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/43611\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":43637,"href":"https:\/\/artistsofutah.org\/15Bytes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/43611\/revisions\/43637"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/artistsofutah.org\/15Bytes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/43612"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/artistsofutah.org\/15Bytes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=43611"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/artistsofutah.org\/15Bytes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=43611"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/artistsofutah.org\/15Bytes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=43611"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}