Faculty Archive - Page 9 of 9

Andy Blankenbuehler

Mr. Blankenbuehler is a proud recipient of the 2018 Kennedy Center Honors for his work on the musical Hamilton. He is a three-time Tony Award winner for his choreography in the Broadway productions of Bandstand, In The Heights and Hamilton for which he also received London’s Olivier Award. The Broadway production of Bandstand (director/choreographer) also received the Drama Desk and Chita Rivera Award for Best Choreography. Other Broadway credits include Bring It On (Tony nomination), 9 To 5 (Tony nomination), The People In The Picture, The Apple Tree, Annie, and the revival of CATS. Most recently, Mr. Blankenbuehler is very proud to have co-written, directed and choreographed the world premiere musical Only Gold, Off-Broadway with British singer/sonwriter Kate Nash (Lortel and Chita Rivera Award). Other theatrical work includes Desperately Seeking Susan (West End), the world premiere of the new musical FLY (La Jolla Playhouse), The Wiz (City Center Encores), A Little Princess (Andrew Lippa), and the international tour of Joseph And The Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat. Upcoming theatre projects include the first Broadway revival of the Tony Award winning musical Kiss of the Spiderwoman, as well as Nine at the Kennedy Center.

Mr. Blankenbuehler served as choreographer for the Universal/Working Title feature film of Cats, starring Taylor Swift and Judy Dench among others. On television, Mr. Blankenbuehler co-produced and choreographed the Emmy winning limited series Fosse/Verdon (FX), starring Sam Rockwell and Michelle Williams. Other work includes the Lionsgate/ABC remake of Dirty Dancing, America’s Got Talent, So You Think You Can Dance, the Sopranos, MTV, Sesame Street featuring Janelle Monae, as well as many commercials. He has staged concert work for both Elton John and Bette Midler, and he conceived, directed and choreographed the hit Caesars Palace production Nights On Broadway. Mr. Blankenbuehler staged the 2022 Met Gala featuring Leslie Odom Jr. and Lenny Kravitz, in collaboration with Baz Luhrmann.

Mr. Blankenbuehler is very proud to have recently premiered his first ballet entitled Remember Our Song, for the Tulsa Ballet company. As a performer, Mr. Blankenbuehler has danced on Broadway in Fosse, Contact, Man of La Mancha, Saturday Night Fever, Steel Pier, Big and Guys and Dolls. He is thrilled to have met countless inspiring dancers through his teaching at New York City Dance Alliance, Steps, Broadway Dance Center, Julliard, the University of Cincinnati, Michigan, Texas State, Carnegie Mellon as well as many other universities and dance schools internationally.

Originally from Cincinnati, Ohio, Mr. Blankenbuehler resides in New York City, with his wife Elly and two children, Luca and Sofia. Mr. Blankenbuehler is a proud recipient of both the Drama Desk and Dance Magazine Awards for his achievement in the theater.

Audrey Schultz

Audrey hails from Kansas City, Missouri, where she began her dance training more than 20 years ago. She attended the Ann Lacy School of American Dance and Entertainment where she studied tap, jazz, and ballet technique with top-ranked professors. While in school, Audrey performed in the annual Home for the Holidays and Broadway Revue shows with the American Spirit Dance Company, in addition to serving as a Sound Technician, Assistant Stage Manager, and Assistant Company Manager.

Audrey graduated with a degree in Dance and Arts Management and has spent the past few years teaching and choreographing in the styles of ballet, tap, jazz, and musical theater. She has helped artistic directors prepare and execute shows by choreographing, running rehearsals, and overseeing backstage activities. This past season, she performed as a Radio City Rockette, where she further studied the precision jazz technique. Audrey resides in New York City, where she continues to hone her craft by taking classes and teaching a variety of styles. Other past performing credits include Raymonda (Raymonda), Beauty and the Beast (Enchantress), Coppelia (Doll), and Cinderella (Autumn Fairy).

Lizzy Supan

Ms. Supan currently teaches for the Steps Youth Program, and also teaches adult classes at Steps on Broadway. She has been the director of the dance program at IS349, a public middle school, since 2017. Ms. Supan earned her undergraduate degree at Princeton University, and was awarded a Masters in Dance Education from the Lincoln Center Scholars program at Hunter College. Her professional dance credits include Rebecca Kelly Ballet, Albany Berkshire Ballet, Eglevsky Ballet, Northern Ballet Theater, Columbia Classical Ballet and Neubert Ballet. While at Princeton University, she created and performed in a dance thesis based on the poetry of Elizabeth Bishop which was awarded the Frances LeMoyne Paige award for choreography.

Gracie Anderson

Gracie is currently touring with the Broadway National tour of CATS as a Dance Captain and Swing. She grew up training and competing in Latin, Standard and Smooth ballroom styles all around the world. She is honored to be a 13x top six finalist at NDCA’s U.S. Nationals in the Latin and Standard championships. As a two-time U.S. national champion, she represented the U.S. at the WDC World Championships in Paris, France placing 14th in Youth Latin and 8th in the Fred Astaire Cup. She went on to graduate from Marymount Manhattan College as the Gold Key recipient for her BFA in Dance, concentrating in ballet..

Joshua Bergasse

Joshua is a New York-based choreographer as well as a master teacher. He has been a guest artist at New York University, Marymount Manhattan College, Indiana University, James Madison University, Shenandoah University, Kean University, Creighton University and the University of California Satellite Program.

For film/television, Joshua won the Emmy Award for his choreography on NBC’s musical drama SMASH. He also choreographed multiple segments on So You Think You Can Dance and PBS’s Sinatra: A Voice for a Century.

On Broadway, Josh choreographed the revival of On The Town which opened to rave reviews. He received an Astaire Award and was nominated for TONY, Drama Desk, and Outer Critics Awards. Also on Broadway, Josh choreographed the revival of Gigi. This Spring Josh will choreograph the Broadway debut of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. Off Broadway credits include Sweet Charity staring Sutton Foster; Cagney (Drama Desk, Astaire, Outer Critics Circle Award nominations for choreography); Bomb-Itty of Errors; Captain Louie. Bergasse’s other credits as a choreographer include West Side Story at the Stratford Festival; Little Me and It’s A Bird… It’s A Plane… It’s Superman! at City Center Encores!; Pirates of Penzance at Barrington Stage Co; Guys and Dolls and The Sound of Music at Carnegie Hall. As a director/choreographer, Joshua co-directed and choreographed the Bombshell on Broadway concert at the Minskoff theatre. He directed and choreographed Hazel, a new musical at the Drury Lane Theatre and West Side Story at North Carolina Theater.

THE NEW YORK TIMES: “On the Town includes the dreamiest dream ballets I’ve seen in years. Mr. Bergasse (best known for the television show “Smash” for which he won an Emmy) maintains this rare feeling of idiosyncrasy in harmony. Similarly, Mr. Bergasse captured the Robbins spirit, but stamped it with his own vivid signature.”

THE NEW YORK TIMES: Pirates of Penzance, “Mr. Bergasse’s zesty choreography keeps the cast in almost constant, exuberant motion.”

VARIETY: “Joshua Bergasse’s choreography, classic in design and elegant in form, dancing is sensational.”

Newer posts