I’m so delighted to have been selected as the Choreographer for the Tauranga Musical Theaters April 2020 production. Its great to be able to bring my experience as a dance coach and choreographer to a new and exciting show
Two Tauranga Kiwi scriptwriters secured the rights to use the iconic Blues Brothers characters in a stage show inspired from the hit-film after talks with Hollywood bigwigs Dan Ackroyd and the late John Belushi’s widow.
Tauranga writers Liam Hagan and Gordy Lockhart spent three years writing the script and secured permission from Ackroyd and Judith Belushi by promising to donate to a children’s charity in the name of the film’s lovable main characters Jake and Elwood.
The 1980 blockbuster earned rave reviews and featured an all-star Hollywood line up of Ackroyd, Belushi, Carrie Fisher, Aretha Franklin, John Candy and Ray Charles.
“We set out to put on a Blues Brothers movie adaptation but we were told we had to write our own one, so we did,” Lockhart said.
“We wanted to do it properly so we reached out to the IP owners.”
That led to discussions with Aykroyd and Judith Belushi, who own the intellectual property for the name ‘Blues Brothers’ and the characters.
The result is Blues Brothers: First Contact which aims to capture the essence of the films, including the 1998 sequel Blues Brothers 2000, and bring them to the stage.
Belushi asked that the only payment for the rights be a $500 donation towards a childrens’ charity in the name of Jake and Elwood, the names of the characters from the film.
The story picks up from where the first movie left off, at the Joliet prison. The brothers are given a mission from the President of the United States directly, but that is just the start of their madcap adventure.
“Every Blues Brothers story has the same formula,” Lockhart said. “They are released from prison. Given a mission. Get the band back together. Get chased for some reason and put on a show.”
Hagan, who will direct the production, said a big challenge is bringing action sequences that made the movies iconic to a small-theatre production, including a car chase.
The Tauranga Musical Theatre and the production team will be hosting an information night in December – so if this is your type of show do watch out for that.
Its that time of the year when couples start planning their spring and summer weddings.
I teach quite a few wedding couples, Fathers of the Bride, Mothers of the Groom and complete wedding parties each year. The songs that couples used have been as diverse as Flume, Talking Heads and Motley Crue through to Frank Sinatra, Jason Timberlake and Elton John. The inspiration for a wedding dance always comes from the music and any style of music is perfect if it means something to you both.
Do consider booking your wedding dance lessons in advance – that means one less thing to worry about closer to the actual day. If you are looking for some help, do call or email.
Stephanie and Nate asked me to create something for their wedding to Michael Bolton “I said I loved you but I lied”.
“My husband was extremely anxious about having to dance but always promised me he’d only take lessons when we got married. So we took a few lessons! We found Elly so great, she listened to what we wanted and was flexible as we went along and made sure we were comfortable with what we were doing. She was so relaxed and comical it made it really fun and easy. You can just tell Elly loves what she does. Thanks for helping us out”
Its been a great year for Dance Company. I have worked with a large number of couples from across the Bay of Plenty with their wedding dances. I’ve taught a handful of Fathers of the Bride enough partner dancing to look wonderful dancing with their daughters.
“Thanks again for last night, Ben and I said in the car last night that the lessons has been by far our most favourite part of organising the wedding.” Ben & Nat
I have taught ballroom, new vogue, 1930’s styled partner dancing and Modern Jive to couples and singles who want a little extra styling in their dance.
I have also judged dancing competitions across New Zealand.
Finally, I trained two local formation teams, and taken them to competitions in Wanganui and Auckland.
Thank you to all the people I have taught this year. Its been so much fun.
Dance Company is now fully booked until early January. I will be back teaching on Tuesday the 8th.
Its that time of the year when couples start planning their spring and summer weddings.
I teach quite a few wedding couples, Fathers of the Bride, Mothers of the Groom and complete wedding parties each year. The songs that couples used have been as diverse as Flume, Talking Heads and Motley Crue through to Frank Sinatra, Jason Timberlake and Elton John. The inspiration for a wedding dance always comes from the music and any style of music is perfect if it means something to you both.
I have lesson times available in Tauranga after work on Monday and Wednesdays.
Last year Aaron and Kelly decided to take up the opportunity to have a wedding dance created especially for them. They wanted a non traditional wedding dance that would WOW their guests. There were also a couple of logistical issues as they weren’t sure of the amount of space they had to dance in, or what the floor surface was going to be.
Despite the challenges they did an amazing job and I am so delighted to be able to show you their wedding dance to Sugar by Maroon 5.
Do consider booking your wedding dance lessons in advance – that means one less thing to worry about closer to the actual day. If you are looking for some help, do call or email.
Every couple has some specific questions, however these are two of the more common ones:
How much time do we need to put in?
This depends on what exactly you want your first dance to be. If you want something that’s fairly formal, or with complicated moves or a very slick performance you will need to put aside about 3 months of weekly lessons. If you want something a little more casual you could set aside 4-6 weeks. If you just want a few simple moves you could have just one lesson.
You do need to be able to practice between lessons too. Not hours and hours, but enough so each lesson can build on what you both already know. Practice also gets rid of the need to count, look down and all those things that will make you look unconfident.
When should we start?
Its a good idea to have your choreography done at least 2 weeks before the big day if you can – then you have less to stress about. You can also learn your choreographed wedding dance well in advance and come back for a final run through in the week before their wedding – and that works well for some couples.
Do consider booking your wedding dance lessons in advance – that means one less thing to worry about closer to the actual day.
Dance Company teaches Wedding Couples, Wedding Parties, Brides and Dads and Grooms and Mums in Tauranga. Its your wedding, contact me if I can help you make it even more memorable.
Sometimes I’m called upon to work with a different type of “wedding/first dance” brief. Mehak and Bharat came to me with that type of proposal. They wanted a choreographed dance that they could use for their pre-wedding video.
They intended to create a video that showed their guests how they met, how they fell in love and how he asked her to marry him.
I am so delighted to show you what this lovely couple did with a beautiful song. The choreography is woven through the video, sometimes its in a studio and sometimes its not.
Dance Company has planned something a little different in May. Group classes in Ballroom and Latin for couples are being offered in Tauranga. Numbers are very limited, so if this is what you are looking for do call or email.
