Video: Ben Joins the Circus with Choreo from WATER FOR ELEPHANTS

Hello, you big beautiful Broadway world

It's me, your Broadway buddy, Ben Cameron, back with another since-lating episode of Dance Captain Dance Attack

I'm super excited because today I get to learn Tony nominated choreography from the Tony nominated Best Musical nominee, Water for Elephants, right here

I'm super stoked about it. I just saw the show. It is extravagant and gorgeous

and you may even cry, but you'll clap an awful lot. And who to take me through my steps

is better than our resident dance captain at Waterford Elephants. Welcome, Brandon Block

Whoa. Brandon Block, are you ready to have a dance captain, dance at a dance time

So, our lyrics are, Oh, but we were made of the same stuff as today

Oh, but we who are made of the same stuff as they. I won't remember that later

I mean, they is the important part. Right, okay. Because we have, they two, three, four, we go five, six, seven, eight

Nice big contraction. Our hands are splayed and on our thighs. Yes, a lot of this lives in the nice

the end, a nice contraction. Good. One, three, four, six, seven, eight

From here we go, out of the right leg. One, two, three, four, five, six, six, six, six, six

five, six, seven, eight. So our hands stay connected. We've got to push out

that left arm or shoulder comes through in our position. We have four of those

Three, four. Yeah, and throw it down every single time. Five, six, seven, eight

We go. One, two, three, four. Five, six, seven, eight. One, two, okay

We step on our downstage leg on the heel. Our arms are kind of twisted

like we're holding light bulbs and we're twisting. So we got one, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight

And that goes on the ball of foot back. Okay, great. Yeah, I did four, there are actually two

Oh, what fun. Day, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight. Oh one two three four five six seven eight Go one two three four five six Six Hold seven eight Hold eight Yeah I be ready for that hole

So we go, one, two, three, four, five, six, hold seven, eight

We ball change. And one, two, three, four, nine, six, seven, eight, a one

That's fun. Yeah, so that, all that is, is scooping back, and these come to our chest

Great. So in here, and what's when we go? So you're going to all change by the day

And one, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, hold. One, two, two, clap, three, four, three, four, we've all changed

And five. And five. This is a nice barrel turn. Oh, of course it is. Would this be a Broadway musical without a barrel turn

Seven, eight. Oh boy. You do what you want. Do I put my left foot behind? Yes

They tap, ready? And five, six, seven, eight. Oh my gosh, I just stopped my belly button

Okay, and then we get nice and low on that. Nice at luck. And that line

Seven, eight. One, so eight. We're moving. Yeah, and five, six, seven, eight

So we got a shot set. We got one and two, and three, and four

Shuffle Lop. Cross, yes. Could you believe it, okay. That's tested. Seven, eight

One and two and three and four. We go five, six, seven, eight

Five, six, seven, eight. Yes, and don't spend too much time on that last leg

because we're gonna go. Alright, oh, of course, we're right. Oh, gosh, we're right

Five, six, seven, eight. A one, two, hold three, four. Cool. Cool

I didn't think this combo in the show is just the most intense one

Amense amounts of water. No. Water? There's water everywhere. I mean, for the elephants, for the dancers

We all needed. We just did. One and two, and three, and four, five, six, seven, eight

A one, two, two, three, four, and seven the right leg. A five, six, seven, eight

Five, six, seven. I'm going back into those. I'm doing a shirt. I don't feel like that's what you're doing

It is kind of going through. You want to think of stepping. But it's more as much of a turnout

It's more parallel. Yes we going Five six seven That a hard left if we should start I in so we gonna go right to the front Okay We gonna do a right tap left tap

A right, tap, a left, tap. Yeah, no, it's gonna stay nice and down

Five, six, seven, eight. One, two, three, four. From here we got five, six, seven, eight

Five, six, seven, right. I'm gonna keep going. Okay, one, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight

Now it's probably, baby, all, two, three, four. Is there a head, or six, seven, four

Have I just said it? It's giving full lean with it and extend that like that

And are we saying kind of planted or do we chug into it? Oh, you wanna chug into it. Of course I

Well, I did want to. I get lucky too. Should we connect from a one and two to three. Yes

Tell me, tell me what's right after that. And five, six, seven, eight

A one, two, and three, and four, five, six, seven, eight. Oh, one

Two, hold three, four, five, five, six, seven, eight, a one. two, three, four, right, right, left, right

crash, crash, crash, crash, from here, we'll go straight upstate, and then we're just gonna walk down past the thing

Yeah, and these are like wots. Okay, and that's the combo. That's the combo

Okay, show me your favorite warm-up. Moment. Okay, well, what do you do

The thing is, and the favorite warm-up over here. Is at the ballet bar

Not the ballet bar. I was classically trained. Do sure? Let's go

That's right. A nice second position. Oh, marvelous. And let's be real

We need to do at least six grontes beforehand. Oh, just to get these good

So you just mentioned, Brandon, that not only we're talking about dance and the circus elements that we spoke about just a little bit ago. Uh-huh

You're also talking about step movement, and you're talking about puppetry. And these are elements that I think are probably not necessarily the norm for a dance captain that have to be up on

Tell me what you had to learn. Yeah. To become the voice of reason and the beacon of correctness, you know

Yeah. In this. Honestly like it always been my philosophy of being the best dance captain If you know what I could be is just to learn the best way to communicate with others And the most efficient way to like communicate and know to get what I want but also like

be a good person. Yeah. And what I found the biggest, there's just a difference in ways that the circus operates

versus how we operate. That's got to be a totally different language to speak

Also, just, like, how, like, even with flyers, like, we do lists with each other, like, both, like

predominantly like Broadway performer dancers with circus artists on their shoulders like doing lifts

But the way of fireworks is that they give all their body weight to their, to their

horse, which is their base, so that they know exactly where they are in the world

But when you're doing lifts off the shoulder, there is a little bit of that engagement and

elongation that has to happen for it to stay safe. Yeah. So like that was the prime example of like us working together to figure out the best way to do

efficiently communicate with each other yeah execute what we need to execute all right

right at time to have a dead to get to death and death to die oh but we are made of

the same stuff as they how do we keep them on the payroll how do we put food on

the table lies lies like nothing sweetens the taste of bad meat like a chaser of lies

Lines, lies, lies, lies. You may say that it's a moral, but our pride's and our lies, lies, lies

There's our lies, yes, our lies. Oh, our lies. Yes, our lies are our pride, and our pride's and our lies

and the lions and our pride have got no teeth. That's another dance captain's dance attack

Give up a friend of Block. Incredible dance captain. For water, for elephants

Go see the show. You'll understand why he's turning nominated in many categories

Now it's your turn. Learn along with us. Post yourself doing the Waterfell of Foot's Chorography

Hashtag D-CDA. Tag Adificial Broadway World. I'm at Bend does Broadway. You want to grab yours

A random block one went too fast. Oh, yes. All right. Thanks

Get out to the show. We love you. Bye