Articles from March 2020

The Creative Process

“It starts off with me getting the script and the music and having a few phone call meetings with the writers, the executive producers and the brilliant team behind this show from Wild Canary and Disney Junior.

“Then I start the process of creating what the narrative is because Bollywood is a storytelling form of dance. I choreograph the piece, and videotape myself and my assistants, and send the videos over to their team. That’s when the process becomes more magical, when the artists take you and your body and they create it into this amazing animatic.”

Getting the Details Right

“Bollywood movement can be very stylistic. These [animation] artists are not professional dancers, so sometimes it’s difficult to absolutely understand how my body moves. With my videos, I am giving a step-by-step tutelage of the movement.

“They’re so meticulous about getting it right, so I get multiple versions until the final product is ready. This is a cultural form that’s going to be airing across many countries, so we need to make sure that this is right and not just make a cookie-cutter version of Bollywood, which quite often happens.

“What’s also wonderful is that I had the opportunity to teach many of the artists a little workshop—and that is very unheard of. No one’s a Bollywood dancer, but the team was so interested. We got a few people moving and dancing, just for them to really feel it.”

Nakul Dev Mahajan and Khushy Niazi in the studio
Courtesy Disney Junior

Not Just Bollywood

“India has so many different styles of dance. And what people sometimes don’t realize is that Bollywood is a fusion form, taking from the many styles of dance in India but also from around the world. What ‘Mira, Royal Detective’ has done is not just celebrate Bollywood and the subgenres of what Bollywood is today—because the style has evolved so much—but there are episodes that feature real, authentic styles of Indian dance from different regions.

“There’ll be a bhangra number, from the state of Punjab, which I am just all over ’cause it’s so well done. There is a folk form called ghoomar, which is from the state of Rajasthan, that we’ll be seeing as well. And then we’ll be seeing Bollywood hip hop, which is very, very popular right now.”

Why the World Needs Bollywood

“What Bollywood, for me, brings is a sense of celebration. Generally speaking, it is a very happy form of dance. Although there is a lot of technique to it, it is something that people can pass on and enjoy. And that’s always been my feedback whenever people have seen Bollywood or my pieces: They’re like, ‘Wow, I just want to jump up and dance.’ To be able to create that on this platform for children and with animation, which resonates on a different level—almost on a magical level—it’s been truly a gift.”

The Time Line

Just two weeks out, dancers began working on the Ballet Ball performances with Nashville Ballet resident choreographer Christopher Stuart. They’d just wrapped their Attitude: Other Voices program and were back in the studio after one day off. “This was definitely a shorter turnaround time than our normal performances,” says Brown.

Stuart choreographed to three of Morris’ songs: “The Bones,” for two couples; “Once,” a pas de deux; and “The Middle,” featuring the whole company.

Instead of rehearsing to the radio versions of the songs, Morris’ band recorded “more raw, acoustic versions” of the tracks, says Brown, and sent them over for the company to work with ahead of the live performance.

Courtesy Nashville Ballet

The Choreography

Brown was cast in the large ensemble number, “The Middle,” and she describes the choreography as “a little bit jazzy, contemporary and ballet. We’re in our pointe shoes, so still the fluid movement, but there’s a lot of dynamics. And the music is more upbeat.”

“What Maren does with her music is so cool, because it brings the pop and the country together. The fact that we get to do ballet to that is really magical.”

A Surprise Guest

The day before Ballet Ball, Nashville Ballet dancers were scheduled to rehearse with Morris’ band. “We actually didn’t think we were going to get to work with Maren that day, but at the very last second, she walked in,” says Brown. “It was sort of like, ‘Surprise!’ ” Despite only having two rehearsals with the band, Brown says, “with the caliber that they’re at and just how established they are, it’s been a pretty easy-going process.”

Still, it’s hard not to get starstruck backstage. “The little moments that we do interact in the wings, Maren’s been great. She’s such a talented, humble artist,” says Brown. “We’re all very impressed—I was getting emotional in the wings.”

Preshow Rituals

To help quell any nerves before she steps onstage, Brown says, “I always have my Starbucks”—a venti cold brew—”and get in my zone with music.” What’s on her current rotation? “Right now, I have been pumping some Maren Morris. I can’t lie.”