If ballet dancers are the cats of the dance world, Broadway dancers are dogs, at least according to longtime dancers Olivia Boisson and Michael Callahan. Boisson, 32, has been a member of the corps de ballet at New York City Ballet (NYCB) since 2013. Meanwhile Callahan, 34, has been a dancer at Aladdin on Broadway since 2017, where he’s now the show’s dance captain.
‘I feel like whenever I encounter musical theatre dancers, it’s a lot of big personalities,’ says Boisson to Callahan, who smiles, agreeing, ‘we get a bad rap.’ Adds Boisson, ‘you’re changing people and environments all the time. Whereas ballet dancers are like cats. We’re in the same place with the same people. And if things change, we’re like, what’s happening?’ Callahan laughs: ‘That’s great! I would say that musical theatre people are like Golden Retriever puppies.’
A dancer’s life can take many forms. You can begin in a conservatory when you are very young and, if you’re lucky, get placed in a dance company for your entire career, where you perform in a dozen different shows throughout a single season. Or you can go into the theatre world, going from show to show. If you’re lucky, you can land one long-running show that you dance in for years on end.
On a warm summer Friday in New York City, we brought together dancers from those two worlds, ballet and Broadway, to compare notes on their respective careers.
Tell me about your training.
Olivia Boisson I’m from New York, and I started dancing when I was six years old. My mom put me in a little ballet class in Queens and I apparently took to it – I was the only six-year-old that was super focused in the class. I ended up at Dance Theater of Harlem for four years. Then I went to the School of American Ballet, which is associated with New York City Ballet, and then I got into NYCB. This will be my 14th year with the company.
Michael Callahan I’m originally from Louisville, Kentucky, by way of New York, Italian parents. I went to a performing arts high school in Louisville called the Youth Performing Arts School. My mentor there, Gail Benedict, was a very successful Broadway dancer in the 1970s and 80s. She was the dance captain for Bob Fosse’s Dancin’. She worked with Fosse directly, and took me under her wing. I went on to get my BFA at Elon University in musical theatre, and then moved to the city. I have been grinding for the last 14 years. I was in the city for a year when I booked my first Broadway show, Cinderella. And since then, I have not, knock on wood, stopped.
‘Friends are in shows that last just a month. It has nothing to do with their ability’
Michael Callahan
What is the auditioning process for a dance company versus a Broadway show?
Boisson In my final year [at the School of American Ballet], from January to May-ish, companies would come and hold auditions. I auditioned for a bunch of different ballet companies. But New York City Ballet doesn’t hold auditions. The director of the company comes to watch class and picks who he wants. I was very lucky to be chosen. You have a year of apprenticeship, and then they decide whether you fit with the company and whether you get your core contract.
Callahan The audition experience for us? We call them cattle calls. You go in with a big group of people. It’s a casual, fun environment. After you’ve danced, they select who they want. And then you sing, to see if you can cover a role as an understudy. It’s a big puzzle that you’re putting together for a musical. A lot of people don’t realise that everybody in a show has three jobs. It’s very rare for anybody to be doing one thing anymore.
Depending on how long your show runs is how often you’re auditioning. I, thankfully, have been in a show for a very long time, so I don’t audition as much right now. But some of my best friends are in shows that last, sometimes, a month, and then they’re off to the next one. It has nothing to do with their ability level.
Michael, you do one show. But you, Olivia, might dance multiple shows in one evening.
Boisson NYCB is a little unique in that we do a lot of different ballets in one season – there was one season where we did 33 different ballets. Everyone has a ton of ballets that are sitting in their head. On the regular, there’s probably six or seven in my head. It’s a lot of rehearsal, but a lot of it is muscle memory too – you hear the music and your body already knows, it’s drilled in there.
Callahan I’m the dance captain for Aladdin, so I teach all the roles. And I go on for 14 different roles – I cover all 12 of the men in the ensemble and then two principals.
Boisson I don’t know how you keep it all straight, because it’s all the same music. That would be very hard for me, because for me, it’s entirely different ballets with entirely different costumes and music, entirely different people sometimes. That helps me separate which ballet is which.
‘Hip hop has had a huge influence on musical theatre – but it wasn’t for me’
Michael Callahan
Callahan Originally, I made what I call swing tracking sheets, with abbreviations for each piece of choreography. They say when you write it down, it sticks into your brain. But now, I’ve been doing it for so long, I zoom through and I’m like, “Oh, that’s right, that’s where he goes.” Olivia, did you ever want to work for a different company?
Boisson No, I didn’t. Being from New York City, we got a lot of free tickets to see NYCB. That’s where my dream developed. And now that I’m older and have danced with the company a long time, what I love about NYCB is the repertory. I love the ballets, and I love Balanchine technique, which holds me here. There aren’t a lot of companies that do the pure Balanchine route.
Speaking of technique, would you say that ballet dancers tend to dance in one style their entire careers, while Broadway dancers might dance in different styles, depending on the show?
Callahan In the last 10 years, hip hop has had a huge influence on musical theatre. When Hamilton was going from the Public Theater to Broadway, I auditioned for it. I’m a classic jazz-trained dancer: it wasn’t for me.
I think there’s two schools of thought. Hone one specific style – whether ballet, jazz, hip-hop – and be a master at it. Or become a jack of all trades, which does make you more versatile in our industry. As I’ve gotten older, I would rather dance in the shows that I feel comfortable in. Aladdin is musical theatre jazz dance, and I feel comfortable teaching it. That has helped me dance to 34, my body feels good still. I am okay with not being right for everything.
‘The body in motion stays in motion’
Olivia Boisson
What do you do to maintain and take care of yourselves?
Boisson I do a lot of cross training. I have a trainer. I do a lot of strength training, Pilates. As I get older, I’m learning that you can’t really ever stop. Even if you are dealing with an injury – yes, you can stop for a day or two. But there’s always something else you can be working on. If you stop completely, it just gets way worse.
Callahan Sometimes I’ll cross train in things that are not dance, just to reignite my body. I took on boxing last year and I love it. My body’s never felt better. I also find that a lot of it is mental – a healthy mind is a healthy body.
Boisson The body in motion stays in motion.
Diep Tran is the Editor in Chief of Playbill. She is based in New York.
Heather Gershonowitz is Photo Editor and Photographer at Playbill.
