A Choreographer's Tale (Part 2)

Photo borrowed from Melloniel

OK Go has spent the last few weeks creating and perfecting a new end-of-set dance, which they created with the help of an internationally known choreographer. We've asked her to share her experiences with you...

Monday.

The first order of business: To unite our hearts and spirits in the name of The Project. We formed a Mystical Movement Circle around Damian's dining room table, and I encouraged the boys to close their eyes, release their fears, and visualize Jane Fonda navigating a rocky crag with a pack of gorillas. I find that this exercise really gets the ideas flowing! Sure enough, when they opened their eyes, the boys of OK Go were no longer boys. They were men with a Dancevision to share with the Universe.

And what a sweeping vision it was, one riddled with treachery, deceit, ecstasy, and jazz boxes. Designing the choreography for this first section was a cold-hearted and emotionally draining trauma for all of us, including Damian's two dogs. We were compelled to tap into a certain remorseless, mercenary place in our own souls, and then exhume it with our bodies: the sheer muscle control, coordination, grit, and stamina required were ferocious. By the end of Day One, we were able to look back with pride across the vast, unforgiving expanse of our efforts, past tattered bodies and assaulted egos... yet also to acknowledge the bittersweet burden of the transformative DanceTruth that was still ours to bear.

--Trish