By Camilla Klesman, Ladies in Black choreographer
Delving into the music of Tim Finn is a dream pursuit for any aficionado of eighties tunes, so it has been a delight to embrace this new choreographical adventure - once again alongside my dear and talented friends Debbie Keyt and Rhonda Vaughan- to discover the score of Ladies in Black.
Whilst you mightn’t be instantly familiar with the songs contained in this quintessentially Aussie musical, there is no doubt audiences will be drawn into these beautifully structured songs and be singing the tunes on their way home from Beaumaris Theatre in March. The cast is an absolute dream - with talent, kindness, work ethic and a crazy sense of fun in abundance - and this script and its musical adventure is a privilege to bring to life.
My approach to choreographing this show has been to focus on the emotion and intent of each song and complement the exceptional singing talents and touching performances of our amazing cast with minimal moves.
With the couture being such an important element of the visual story with Ladies in Black - and our costume design sure to impress as it is in the exceptional hands of Cheryllyn de Vries and her talented team - there are moments where I have purposefully minimised the choreography on entrance to give our audiences a chance to take in the costuming. In some songs, I’ve considered the mannequinned couture dresses as performers in their own right and given them the space one would normally give an actor - which would sound utterly crazy to write for any other show but indeed “fits like a glove from Goodes” in the context of Ladies in Black!
The choreography for Ladies in Black might not involve stage-soaring jettes, but you will find synchronised tea drinking, pandemonium of the best kind and our own continental Fred Astaire!
I hope you can join us at Beaumaris Theatre and be a part of this joyfully Australian piece of musical theatre.