The kids are ready to rumble

Students from Beijing Dance Academy, under instruction from Broadway choreographer Joey McKneely, show their musical chops in a Chinese production of the classic West Side Story.

During a freezing cold weekend afternoon, when the students of the musical department of Beijing Dance Academy sang the songs, including America and Tonight, from West Side Story in Chinese, their teacher, Joey McKneely, was sitting in the dark among the audience.

The two-time Tony Award-nominated Broadway choreographer and international director, McKneely is no stranger to working in the spotlight.

About one-and-a-half years ago, he joined Beijing Dance Academy, teaching at the musical department. McKneely has spent a whole semester training his students — who are set to graduate in the summer of 2024 — to perform West Side Story, widely considered to be one of the most memorable musicals and greatest love stories of all time.

They premiered the complete Chinese version of West Side Story as an educational project at the school on Dec 5 and 6. On Dec 16, the students performed excerpts of the musical's Chinese adaptation in the school as part of an ongoing national showcase of dance education performances, which gathers art schools from around the country. Music students from eight Chinese art schools performed different excerpts from both Western classics and Chinese productions during the show on Dec 16.

"West Side Story requires a very high level of dancing. We had to rehearse a lot, which was very challenging for the students. The beauty of West Side Story is that it features all of the performers in different ways, which is great in terms of showcasing their talent and seeing what each individual can do to their best ability," says McKneely.

One big reason for McKneely to choose West Side Story as an educational project is that he has a very long history with the musical.

With choreographer and director Jerome Robbins, musician Leonard Bernstein, writer Arthur Laurents and lyricist Stephen Sondheim, West Side Story, based on Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet, was first staged in 1957.

In 1988, McKneely was cast in multiple roles in the production of Jerome Robbins' Broadway (a compilation of excerpts from 11 Broadway musicals that Robbins had directed or choreographed, including West Side Story). In 2000, McKneely, who had retired as a dancer and became a full-time choreographer, was asked to direct and reproduce the choreography for a production of West Side Story at La Scala Opera House, in Milan, Italy. Since then, he has directed various versions of the show in theaters across 16 countries, including China.

For about 25 years, McKneely has passed West Side Story on to new generations of dancers and audiences. For his students at Beijing Dance Academy, it was a great challenge.

"The musical has a very intense level of emotion. It's very dramatic, and it can be difficult for young people to express those emotions. As well as the love story, there is lots of grief, anger and hatred. To show that spectrum of emotion is very new for them," McKneely explains.

"I'm so passionate about the musical. As a dancer, I knew how it felt," he says.

Asked about his approach to teaching and guiding the students to connect with their emotions, McKneely says the only way is "by living and breathing it".

"I am always in character. They see me crying, yelling, fighting and being angry. I am always showing them how to do it. When you see someone else do it as a dancer, as an actor, you lose the fear," says McKneely, adding that his students fit the characters of West Side Story well, because it's a story about young people.

"During his classes, we are impressed and inspired by his passion and energy. Instead of sitting down and talking, he shows us how to act, how to dance or how to sing onstage. He helps us discover acting talent that we didn't know we had," says Yuan Shuai, 22, one of McKneely's students who plays the role of Tony, one of the show's main protagonists.

"I have watched videos of West Side Story many times since I started training to become a musical actress," says another student, 22-year-old Feng Yuhan, who plays the role of Anita. "It seems that he has a 'manual' of West Side Story in his head. He knows every detail of the musical, from the performance to the costumes."

Before McKneely joined Beijing Dance Academy, he worked on some Chinese musicals, which helped him to understand domestic audiences and the Chinese musical landscape. When the opportunity to teach at the dance school arose, he agreed immediately.

"I am very adventurous. I first came to China about 15 years ago and I've seen how the market for musicals is booming. Creating commercial shows is a very specific job, but teaching young students is very different. The school offers me the kind of opportunity that I never had, so I came and hoped to explore what we can do together," says McKneely.

"I can still recall my first class, which was held online. I could see that some students were very shy and they were just shocked how much energy I brought. I jump up, I dance, I scream, and I sing. I am always actively participating in the class," he adds. "I could see them warming up and embracing it. It's a wonderful feeling to see it 'click' with them, especially when they said, 'I never thought that was possible', or 'no one explained to me that way before', and 'I never knew I could do that'."

Zhang Lijun, Party Secretary of the Ballet & Ballroom & Musical Department of Beijing Dance Academy, says, "The fast development of the market for Chinese musicals requires more talent. Many art schools in the country launched musical departments to train actors and actresses, as well as choreographers, directors and scriptwriters."

"By working with McKneely, we propel our educational level of musical to an international standard, which benefits our students," he adds.

Now, McKneely is also working on creating original stories for Chinese musicals by working with his Chinese partners during his breaks from the school schedule. He loves the history of China and wants to create a story based on the past, but which appeals to a contemporary audience.

"Now China is my second home," says McKneely, who spent his last birthday, in September, in class with his students, who bought him cake. "The best birthday gift is to do what I love. I am very excited to experience more of China."