Despite the almost ridiculous name and the sarcastic remarks throughout the whole show, Urinetown, put on by the PV Theatre program in mid-March, can be deemed a success.

The humorous musical received positive feedback from students, faculty, and others who came out to watch.

Part of this success was due to the student choreographers of the musical: senior Anastasia Maltsev and sophomore Jessica Snyder.

This is not the first year that there have been student choreographers, which is done so that some actors can get a “different glimpse into the production process”, Maltsev said.

And because of her own dance experience, including teaching classes, being a big part of the Russian Folk dance community, and taking ballroom dance classes, Maltsev decided to join the choreography team this year.

Similarly, Snyder has been dancing since she was two years old and has performed in musicals since she was seven. With so much experience and after being inspired by last year’s student choreographers, Snyder wanted to be a student choreographer for this year’s musical.

The process was difficult but fun overall for both girls.

In the beginning, they had to meet with their directors and teacher choreographers and divide up the numbers they were responsible for. Working closely with the directors, Maltsev and Snyder were given videos from other plays, such as The Fiddler on the Roof, as a reference to the style of dance the directors wanted.

The girls would exchange ideas, work on the dances outside of rehearsal, and then bring them to the directors. Once they were given the “okay”, Maltsev and Snyder were able to start teaching.

The choreography process was trying at times. Patience and leadership were essential for the girls.

“One of the hardest parts of having to choreograph was the fact that I am in the same grade or younger than most of the people that I was teaching the dances to,” said Snyder. This made it much more difficult for her to take charge.

Teaching the dance numbers was made especially difficult when the cast wasn’t sure where they would be rehearsing because of reservations of different areas of the school.

When people were unable to make rehearsals, Maltsev and Snyder found that it was harder to teach the numbers due to missing people. Even with those present at rehearsals, everyone picked up the choreography at different rates.

“You conquer the obstacles in your way and at the end, you feel like a piece of you has been left behind for all to see,” she said. “It may seem difficult, but I wouldn’t trade it for any other opportunity.”

There are definitely obstacles to being a student choreographer, but it proves to be worth it in the end. Choreographers from years past have actually come back to do it for another musical even when they’ve graduated.

Both Maltsev and Snyder said that they too would love to choreograph another musical if they were asked.
Despite changes to dance numbers and struggles to find perfection, Snyder said, “In the end, everything turned out to be even better than I imagined!”