There’s a scene near the end of Bridgerton’s second season where — spoiler alert — Anthony Bridgerton and Kate Sharma meet on the dance floor, ultimately leaving them with a deep, beautiful, almost crushing appreciation for each other. Unbearable feelings surfaced. “Just keep looking at me. No one else matters,” Anthony told Kate. In fact, dear reader, they can’t take their eyes off each other.
It’s in dance moments like these that the protagonists of Netflix’s wildly successful Regency romance drama fall in love and find their way to happiness. The man who choreographed the choreography and directed the actors’ performances was Jack Murphy, a London-based choreographer and movement director who worked on all three seasons of “Bridgerton,” including the much-anticipated Season 3 of the show will premiere in two parts on May 16th and June 13th, along with a spin-off series, Queen Charlotte: The Bridgerton Story.
Murphy noted that Anthony and Kate’s final dance is one of the most memorable he’s created to date (along with Daphne Bridgerton and the Duke of Hastings’ pyrotechnics early in season 1). Dance; and the moment between Brimsley and Reynolds in “Queen Charlotte” where two men dance together on a mountain top, far from society’s wary gaze).
But don’t let Murphy choose his favorite. “Every dance is special because they are my children,” he said. It includes some that he can’t wait to see and share during the upcoming season.
My parents met in dance clubs. I’ve known from an early age that dance brings people together in special situations. I was born in London to Irish parents. They were an interracial marriage of Protestants and Catholics. My father joined the Royal Air Force and was stationed in Northern Ireland. He took all the men to the dance club and met my mother. So my relationship with dance started with my parents. It’s always been in my blood.
The first time I danced was when I was 16 years old. It was one of the most extraordinary moments of my life. I fell in love with being able to express my body freely in front of all the other people who wanted body freedom.
When I was interviewed for Bridgerton, I had been working for 30 years– I was an actor for the first five years, then I trained as an action director and choreographer specifically working with actors. My first assistant job was as an assistant on Colin Firth’s Pride and Prejudice at the BBC.
I had an extraordinary interview Host: [“Bridgerton” executive producer] Betsy Beers, which included my invitation [director] Julie Anne Robinson was on hand to dance and explain the quadrille. She said, “How would you teach it?” I said, “Well, the easiest way is to just stand up and do it.”
When working with actors, I don’t mean jetés. To be romantic and open your heart, you have to be very brave. I’d rather take people to a place where they have to be very brave through the terminology they’re used to, rather than a terminology that scares them. I would ask them what they wanted to portray to the audience non-verbally. I encourage them to stay grounded in the story.
The dance there is to show etiquette, ritual and a sense of belonging. If you watch the choreography of “Bridgerton,” you’ll see that everyone is doing the same thing at the same time, so you have a huge sense of belonging.
I don’t make actors move for the sake of moving. They must act out of intention: “I want to pursue you. I want to mentor you. I want to seduce you. I want to impress you.”
You’re going to see something extraordinary in Season 3, Episode 4. The writers have given us this wonderful gift. You see a piece of storytelling in the dance, it’s not social, it’s performative dance.
We don’t just have brains, we have bodies. We need touch. That’s why I think “Bridgerton” appeals to so many people, because there’s so little social dancing these days. I believe fans are seeing these guys ease into each other through sports. They are going through experiences that we are not having. You can’t get it on the app.
This has been the greatest gift of my career. I won’t have another “Bridgerton.” I know this is my legacy.
