Some of the best old Hollywood tap dance musicals are being re-created for a new generation of dance fans. Ryan Maw, 22, is a dancer and choreographer currently living in Los Angeles who has reimagined several iconic dance classics, including those by Vera Ellen and John Bra “The Choreographer” starring John Brascia white christmas (1954), Gene Kelly and Donald O’Connor to “Shall We Dance?” and “Makin’ Whoopee” on the television variety show “Pontiac Star Parade” (1959). Maw rehearsal footage for Gene Kelly and Fred Astaire Babbitt and Bromide Over 1 million views on Instagram.
Dance soul caught up with Maw to find out why he recreates these musical pieces, how he shoots them, and the most surprising DM he’s received so far.
Why did you set out to recreate these iconic musical numbers?
I feel like dance is most representative of old Hollywood in the 1930s, 1940s and 1950s. The reason why I started recreating [these videos] Because I’m an up-and-coming choreographer in the TV/Film industry. I am currently Associate Choreographer with Paul Becker on a number of projects that have been approved this year, [and also working] With Kenny Ortega.
I [was curious about] Old Hollywood, every big movie involved dance, look at what works, what doesn’t work, and what changes we can make in today’s industry to bring not only tap dance, but dance back to the big screen. I wanted to see this video for myself and share it with this dance generation. If they don’t search for these videos, they won’t be able to find them.
How do you choose which films to remaster?
They were clips that I had seen before or wanted to learn myself. This also goes hand-in-hand with seeing which of my LA friends are compatible with and available for the skill set in this video [to perform it with me.]
What is the process of learning the famous “Choreography” number? White Christmas?
I usually flip the video [myself and the other dancer can] Learn it from the right side. Let’s play it for three seconds to see which step it is and how much sound it makes. Visually we were able to interpret very closely what we believed to be the actual steps of creation at that time. “Choreography” is about a minute and a half. We booked the studio for about three hours and learned it in about two hours. we filmed [our performance] This way we can practice before returning to the film in two weeks. We finally got back to the studio again and had about an hour and a half to two hours to reshoot.
Why pay to rent a studio if you’re not getting paid for these videos?
To me, it’s almost like personal play time, like paying to play golf. I personally am happy to pay tribute to these legends and learn from [the numbers] myself, and trying to understand a time when tap and dance in general was booming. This makes my heart happy.
What surprised you most about these numbers and arrangements?
Their footwork is very heavy. The magic of old Hollywood is how performance-based and story-driven it was.
Do you think anything we’ve seen recently comes close to those numbers?
la la land It’s a great movie, beautifully designed by Mandy Moore, and I think it’s the closest thing to old Hollywood we’ve ever seen. There is definitely more market in the industry today.
What was the most difficult part of the experience?
some comments [on social media]. They are like “not close” or “no comparison”. At the end of the day, that’s not why I created these [videos]. A lot of people think I’m trying to compare myself to these old Hollywood greats, but that’s not the case.
Is there any response or comment anyone made to your video that surprised you?
Gene Kelly’s wife Patricia [Ward Kelly]! She contacted me and followed me on Instagram through Gene Kelly’s estate page. She was delighted that I was bringing Gene Kelly’s work to light.
