The Hollywood Reporter's Neha Joy goes behind the scenes to visit the set of 'Buena Vista Social Club' to see how the Tony Award winning choreography brought this original musical to life.
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00:00Hey guys, we're here at the Schoenfeld Theater where we're bringing the rhythm of Havana to Broadway.
00:05The 10-time Tony-nominated Buena Vista Social Club is bringing the soul of Cuban music to new audiences
00:11and displaying the richness of Cuban culture through music, movement, heart, and resilience.
00:17Today we're going behind the scenes with choreographers Justin Peck and Patricia Delgado
00:21and they're telling us how they're bringing the Cuban music to life on stage
00:25and if we're lucky they may even show us a few new moves. Let's check it out.
00:30The Buena Vista Social Club is a show that's essentially about the making of this Cuban album
00:41that was made in the 90s and it follows several characters who were musicians
00:46and part of the making of that album and it jumps back and forth between the 90s and the 50s
00:52and kind of imagines what their trajectory was like and what their experience was like as young people
00:59who had their first experience with a place called the Buena Vista Social Club.
01:05I think what our show does is it dives into these actual living artists and the trajectory of meeting when they were young
01:14and the hardships that their community, their culture, their country went through
01:21and how they don't have the opportunity to really fully feel the height of their artistic experience until much later in life.
01:30This is the kind of show that really meets an audience halfway
01:33and you feel that from the first song when the band and the cast enters onto the stage.
01:39It's just like this swell of energy and there's a kind of like essence to it that it's hard to articulate exactly what it is
01:49but everyone feels it night after night.
01:51I think the whole creative team had the vision to celebrate and honor the music.
01:56That was always like our guiding light and I think when we cast this band, they're not just incredible musicians
02:05but their mission is to spread Cuban music.
02:09There's a very diverse range of kinds of movements, you know, everything from mambo and salsa
02:15to Afro-Cuban dance to even things like ballet and modern dance are a big part of the Cuban culture.
02:24It's such a collaborative experience with like the book writer and the director and the music department
02:30and the cast and the production and there's just this support
02:35and when you get the right support to hold up the dance and people who understand the power of dance
02:40it's a testament to what it can do for a show.
02:44Especially Patricia's family was so thrilled to come and experience the show because, I mean, maybe you should talk about that.
02:53Yeah, they've never been back to Cuba since they came when they were kids
02:58and even just like researching and talking about the show at home, you know, around our dining room table
03:05it was unpacking so many memories and stories and difficult challenges emotionally
03:14and I'll never forget my mom on opening night was like, you know, I've never been back to Cuba but you brought Cuba to me.
03:20Patricia and I are married and we've worked together in different capacities but this is the first time
03:24where we're actually co-choreographers on a Broadway show together.
03:28The music has been so much a part of both of our lives, dating all the way back to when we were kids basically.
03:35So much so that it was the first dance at our wedding.
03:39We both share an incredible passion for this music and, you know, again, when you look back on that moment, we never thought we'd actually bring this to a Broadway stage so why not do it?
03:53We choreographed it for my sister and her husband and my mom and dad and Justin and I. That was our first dance.
03:58So the choreography of this show started a while ago.
04:02Okay, guys, we are here with Justin Peck and the fabulous dancers of Buena Vista Social Club and they are going to teach me a few moves. Let's do it.
04:16A difficult rehearsal day for us now that the show is open, most of the time we just get here and start getting ready to do our show and everybody have a different routine.
04:25Like we all have a ballet bar back there, different warm-ups. We roll up, we stretch, we do abs, whatever we need to get the show ready.
04:33And obviously in the process of the show, since we are doing it each time a week, there are things that get lost and if we need it, then we get here a little bit earlier and we sit down, we give some notes and then we review and try to put back the essence of the show back again into our bodies so we don't lose the integrity of the movement.
04:52So we have like many kinds of rehearsals. We have understudy rehearsals, we are now currently going through like Tony rehearsals or we might have like B-roll rehearsal for any special appearance that we might be doing.
05:04And so we have shows eight times a week and then we will be called here, like today we're called at 11 a.m.
05:11Exactly. And so it's, you get...
05:14Yeah, but some of us, for example, I know you have rehearsals on Thursdays and Fridays for understudy rehearsal, which is completely different because she covers both the lead girls in the show.
05:25Patricia and Justin, I mean, Justin Peck, Patricia Delgado, they're out there. I mean, I always admire their work and I'm so, I feel so lucky, grateful to be here and seeing their process being in the studio with them, it's incredible.
05:45They come to the studio knowing what they want to do and everything just flows and yeah, they're incredible. They're genius to me.
05:59Oh my God, I love them together. They're like yin and yang. They need each other in the best way. They're like perfect dynamics.
06:07I think for me, the most special part of this is that I get to be myself and bring my culture, my Panama with me and it doesn't feel out of place. It feels so welcomed. It's encouraged.
06:20Yeah, I think, I think the most important part for me is that is we are so authentic, like we're not trying to play anybody else in this show.
06:28We are playing ourselves. It's our story. It's our music. It's our culture. It's our dance. It's our movement. And I think that brings a certain type of joy that you cannot replicate when you're trying to be somebody else.
06:41It's something that is innate. And I think that's the most beautiful part of being here.
06:48It's just a total party. I don't know. On stage, it's like the place you want to be.
06:58Me quemo hay. Me quemo hay. Me quemo hay.