Interview: Tyler Hanes on Dance As Self-Expression & Identity

“For Ren dance is his language.  It’s a form of self-expression – the only way he knows how to express himself and communicate.  When this is taken from him, he doesn’t understand why something so beautiful and alive as dance is not allowed.  He is fighting for self-expression and his very identity.”

Actor, dancer, choreographer Tyler Hanes is describing the motivation of FOOTLOOSE’s protagonist Ren McCormack. Hanes, who has a storied resume that includes ten Broadway shows and countless regional credits, has returned to Maine State Music Theatre (which he calls “coming home”) to choreograph their new production of the 1998 musical, FOOTLOOSE, collaborating with director E. Faye Butler. 

Hanes was last seen at MSMT two seasons ago as Shakespeare in SOMETHING ROTTEN, and since then has been busy acting, choreographing, and teaching. He recently portrayed the lead in WILLY WONKA AND THE CHOCOLATE FACTORY at the Fulton Theatre, where he also choreographed their new production of JESUS CHRIST SUPERSTAR; he just choreographed the world premiere of ALWAYS SOMETHING THERE at Chicago’s Marriott Lincolnshire Theatre and continues his teaching commitments at Steps on Broadway and Kristin Chenoweth’s Broadway Bootcamp.

Hanes says he enjoys moving among these creative pursuits. “I have been performing longer [than choreographing], so I am very familiar with that process, whereas choreographing is a more vulnerable experience for me.  I love doing the research pre-production and working with different directors.  As a creative, though, it’s harder to turn off your brain. You are always making sure that what you are communicating makes sense, enhances the world of the play, and strengthens the plot.”

For Hanes, this FOOTLOOSE project is, in fact, a kind of coming full circle. In 2005 he played Ren at Chicago’s Marriot Theatre in a what was considered a breakout performance that received a Jeff nomination. “It was my first leading role, and I was terrified.  Under the care of some amazing people at the Marriott, I learned to trust myself.” Though Hanes has not played Ren since –“I had several opportunities, but I felt as if that moment was such a special memory that I just wanted to live in that place” – he was eager to come back to FOOTLOOSE as a creative. “When this opportunity [at MSMT] came my way, I was excited to revisit the show. I have more life behind me now and see things through a different lens. I don’t think FOOTLOOSE is taken as seriously as it should be. Yes, it has flashy dance numbers, but it is also a beautiful, timeless story about forgiveness.”

Hanes describes the MSMT production. “E. Faye [Butler, the director] wants to keep Bomont in the 1980s as the foundation for the story while retaining the energetic elements of the show people know and expect, and, at the same time, keeping it honest and simple with the characters as fully realized as possible.”

Hanes says his approach to the choreography for the show is to keep the movement timeless. “ I chose to base the social dance in the 1980s like American Bandstand, and thread that through the rest of the choreography, which is rooted in the pop, commercial world.” As for the acrobatics of the Kevin Bacon film version, Hanes says, he will decide after working some more with the cast. “I am a stylist not a technician. I don’t have people doing fancy tricks just because they can.  If a movement doesn’t make sense for the storytelling, then we don’t need it.” Hanes notes that the big ensemble numbers like “Let’s Hear It for the Boy” will have all the usual energy, but that “there are many smaller moments that don’t seem like dance but are still choreographed with just as much energy and intricacy. E. Faye and I see the production moving cinematically with even the smallest detail choreographed.”

Hanes observes that FOOTLOOSE is as relevant today as it was when the film first appeared. “It is a story about a small town where people follow the leader out of fear; the townsfolk are held hostage to what the pastor dictates. Bomont exists in its own bubble, and Ren disrupts that bubble. [But it is also] a story about forgiveness.  Both Ariel and her father, Reverend Moore, are hurting, grieving, and miscommunicating. They have to get to the root of the issue and move forward. And, of course, it is about teen rebellion, finding one’s own voice, and learning to use that voice with knowledge.”

Tyler Hanes hopes the MSMT audience “has a great time singing and dancing along but I also hope they will see the show with open minds and hearts and listen to this story of forgiveness and community. I hope they walk away a little more open to their own families and neighbors. That’s what I love so much about the arts.  They allow for these kinds of conversations internally and with others.”

Photos courtesy Tyler Hanes

FOOTLOOSE runs from July 16-August 2, 2005 at MSMT’s Pickard Theatre on the Bowdoin College campus, 1 Bath Rd., Brunswick, ME   207-725-8769  www.msmt.org