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A30 PEOPLE & ARTS
Saturday 24 december 2016
Secrets behind the dazzling

dances of ‘La La Land

In this Monday, Dec. 19, 2016 ters, Mia and Sebastian, Moore’s story isn’t unlike
photo, Mandy Moore, cho- first meet onscreen. Moore Mia’s. Musicals both classic
reographer for the film “La began with the same ba- and contemporary — mov-
La Land,” poses for a portrait
at Screenland Studios in Los sics she would for any new ies like “La La Land” — are
Angeles. student: connecting move- what inspired the dancer to
Associated Press ment to music and repeat- leave her small Colorado
ing classic jazz, tap and hometown for Los Angeles
SANDY COHEN waltz patterns. Along the after high school.
AP Entertainment Writer way, she worked to build “It’s super cliche,” Moore
BURBANK, Calif. (AP) — “a general love of dance” said. “I was 18. I had 500
Choreographer Mandy in the actors. bucks and my suitcase.”
Moore was lying under “If these people don’t love She performed with con-
a car on the hot pave- to dance, they’re going temporary dance compa-
ment while more than 100 to hate me by the end of nies and in film and TV pro-
dancers above her twirled this... and I know that can’t ductions before a series of
through gridlocked LA be part of this equation,” events brought her to “La
freeway traffic during the she said. “They have to La Land.” She worked with
opening number of “La La love to dance.” “Dancing With the Stars”
Land .” Stone picked up the foot- judge Carrie Ann Inaba,
The sequence was months work first, Moore said, then who introduced her to “So
in the making — the most focused on style and de- You Think You Can Dance”
complicated ever under- livery. Gosling was the op- creator Nigel Lythgoe.
taken by Moore, who’s posite. Moore’s work on that show
been creating routines for “With Ryan, he was like, earned her two Emmy
TV’s “Dancing With the ‘I don’t know what step nominations and the atten-
Stars” and “So You Think you’re doing, but if you tion of a “Silver Linings Play-
You Can Dance” for years. give me the style...’” she book” producer, who hired
“I’m going to call it hashtag said. her to create the dance
panic attack,” the Emmy- “Her job is to kind of see Bradley Cooper and Jen-
nominated choreographer the diamond in the rough,” nifer Lawrence perform in
said of the freeway routine, Gosling said, calling his that film.
which required dozens of teacher “a wonderful per- For “La La Land” writer-
cars, several stuntmen, 30 son and choreographer.” director Damien Chazelle,
professional dancers and “She’s very confident she the most important thing
more than 100 extras to can get it out of you if you’ll about the choreography
have perfect timing during stick with her.” was that it be “as much
long takes. Once they got the ba- about character as about
She had to be close sics down, Moore put the bodies moving.”
enough to call out cues stars together and taught “What I told Mandy is that
but couldn’t be seen on them Mia and Sebastian’s in this movie, dancing,
camera, so she hid under a moves, which were based singing and acting are all
car, watching on a wireless in part on preferences the just one thing — there is
monitor. She could feel the actors showed during their no separation between
magic from there when private lessons. For exam- them,” Chazelle said. “Ulti-
they got the shot. ple, a foot-scrape move mately the dancing really
“I still get goose bumps that Gosling liked became emanated from how Ryan
when I think about it,” she one of Sebastian’s signa- and Emma relate to one
said. ture steps. another.”
Creating that show-stop- Planning and executing Moore would love it if the
ping (or starting) number large-scale performances film inspires viewers to
and the celestial routines — like the freeway rou- discover their inner Fred
Ryan Gosling and Emma tine — and creating inti- Astaire or Ginger Rogers
Stone perform in “La La mate dances that suit real — “ballroom dance is very
Land” wasn’t Moore’s only strengths and imaginary accessible to people who
role in the dreamy musical. characters tapped all as- aren’t dancers,” she says
She also spent months per- pects of Moore’s talents. — but she really just hopes
sonally teaching the stars The opening scene was people feel the kind of joy
to dance. “big picture, then work watching it that she did
A tribute to Old Hollywood on the details,” she said, working on it.
and modern Los Angeles, “where Ryan and Emma “I feel like ‘La La Land’ is
the film is a love story set to was very detail (first), then the Super Bowl of your ca-
original music, with Stone get the big picture.” reer,” she said. q
and Gosling dancing to-
gether throughout.
Each started with individ-
ual lessons at a small stu-
dio in Burbank, California
— not far from the restau-
rant where their charac-