November 12, 2025 • 45 mins
Choreographer Bonnie Story sits down with Bart Johnson to talk about working on High School Musical and choreographing some of the most iconic dances from the films.
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
Hey, Wildcats, this is Bart Johnson and you're listening to
Get your Head in the Game. Hi. Everyone, welcome back
to get your head in the Game Today. My guest
is one of the incredible talents behind the choreography that
brought you all of your favorite dance numbers in the
High School Musical franchise. From the basketball court to the cafeteria.
(00:24):
She brought the moves that had us all dancing along.
Please welcome the brilliant choreographer Bonnie Story to the podcast. Hello,
Bonnie Story. Oh my gosh, I have not seen for
so long. I know, I know, you look amazing. You
still look like one of the kids.
Speaker 2 (00:40):
Thank you. You have just won a million dollars. It
will be coming to your house.
Speaker 1 (00:45):
To Oh how did I do it? I'm just speaking
the truth over your Bonnie. You look great.
Speaker 2 (00:51):
I saw your brother on set. Did he tell you?
Speaker 1 (00:54):
Oh yeah, uh yeah, yeah, Oh that's right on.
Speaker 2 (01:00):
Studio Scena Albard I said, Hi, give him a hug.
Speaker 1 (01:05):
Oh.
Speaker 2 (01:05):
I love that is this what you're doing.
Speaker 1 (01:07):
I love this is this great body. You know. It's
it's the twenty year aniversary, which I can't even believe it,
and we have to do something for our people that
have been so good to us.
Speaker 2 (01:18):
You know, yes, I have to. It just keeps living
like Chucky, and I send things at forth back and forth. Ken,
you like, we're just like, it just keeps living. It's
it's it's kind of crazy. It's crazy. It's crazy, right, Like.
Speaker 1 (01:33):
It's who would have thought. I mean, well, no, nobody,
but I ten years ago I thought, oh, it's probably
gonna start fading out. Here's been two years, and it's
like twenty years is like bigger than ever. And it's
like all over social media and there's TikTok trends and
there's yeah it's every song A.
Speaker 2 (01:51):
Football players are doing our stuff.
Speaker 1 (01:53):
Yeah, yeah, I just I guess I just got asked
to do something with the NBA to go do like
to be a coach.
Speaker 2 (01:59):
That's amazing.
Speaker 1 (02:01):
I love it. I love it so fun. It's so fun.
It's it's just the funnest. I just love it so much.
Speaker 2 (02:10):
It's so crazy for where we started and not really
knowing kind of what was going to happen. It was
a TV movie, you know. Several times, Kenny, like Chuck,
you and I were like, you know, this could be
something pretty amazing, and like I remember the first movie
we were we were rehearsing the lunch room scene that
(02:33):
I can't even remember saying yes that one, and we
all looked at each other when, oh, this is kind
of great. That is it's amazing.
Speaker 1 (02:46):
That's the first one where I was kind of like, no,
I'm not claiming that I had any intuition at all,
but I just remember being like, this is this is
so big. This doesn't seem like a little Disney channel.
This seems like a big movie.
Speaker 2 (02:59):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (03:00):
And of course he'd done the opening closing ceremonies the
Olympics with thousands of performers, so he knows how to
fill the screen with all these people doing amazing things. Hey,
we're getting ahead of ourselves by it. Let me let
me introduce you. No, it's my fault. I guess I'm
so excited this is. It's been really fun because I'm
doing obviously doing this podcast with my friends that haven't
(03:21):
seen forever, and we haven't had a conversation beforehand, so
it's like your face pops on the screen, like my gosh,
I love her a body story. I just love you
so much and it's so good to see you. I
love your girls and very mutual. Your kids are awesome.
Uh yeah, and it's fun that we work in a
small industry where we get to cross paths and you
with our family are absolutely and all our families are
(03:44):
roped into this thing. But let me officially welcome you.
Welcome Body Story to the podcast. So happy to have
you here. You are the first choreographer on the show.
I mean, you know, I wanted to do this as
a gift and a big thank you to all the
wildcats out there and everyone that contributed to the magic
who made it awesome, and you you are such a
(04:06):
huge part of the magic of it all.
Speaker 2 (04:08):
Part is the part we're all parked right all kick
us off, But yes, I think it's.
Speaker 1 (04:14):
Part of the part of the brilliance is well, it
goes back to the center of our universe, mister Kenny Ortega,
pulling in the pieces that are are so important, and
having worked with Michael Jackson for twenty five years or
all the amazing things he's done, he spotted Bonnie Story
and said, I want to creep these things with you.
And what's amazing is like you choreograph these dances, came
(04:36):
up with all these original dances and moves, and but
what you did was like you created something that has
lived on and I see the dances that you've created
all over social media. It's so fun.
Speaker 2 (04:48):
It's so fun. And again I have to keep bringing
Chucky and Kenny into this because we made such a
good team, you know. And Kenny was always so clear
in what what did we have to accomplish with each song,
with each with I didn't even hate to call it
a dance, but each scene that had dance in and
(05:09):
what did we have to come So he was so
so deliberate in what he wanted as you know as
an actor, so clear, and so it made it so
much fun for us to go in the studio and
go back and forth, go back and forth. He comes in,
he puts the Kenny on it, and it's kind of
it was really it's a really magical team. It really
(05:31):
was really fun. It was intense. It was fun.
Speaker 1 (05:34):
Yeah. Yeah. The storytelling you guys did through the quota
fuse amazing and it's just so memorable that people leave
the theater doing those dances or trying to. They go
home and learn them. They want to look, they have
to do let's start. But if you don't mind. I
want to know everything you're doing, but I first want
to just go rewind the hands of time a little
(05:55):
bit and just take it back to the very beginning,
because I actually have no idea. I don't know how
you were first introduced to this project. Can you tell
us about well.
Speaker 2 (06:03):
I had worked with Kenny. I was one of his
uh choreographers associate choreographers for the for the Olympics, and
then we knew of each other in LA but our
paths didn't really pass because I was you know how
there's groups of people like I was always with Vincent
Patterson or you know, different groups and they're not groups,
but you'd get hired by the same people. But Kenny,
(06:26):
I guess, found out about me and he knew us
from Utah, and so he pulled me in the Olympics
was which was insanity amazing, and that's where we really
first worked together. And then I think so when he
went and got this project, he's just like, oh, you know,
Bonnie and Chuck, you would make a great team. Yeah,
(06:47):
they just brought me in. I mean, he just brought
me in and it was amazing.
Speaker 1 (06:51):
Do you remember how we brought it up to the
first time I.
Speaker 2 (06:55):
Think I got a call from my agent and then
actually Kenny and Chucky I was working. I was at
the theater with Odyssey one night and they and he says,
we were in town. We want to come and we
want I want to come and do somecography with you
and Chucky together, And I think he was just kind
of filling us out. So we went backstage and found
(07:16):
a little thing in that and that's history.
Speaker 1 (07:20):
Oh no, tell me so, So that's that might seem
common to you, but this is like such a foreign
world to me. When you do something like that, what
do you do?
Speaker 2 (07:27):
Uh? Well, they had Kenny had some ideas, and we
just all kind of I think I can't even really remember.
I was trying to think of this because I figured
you'd probably asked about it. But I just remember the
coming to the theater and uh we went back, you know,
we found a studio and uh, they had worked on
some stuff. They taught it to me, and we just
(07:49):
kind of, I think, went back and forth. And I
think he I really think Kenny wanted to see what
because I'd never met Chucky before that, and so I
think he wanted to see what our vibe was together too,
which completely hit it off. And we're the kind of
the ying and the ying, so we we we you
know what I have and he doesn't have. What he has.
(08:09):
I don't have, so we really not we don't have,
but our strengths are in different places. So we were
really able to play on that all three movies. It
was amazing.
Speaker 1 (08:20):
Yeah, yeah, you were. You guys really did compliment each other. Yeah, way, okay,
so you guys so you kind of like dance together, Yeah,
we did.
Speaker 2 (08:27):
We just danced together that night, and I was like,
I had no really no idea what it was about.
I mean, I wish I could remember better, but it
was so long ago. But I was just like, oh,
this is is pretty cool. My gosh, Kenny Ortella came here,
and Chucky's cool and be so fun to you know,
work with him, and and yeah, I think it happened
(08:47):
really fast after that.
Speaker 1 (08:50):
It's it's interesting about it.
Speaker 2 (08:52):
If you come into the theater.
Speaker 1 (08:54):
I will, I will for sure.
Speaker 2 (08:56):
Maybe they were both testing me, probably.
Speaker 1 (09:00):
Oh probably. I mean, you're going to go on a
journey together, you have to you have to know if
you're cool.
Speaker 2 (09:07):
Absolutely, and who knows, you know, who knew we were
going to go on seven years.
Speaker 1 (09:12):
Well, yeah, because it's just supposed to be just the
one movie at that point. And and uh, it's interesting
to me to think of like there's like three adults
doing all these you know, you see the movie, you think, oh,
this is the kid came from. The kid was the
adults that are working out, sweating in the in the
dance studio making it all happen. And then you gotta
that you gotta teach them. Do you remember how can
he pitch to the movie what he was, what he
(09:33):
was doing?
Speaker 2 (09:35):
No, I really don't. I think it was just a
musical and it was gonna be on the Disney Channel
and they'd be really excited to have me on as
a choreographer.
Speaker 1 (09:45):
And no name, there's no name of that point.
Speaker 2 (09:47):
Of course, it wasn't. I don't think. I think it
was high school musical or it had to do the
high school musical. I don't know. I didn't have working name.
I can't even remember that.
Speaker 1 (09:56):
Well, that was right, they said it was. It's it's
a high school music, So we're just going to call
it that until we come up with the name.
Speaker 2 (10:03):
Yeah, yeah, So I mean, I don't I don't I
don't know how you felt, But I don't know if
any of us really knew what we were getting ourselves
into in an amazing way obviously.
Speaker 1 (10:14):
Yeah, yeah, so what was the process? So after that
you got to call it? What from the agent or
did you know?
Speaker 2 (10:19):
No? No, no, I think I think Julie called me
and said, hey, they want you to do this, and
then it just started rolling. So we had pre production
meetings with Kenny and Chucky and I go through the script.
I remember going through the script and him playing his
songs and we kind of took it. Was it? Uh
that little high school off of State Street, not little,
(10:43):
but the high school off State Street that we started
rehearsing in, So Chucky and.
Speaker 1 (10:48):
I met not Murray, not Murray Hot where we shot.
That's where we shot a lot of the theater.
Speaker 2 (10:55):
Yeah, and uh so we I think we were a
Ballet West studio before we got to that. But Chucky
and I put some stuff together. Kenny always comes in
we show. He puts his thing in it. I mean,
Kenny's brilliant, Like he is so brilliant and again knows
so perfectly. He paints pictures as you know on screen, right,
(11:20):
So he knows and he's very visual. And I have
to tell you, I have a Kenny or take a
backpack that I take with me every job I do.
Oh I got so I learned so much in those
years from him. He was so giving and so awesome.
But anyway, so we go in the studio. We'd bring
(11:41):
him in when we felt like we had enough to go, hey,
are we going in the right direction? And then he
comes in and he moves. Man, he is good.
Speaker 1 (11:49):
He was so he's.
Speaker 2 (11:52):
So much a partner. Are you kidding? When we were
doing to the Top, I was like, this is fun.
We'll always worked on it. But yeah, I mean I
got to partner Kenny of course.
Speaker 1 (12:04):
Yeah, yeah, he's just bom So again, I have never
seen this part of the process, but it makes it.
You'll say, you read the script, you're kind of getting
an idea of the characters, and you're kind of feeling
that out. Do you listen to the music, so you're
really feeling out, You're like, and then you start thinking
what do we want to do in this dance?
Speaker 2 (12:24):
Like what do we and you can't even really think steps.
You have to think story and go what are we saying?
Like what is does this does this step? I hate
saying steps, but does this movement move the story forward?
Speaker 1 (12:37):
Oh?
Speaker 2 (12:38):
Well, that's that was a big thing because you know,
it's not about steps, it's not about really quarfy. It's
about moving the story forward through movement to make it
sense for Joe down the street that knows nothing about
you know, kickball change, right, So you have to you
have to make it so available to a can I say,
(13:00):
virgin dancer mind like has no idea what dancing, but
it just makes sense to them. You understand what we're
saying through those movements, and then you have in you
want to make it interesting of course, and visual and
for the camera and also you know, Kenny was very
very specific in what kind of shots he wanted, and
you know it was it was such a cool process.
Speaker 1 (13:24):
It was word He's done so many musical movies. Yeah,
had you done a muse? I know if you have
a dance studio, I don't anymore.
Speaker 2 (13:42):
I mean I used to long time ago.
Speaker 1 (13:44):
You did it at this time, right, So I did.
Speaker 2 (13:46):
Well, we had I had access to the treehouse in
Draper and that's where uh and before all this I
kind of a round a little program as I worked,
I left and come back and left me and come back.
But then I just you know, I got so busy
that I yeah.
Speaker 1 (14:05):
Yeah, yeah, So Bonnie, when you when you had the uh,
you have the script, you had the music was the cat?
Did you have the actors yet? Were they cast? We did?
Speaker 2 (14:16):
They were cast or I got involved they cast because
I was still living in Utah, Okay at that time.
I lived in l A. And then I moved to.
Speaker 1 (14:26):
Utah, back to Utah where we shot all three movies.
Speaker 2 (14:28):
Of course, yes, so they were all cast in in
l A. And Chucky was in on those castings, so
he kind of had an idea who was doing it,
and but neither one of us, Like we know, we
knew Vanessa had She's a she's a great look, she's
a great dancer, like she just came in great, right.
(14:50):
We knew that Lucas had musicality, music, you know, musical ability,
movement ability, Ashley. I thought, you know, she has some Monique,
some Corbin quite a bit. But the rest we knew
that we had to make it for them, for the
ones that had had as much you know, experience, but
(15:14):
also pull them along. So you know that also you know,
it's not like walking into a room full of professional
dancers and just like you know, hitting it right, like
what we usually get to do in a in a
gig and so and I've worked with so many actors,
which I love, so that helped me a lot to
(15:35):
know how to you know, what makes sense to you?
Does a writer left what make sense to you? Does
it really matter to us? No? What feels best to
you right? Like we wanted to cater it too. But
you look at the first movie, the choreography very simple,
We're oh in there, you know what I mean? You
look at the last movie where those guys went. It's amazing.
(16:00):
It's amazing the dancers, the movers, dancers that they became
and they were doing everything that the professional dancers were
doing everything. Wow, it was such a cool it was
such a cool journey with them, you know, and they
and you know, they work so hard. They come and
get us and go, hey do you have a second
(16:21):
or hey I'm free right now? Do you need anything? Yes?
Can we go over this? Like working so hard? No,
we go just wanting to be the best they can be.
Speaker 1 (16:33):
And not a lot of time.
Speaker 2 (16:34):
They didn't have a lot of time that moved that
first movie, right.
Speaker 1 (16:37):
It was like it was like a week, like a
week rehearsal.
Speaker 2 (16:40):
Gosh, I don't remember.
Speaker 1 (16:41):
I think the first like there just wasn't the budget
to have everybody in for a long time, all the basketball,
all the cheerleading and all the dancing everything.
Speaker 2 (16:53):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (16:54):
Yeah, And that's interesting what you're saying, because like, uh,
I've never been a professional dancer before.
Speaker 2 (16:59):
Yeah, I seen you move. You're a movie.
Speaker 1 (17:02):
Hey, thanks, I appreciate it. I do go ahead, but
I do go to my uh you know, local gym
sometimes and I jump in the dance class and okay,
here's the move an actor.
Speaker 2 (17:10):
It's so good for you.
Speaker 1 (17:11):
But the pros learned so fast they're like, oh yeah, yeah,
no problem, like the whole thing.
Speaker 2 (17:16):
Yeah, you learn lines really fast.
Speaker 1 (17:18):
So okay, So.
Speaker 2 (17:22):
You know what I'm saying, it's.
Speaker 1 (17:25):
Yeah, and you brought in you brought in some pros
in the cast.
Speaker 2 (17:30):
You dance the principal dancers.
Speaker 1 (17:33):
The principal dancers. Yeah yeah, and and so you had
like the but the but your main actors have they
can't be out danced by them, like it has to
has to blend right exactly. They do some of the
hard stuff and some of the dance specific stuff you did.
How many how many dancers did you.
Speaker 2 (17:49):
Bring in from l A, Well, I can't remember how
many are from Utah and how many from La. Utah
has such amazing dancers, like I work in Utah a lot,
and I can cast a movie in a second, like
just because they're so good. But I can't remember, actually
the number.
Speaker 1 (18:06):
Here's a story you could tell me if this is
true story. Now, this is a story I heard about
the dancing and I forgot I forgot to ask Kenny
about it. But that Disney that Kenny said, I want
this many whatever, I want this many professional dancers, and
they said the budgets like, no, you can't, like, you
can't have that many dancers because there we can't fly
that many people in from La. He's like, no, no, I'll
get them in Utah. And they said you can't, you
(18:28):
can't get those dancers. And Kenny's like I did the Olympic.
I know what kind of talent. I know kind of dancers,
and what kind of talent is in the state of Utah.
I will get them.
Speaker 2 (18:39):
This true story right, oh, yes, very true. I mean
I remember talking to him. He goes, we're going to
cast them, like, yeah, we can do it. We could
cast it three times over and we could have.
Speaker 1 (18:49):
It's amazing dances.
Speaker 2 (18:51):
It's amazing, it's amazing. There are some specifics that we
didn't get in Utah, Like I don't know if you remember,
I don't. I can't remember. If you're around for the
auditions for the dancers. It seemed to me ask Chucky,
but I think we were there like three days of
just group after a group, huge groups, like there were
so many the auditioned for this movie. And so what
(19:13):
was great about it, though, is we we put them in. Okay,
they'd be a great extra because you know how much
those extras danced, Oh my gosh, and Chucky and I
would teach them on the morning because you have to.
They can't have a prior rehearsal as an extra. But
they ought to dance oh so much, like so much,
(19:33):
And so a lot of those extras we used again
and again and again and again.
Speaker 1 (19:37):
I didn't I didn't know that. Is that like a
union rule or something like if you rehearsed before and
then perform the Uh yeah makes sense.
Speaker 2 (19:43):
Yeah, yeah, that's there's I mean, you couldn't afford that that.
Many think it a lunch room scene and all those
dancers around those tables were doing the exact same thing
as the principal dance.
Speaker 1 (19:54):
Wow. Wow, Okay, So how far out before the movie
did you have those rehearsals, those auditions with the dance auditions, it.
Speaker 2 (20:02):
Was it seemed really quick. It seemed to go really quick.
And I am so bad about time frames, but it
seemed pretty quick, like they we had auditions and then
we had callbacks, and from those, I want to think
that we nailed down the you know, the the principal dancers,
and then the next tier of dancers that we'd want
(20:25):
to use in the lunch room, you know what I mean,
the the gym scenes. As the gym scenes got bigger,
we called it a bleachography, and then they learned a
bunch of stuff in the vatures, right just some think,
I mean, yeah, I mean it was huge, it was huge,
and I'm so proud of Utah because they did provide
(20:47):
a lot. I mean, I remember with Kenny, we had
massive auditions for the Olympics and he was blown away,
blown away at the talent. So I that is a
very true story to come back around to your question,
and we could have we could have easily easily easily
(21:08):
cast a couple times over.
Speaker 1 (21:10):
Yeah. Yeah, it's been fun to watch everybody. I mean,
I'm jumping ahead, but it's been fun to watch everybody
after this go on. Oh yeah, like their world famous dancers.
Speaker 2 (21:20):
Now, oh it's amazing. It's just not I don't think
any of us really, I mean, well, those of us
kept going like we haven't stopped. And I look at
I remember Kenny was very worried about the diversity of Utah,
which at that time wasn't a lot. So I was
(21:40):
in New York with Bailey and Kelly at a dance
at New York City Dance Alliance, and I she Kelly
made friends with Brittrit Yes Brett Stewart, and I watched
her dancing classes, and I called Kenny from New York
and I said, we've found our We've found our girl.
We're looking He goes, really, he goes, yeah, he said,
(22:02):
let's while you're in Chrit actually lived with us at
our house. She could be in the movie. Yeah, because
she was under age. She was like fourteen or some
fifteen Kelly. I think she's Kelly's age, so I think
they were fifteen.
Speaker 1 (22:16):
Yeah, let's let's talk about the two special dancers that
you found, Oh, entered the cast. Tell me about that
whole thing.
Speaker 2 (22:24):
Casey Strow, Is that who were.
Speaker 1 (22:25):
Talking about your girls? Oh?
Speaker 2 (22:28):
Yeah, they Kenny met them in the Olympics. They both
were in the Olympics. Oh, I know that he loved them.
Bailey was very young in the Olympics. She was a
child of light. And I think Kelly was in the
Western part, but he had fallen. He really he just
(22:50):
loved them and knew how good they were, and they
they were just really good. And Bailey was I think
she was twelve the first movie, and so she's just like, wow,
this is awesome, Like I'm twelve and I'm in this movie.
But she was so good and tall, so she didn't
look twelve. She looked like she was in high school.
Speaker 1 (23:10):
No, she's been in pretty good Yeah. There of course,
full of those that don't know. Bailey and Kelly were
both cheerleaders.
Speaker 2 (23:17):
Yes, well, yes in the first movie.
Speaker 1 (23:19):
Yes, in the first one. And they did all the
dances throughout all the movies. Yeah, and they were they
were terrific. They were just staples of the set, like
they hung out. They were just like part of the cast,
so everybody was close.
Speaker 2 (23:31):
Yeah, yeah, absolutely. The first day I met Zach Jeffron,
I came home and I said, well, you guys are
gonna have fun doing this movie. There's a really cute
guy that's doing it. And Bailey's so young. She's like yeah, yeah, yeah,
and Kelly's like, what does he look like? But it
was really it was a really cool experience that I
got to do it. And I don't think even Disney knew
they were my daughters for a while because they have
(23:54):
different left last names, because I never want them or
they didn't want. I don't want them to, you know,
because your Bonnie's daughter, you know, not at all. They
had and they had to work twice as hard. So
but Bailey was an l three. Kelly didn't do the
second one because she was doing so you think you
(24:14):
can dance, that's right, Yeah, and then she came back
for the third one a little bit. But yeah, it
was so fun. It was we had together, you know
how it is the work with family, right Blessing.
Speaker 1 (24:28):
Yeah. Yeah, My brother was my assistant coach in high
school musical three. Brad worked with Kenny on several projects before. Yes,
in the past. Yeah, it's fun. It's fun. You have
your family together.
Speaker 2 (24:42):
It's so fun. It's such a blessing.
Speaker 1 (24:45):
Yeah, your girls are such amazing dancers. There's and they
were such a great like positive, like beautiful energy on
the on the set. They're just so friendly and always cheery,
and they've gone on to do really big things.
Speaker 2 (24:56):
So yeah, they've done, they've they've been, they've done, they've
had great careers. Bailey actually has assisted me and been
with buy on my side for gazillions of films, TV commercials,
live show like, she's been my right hand man and
been on front with me and on the other side
of the camera for Kelly's done a lot of shows.
Speaker 1 (25:17):
Yeah, who did Who was inas doing a big show?
Speaker 2 (25:20):
Kelly?
Speaker 1 (25:21):
Kelly did that?
Speaker 2 (25:24):
Yeah, I choreographed, Yeah, I choreographed a search show and
she auditioned for it and got it and that and
that's where you know, she really loved doing shows more
than film, and so film and TV not more, but
just as much. And so she just started doing shows
(25:44):
and she just kept getting show after show after show.
So where she spent her career spent same gigging some
moms just two kids.
Speaker 1 (25:56):
Amazing, Yeah, so yeah, crazy because she's just a young
little cheerleader of the movie.
Speaker 2 (26:02):
Ye mom with kids, I feel the same. How is
that happening? Right? Like it's like I'm the same.
Speaker 1 (26:09):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (26:11):
But anyway, they're they're beautiful women and I've just been very,
very blessed to work with them when I have been
able to, which is quite a bit. Yeah, it's such
a ride.
Speaker 1 (26:21):
Right, Yeah. What was your favorite part of doing these movies?
And do you have a favorite movie? Like do you
have a favorite song or sequence or like, I mean
it must be so. And what's the difference between doing
something if you're doing bet on It with Zach or
if you're doing all in this together where it's everybody,
Like what's you know?
Speaker 2 (26:41):
Oh gosh. People ask me that all the time, and
I can never give them an answer because it's all
so different. And like, like I said, Chucky and I
we would like he'd go work on like Boys and
you know, Boys are back. While I was working on
you know, I got it all like the fossy part
(27:03):
of the god at all or the or the rocket
so like, and then we come back and switch around
and so we really got to like have our hands
in everything, and you kind of you know how it
is like when you have a part that you just
like you have a part of it, So it just
it goes through your heart, like you know what I mean.
And that's how I feel about all these numbers. I
(27:25):
just remember because I see them. I rewatched one with
Kelly's kids not that long ago, and I was like, wow, wow,
you know, and just the feeling of when we were
filming those. So I have special thoughts and I'm sorry
that's the answer, but I loved all of them. I
think my favorite move the favorite ones are one and three.
(27:50):
I loved high School too because I love being in
Saint George and that look. It looked like we were
on a stage sound stage. It was so faked. It's
so beautiful. But I think if I had to pick
my favorites, it would be those two. And I loved
doing the film film with Kenny and you know, I'd
sit at the monitor and he goes, you want to
(28:11):
know why I'm doing it this way? Do you want
to know why I'm doing this shot? I was just like,
they're taking it all in, Like I in so much
every movie. I don't know that, but but then I go,
what time is it? Like? That was such a fun
you know, fun number to choreograph or one. I remember
(28:34):
this distinctly. I don't know I Kenny said anything about it,
but we were sitting at the monitor for all four one,
ging ging in and being young, and he looked at
me and we both had tears rolling down our eyes.
He goes, this is phenomenal. This is just beautiful. The colors,
the choreography was great. The I will say this, the actors,
(28:55):
the dancers, all the above made that so vibrant in them,
in their moving, in the visual, in every part of it.
It was just yeah, it was. It was emotional. And
then you remember the end of the third Oh, just
(29:16):
bawling on that just I just, oh my gosh, when
that last, that last take in the in.
Speaker 1 (29:22):
The cape and gown and the graduation scene. Yeah, yeah, yeah,
I'm glad we were all there for that. But oh man,
that was that was rough.
Speaker 2 (29:32):
That was that was that was rough.
Speaker 1 (29:34):
It was rough.
Speaker 2 (29:35):
I mean it's just here we are, like all these
years together and really in some ways we all grew
up together, like we all kind of grew together, right
and grew in this story with each movie, and.
Speaker 1 (29:50):
It was usual.
Speaker 2 (29:51):
No, you don't get that opportunity, No, you don't.
Speaker 1 (29:55):
You usually you know, you do it like you and
I have done a lot of movies and it's that
one movie you love it, you hate say goodbye, but
you and then you get to come back with the
same people, like it is amazing. And then the rehearsals
and the blood, the sweat and the tears and the
whole process, and then you have to come back again
like it's just it's such an unusual thing. And then
(30:16):
to see it go from this little undiscovered kind of
idea into the sleigh. Yeah, we all get to take
that journey together. We were like we were all in
the van together.
Speaker 2 (30:25):
Yeah, it was. It was it was a ride. It
was absolutely right. And you know, those that cast was special.
They were special. They were so awesome and worked so hard.
And I don't know, I'm grateful.
Speaker 1 (30:44):
Who do you think, who do you think work the hardest?
Speaker 2 (30:48):
I think it depends on the piece, and then who
worked the least. I'm not going to give you can ask.
Speaker 1 (31:03):
No, it's pretty great.
Speaker 2 (31:07):
I really was impressed. I was impressed with their work
ethic and you know, it was a big ask like
you look at the prom choreography. Holy cow. I mean
the professional dancers were hoped. They were beat out of
their brains and you know, you've got here, you know,
all these actors that have worked up to this doing
(31:28):
this exact same choreography exactly. We didn't hold back. We
were just like, Okay, we're gonna have fun with this choreography.
We're gonna partner, we're gonna We did do a lot
of partnering, and that was really fun because Chucky and
I had so much fun and that was that. I
thought that was really fun.
Speaker 1 (31:44):
Yeah, yeah, throughout that's really fun. I think not so
much with the.
Speaker 2 (31:48):
First one, but the second and third one we did
a lot of partnering.
Speaker 1 (31:51):
Wait, wait, what do you mean by a partner in
the choreography?
Speaker 2 (31:54):
Like I'd be like, hey, let's go, and he grabbed
mactorial and like, you know, do things together like straightd
on just we're dancing, you know. Oh. I Actually the
first one had some partnering. We put partnering in. Uh well,
along didn't. The next part was all partnering. We did
(32:16):
it in couples. That yeah, at the very end of
the first one, I think, yeah, yeah.
Speaker 1 (32:24):
Yeah, there's like this is it like what it was
like a little bit of a dance break and they
all kind of like.
Speaker 2 (32:29):
H and and again the actors, I think I think
Monique did it. I think I know Corman did it.
I mean, I'd have to watch it again. But I mean,
of course Vanessa and they killed it. They just killed it. Yeah,
they just they just really killed it. I just I
don't know, I just was really impressed with that. I mean,
(32:51):
it's a big ask. I mean we've worked I know,
you've worked with big stars. I've been worked with big stars,
and I always love those people that work so hard
alongside you, and then you find some that aren't willing
to and it's I mean, I can't imagine with these
kind of movies them not pulling their weight like they did.
(33:15):
It would have been a horrible experience because yeah, clean
right yeah, and drudgery, like, oh gosh, how are we
going to motivate these guys? You know what I mean?
And it was never that they were they just pulled
their own No.
Speaker 1 (33:27):
I think everybody. I mean, it's interesting. I always thought
it was an interesting dynamic that Kenny Ortega came from.
He did newsies, which was huge. It's a huge musical.
They shot at Universal Christian Bale, Dan Moscow like he's
like the whole big, huge cast. And then he did
Hocus Focus, which is like an iconic, iconic MOVI. His pedal,
I mean, his pedigree goes on and on Dirty Dance.
(33:50):
I mean, it's all this, but he he shows up
and he's treating this as an important as any job
he's ever done.
Speaker 2 (33:56):
Oh you saw him at the monitor, he'd be like
he'd like be painting way to say lighting. Duh duh, duh,
duh duh.
Speaker 1 (34:03):
Not right, I mean, that's that's funny. You should. Yeah,
you know, I have a story always. I always tell
a story and you're in the story. But I always
tell a story of like when when when people say like,
did you ever like was there ever a time like
on on the set where you thought like, oh this
might be it? I said, no, not not really, but
there is a time where I thought this is this
is really special. And it was doing stick the status quote.
(34:23):
And I remember like it was yesterday of BUDI because
Kenny was at Video Villain. You guys were all Video
Village and Kenny was watching and it was not it
wasn't a rehearsal. We were shooting or like shooting all
these cameras, right, and we had this amazing big room
in the in the cafeteria and shooting stick the stats
quote and you were on one side and Chucky was
on the other side, and Kenny was looking at the
monitor and while we're shooting, he's like, it's like painting
(34:46):
this looked like he had with a brush, and he's like,
I want this up here. They do a flip here,
and they do a spin here, and they turn there
and then do these guys and like spitting out all
this direction that you guys at lightning speed, and I'm
like how how and he you'll cut you guys just
want boom and just ran and then all these changes
and then twenty minutes later we're back at the monitor
(35:07):
and all the changes are on this. I'm like watching
all the changes on the screen, like.
Speaker 2 (35:12):
My gosh, no, brilliant, right, that's a brilliant mind, brilliant brilliant.
I just hope to you know, sut down a one
percent of that with my work, Like it's just he's amazing.
But you know, again you said it earlier. It's it's
all it's all the I always say, all of our
puzzle piece matters. Our puzzle piece matters. Like he pulled
(35:34):
all these puzzle pieces together and they just clicked, you know.
Speaker 1 (35:38):
Yeah. Yeah. I think as part of his brilliance is
recognizing who's going to contribute and who's going to bring
the most value to it. I mean, and I appreciate
that because they had they saw all of the pre
approved Disney actors. My age right played coach and he said,
they said, hey, pick pick any of these fifty guys.
(35:59):
You know, there's been a Disney shows. And he's like, oh,
these guys are right. So I'm grateful because he finally
came to me and said, you're the coach, You're the
I love him. When you are doing the auditions in Utah, yes,
(36:21):
and you saw how many people do you think you saw?
Speaker 2 (36:23):
Like people came from LA to Utah.
Speaker 1 (36:25):
Oh, for the Utah Dancer.
Speaker 2 (36:28):
Auditions were in Utah. They had to fly out and
there were a lot of LA dancers. Wow.
Speaker 1 (36:34):
Yeah okay. And then who did you find in that process? Oh? God,
well I think you found I think you found Casey.
Speaker 2 (36:43):
Ok Oh, Casey's from Utah.
Speaker 1 (36:45):
Yeah yeah, And I know she was at that rehearsal.
She do you remember seeing her and being.
Speaker 2 (36:49):
Like, no, I knew Casey from.
Speaker 1 (36:52):
You knew Casey. Okay.
Speaker 2 (36:53):
So so Kenny was talking to me and he goes, we
got to find Martha. We've got to find the perfect market.
And I said, well, you know, tell me about you know,
explain her. And he explained Casey and I said, well,
I know her, I know, I know you got to
you got to see this Casey stroke. She's it. So
I called her and I said, Casey, you need to
(37:16):
come in. And I don't know if you're going to interview.
Speaker 1 (37:19):
Her, but it did interview her. She's a good friend.
I loved you.
Speaker 2 (37:23):
Anyway. So so anyway, I brought her to Kenny and
didn't look back.
Speaker 1 (37:29):
Isn't that Kenny love her?
Speaker 2 (37:31):
Yeah?
Speaker 1 (37:32):
And she was supposed to just be in the one song.
She was just going to be in Status Quo. And
then you're a cheerleader, let's go.
Speaker 2 (37:40):
You can move. That's one thing. Those dancers were so good.
I got to do so many fun things with those cheerleaders.
We did such fun chography with those cheerleaders.
Speaker 1 (37:50):
Did you find Molly Gray there?
Speaker 2 (37:53):
Mollie, Yes, Mollie k Mollie was there. Jamie goodwe Jamie
Good I remember Jay.
Speaker 1 (38:00):
She was great.
Speaker 2 (38:01):
Love Alison Holker is another one that was the first one.
Speaker 1 (38:05):
Okay, these they were all at the at the Utah Uedition.
Speaker 2 (38:08):
Yeah, I'm thinking I think I may have called Allison.
I can't remember. It's been so long and I don't
want to give false stories. But but that's we loved
her obviously. Do you remember Fame Jasperson and okay, so fame.
He was on the Slton Crew of Hamilton and he's
(38:33):
been in Hamilton ever since. He's killing New York.
Speaker 1 (38:37):
Amazing.
Speaker 2 (38:37):
But it's just fun to see these guys.
Speaker 1 (38:40):
You know, Doug, Doug pet I saw.
Speaker 2 (38:43):
Him, Oh Doug, Yeah, yeah, yeah, du him to that.
Speaker 1 (38:45):
He's doing something in La I just saw them. Jared Marilla,
Yeah he's another Yeah, he's another one. Yeah, it's great.
Speaker 2 (38:55):
He was great. There's a lot of really cool I
don't know. Brad Tobler got right, yeah, sure, he's originally
from Utah, right.
Speaker 1 (39:04):
Sandborn was yeah.
Speaker 2 (39:07):
And he you know, he had no dance experience and
he would trip over his feet, but darned he really
got it, like he got it.
Speaker 1 (39:15):
I love that because there's all there's all types in life, and.
Speaker 2 (39:19):
It kind of worked with his character too.
Speaker 1 (39:24):
He was who else would say, how was your summer?
Miss Darvish.
Speaker 2 (39:32):
Alicia was another one who didn't have a ton of
movement experience, but she has I think I can't. I
want to say she has had a little, but she killed.
Speaker 1 (39:42):
It was she was she in the in in that rehearsal,
in the audition, in the dance audition.
Speaker 2 (39:49):
I'm not sure if she came in as an actor.
I think she came in as an actor.
Speaker 1 (39:53):
Yeah, I don't know.
Speaker 2 (39:54):
I don't remember her. I don't remember her as the audition.
I brought Casey Strow in. I think after the auditions
I'd have to ask Casey about that. I can't remember,
but we talked about it.
Speaker 1 (40:10):
I'd still remember that detail exactly, but I don't think
we talked about in detailed that point. But she talked
about the rehearsal process and uh and and tryouts and
being spotted and then the one turning into I mean,
Martha has been around now mar everybody else Martha, yeah
yeah yeah, so and then these dancers have gone and
(40:30):
then everybody all the dancers, so yeah, they're so young
on the first movie and now there is young It's
so fun to watch them on Dance with the Stars.
And you did so you think you could dance?
Speaker 2 (40:42):
Yeah, I did a bunch of seasons on So you
think you.
Speaker 1 (40:44):
I saw that. That was really fun for me to
see that. Thank you.
Speaker 2 (40:48):
It was fun.
Speaker 1 (40:49):
I love great.
Speaker 2 (40:50):
Yeah. It was probably one of the most intense jobs, really,
so little time, and their dancers are pulled. They have
to learn your piece and then this and this and this,
so you have like three hours here for us. The
first day is all like with cameras in there. Would
you say that again? Or would you like? The first
(41:11):
piece I did was bullying, and so I called my
friend that was bullied really bad, and so he told
his story. And then as I was teaching the choreography,
they're like, will you do you know so you know
how it is it? Will you say that again? Or
you know what I mean? So the first rehearsal doesn't
(41:31):
really count, so you have like two others and then
you're on stage like it's nuts. It's so intense. It's
so intense. But I loved it, and I loved working
with Jeff Thacker. He's brilliant. He's the producer. But yeah,
it was great. I you know, I got to be
on I got to do Kevin Costner's new his first
(41:53):
Horizon movie set with him for a week, which was amazing.
I've just been doing a lot of movies, commercials, TV film.
I'm just grateful. I just keep going. So I'm just
kind of riding the bike going, Okay, let's stay, let's
do another one.
Speaker 1 (42:11):
Yeah, and you're you're living in Vegas.
Speaker 2 (42:12):
Now I'm in Vegas.
Speaker 1 (42:15):
Okay, are you in Utube?
Speaker 2 (42:16):
Where are you at?
Speaker 1 (42:17):
Are you? I'm in Utah right now, I'm I'm fifty
to fifty right now back, Well, there you go.
Speaker 2 (42:24):
How do you make to be Midway?
Speaker 1 (42:26):
You know you can't beat Midway man Midwa That Way
is the greatest we have. Dollerina Farms here now you know?
So hey, and.
Speaker 2 (42:34):
Guess what that is Addie who did the series, my
high school musical series. She's my daughter in law. That's
her sister in law, the family that owns that one. Oh,
they just had a big thing there, a big like.
Speaker 1 (42:51):
Like, oh they did have a big event up there.
Speaker 2 (42:54):
Yeah, yeah, here, it's really cool. I want to go
up there.
Speaker 1 (42:58):
The foods, foods credit. This is I've been living in
the I mean, this is just a little dairy farm,
you know, but I had this bed and breakfast called
the Johnson Mill, uh for all these years, but living
in LA and then escaping up here, and I just
want to live up here.
Speaker 2 (43:13):
It's so nice. I know, I know. I have to
tell you since we're here, your energy on set and
you're what you have brought to the whole franchise is
just it's it's priceless, Bart and you are that way
on set. You're positive, You're awesome, You're I mean, and
(43:33):
you continue to be so and that's why people, all
the people love you so so and we all love you.
Speaker 1 (43:41):
That's so nice. I love you, guys. That's such an
amazing compliment. I really appreciate.
Speaker 2 (43:45):
Well, it's true, you know, it's really true. It's really awesome.
Speaker 1 (43:50):
So thank you. Love you guys. You're your whole family.
Your girls are so amazing, amazing job.
Speaker 2 (43:57):
Hey, I have a lot of help.
Speaker 1 (44:00):
Yeah yeah, I'm sure. I'm sure. Well you got an
awesome family doing doing it right, doing right. Let's get together.
Thank you so.
Speaker 2 (44:07):
Much for your time for having me.
Speaker 1 (44:09):
This is so I think it's so fun. I think
that that our our people, our East High families go,
they're gonna love hearing these stories. So thanks for sharing
all the fun.
Speaker 2 (44:19):
It's so fun and what a ride, right yeah, right.
Speaker 1 (44:25):
You know, I decided I'm gonna do I'm gonna do
this podcast every every time there's an anniversary of the
zero on the end. So at the thirtieth we'll talk again,
all right, if it's still.
Speaker 2 (44:36):
Hopefully i'll run into you on a set here.
Speaker 1 (44:39):
Yeah. Yeah, yeah, we're gonna get together. We're gonna get together, buddy.
Speaker 2 (44:42):
I want to I want to tell you, I said,
he and thanks to all the Wildcat fans.
Speaker 1 (44:48):
That's right, thank you, Thank you East High family. We
love you, we love you.
Speaker 2 (44:51):
I love you. Bye body, bye, see you. Mamma has
a more ind
Hey, Wildcats, this is Bart Johnson and you're listening to
Get your Head in the Game. Hi. Everyone, welcome back
to get your head in the Game Today. My guest
is one of the incredible talents behind the choreography that
brought you all of your favorite dance numbers in the
High School Musical franchise. From the basketball court to the cafeteria.
(00:24):
She brought the moves that had us all dancing along.
Please welcome the brilliant choreographer Bonnie Story to the podcast. Hello,
Bonnie Story. Oh my gosh, I have not seen for
so long. I know, I know, you look amazing. You
still look like one of the kids.
Speaker 2 (00:40):
Thank you. You have just won a million dollars. It
will be coming to your house.
Speaker 1 (00:45):
To Oh how did I do it? I'm just speaking
the truth over your Bonnie. You look great.
Speaker 2 (00:51):
I saw your brother on set. Did he tell you?
Speaker 1 (00:54):
Oh yeah, uh yeah, yeah, Oh that's right on.
Speaker 2 (01:00):
Studio Scena Albard I said, Hi, give him a hug.
Speaker 1 (01:05):
Oh.
Speaker 2 (01:05):
I love that is this what you're doing.
Speaker 1 (01:07):
I love this is this great body. You know. It's
it's the twenty year aniversary, which I can't even believe it,
and we have to do something for our people that
have been so good to us.
Speaker 2 (01:18):
You know, yes, I have to. It just keeps living
like Chucky, and I send things at forth back and forth. Ken,
you like, we're just like, it just keeps living. It's
it's it's kind of crazy. It's crazy. It's crazy, right, Like.
Speaker 1 (01:33):
It's who would have thought. I mean, well, no, nobody,
but I ten years ago I thought, oh, it's probably
gonna start fading out. Here's been two years, and it's
like twenty years is like bigger than ever. And it's
like all over social media and there's TikTok trends and
there's yeah it's every song A.
Speaker 2 (01:51):
Football players are doing our stuff.
Speaker 1 (01:53):
Yeah, yeah, I just I guess I just got asked
to do something with the NBA to go do like
to be a coach.
Speaker 2 (01:59):
That's amazing.
Speaker 1 (02:01):
I love it. I love it so fun. It's so fun.
It's it's just the funnest. I just love it so much.
Speaker 2 (02:10):
It's so crazy for where we started and not really
knowing kind of what was going to happen. It was
a TV movie, you know. Several times, Kenny, like Chuck,
you and I were like, you know, this could be
something pretty amazing, and like I remember the first movie
we were we were rehearsing the lunch room scene that
(02:33):
I can't even remember saying yes that one, and we
all looked at each other when, oh, this is kind
of great. That is it's amazing.
Speaker 1 (02:46):
That's the first one where I was kind of like, no,
I'm not claiming that I had any intuition at all,
but I just remember being like, this is this is
so big. This doesn't seem like a little Disney channel.
This seems like a big movie.
Speaker 2 (02:59):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (03:00):
And of course he'd done the opening closing ceremonies the
Olympics with thousands of performers, so he knows how to
fill the screen with all these people doing amazing things. Hey,
we're getting ahead of ourselves by it. Let me let
me introduce you. No, it's my fault. I guess I'm
so excited this is. It's been really fun because I'm
doing obviously doing this podcast with my friends that haven't
(03:21):
seen forever, and we haven't had a conversation beforehand, so
it's like your face pops on the screen, like my gosh,
I love her a body story. I just love you
so much and it's so good to see you. I
love your girls and very mutual. Your kids are awesome.
Uh yeah, and it's fun that we work in a
small industry where we get to cross paths and you
with our family are absolutely and all our families are
(03:44):
roped into this thing. But let me officially welcome you.
Welcome Body Story to the podcast. So happy to have
you here. You are the first choreographer on the show.
I mean, you know, I wanted to do this as
a gift and a big thank you to all the
wildcats out there and everyone that contributed to the magic
who made it awesome, and you you are such a
(04:06):
huge part of the magic of it all.
Speaker 2 (04:08):
Part is the part we're all parked right all kick
us off, But yes, I think it's.
Speaker 1 (04:14):
Part of the part of the brilliance is well, it
goes back to the center of our universe, mister Kenny Ortega,
pulling in the pieces that are are so important, and
having worked with Michael Jackson for twenty five years or
all the amazing things he's done, he spotted Bonnie Story
and said, I want to creep these things with you.
And what's amazing is like you choreograph these dances, came
(04:36):
up with all these original dances and moves, and but
what you did was like you created something that has
lived on and I see the dances that you've created
all over social media. It's so fun.
Speaker 2 (04:48):
It's so fun. And again I have to keep bringing
Chucky and Kenny into this because we made such a
good team, you know. And Kenny was always so clear
in what what did we have to accomplish with each song,
with each with I didn't even hate to call it
a dance, but each scene that had dance in and
(05:09):
what did we have to come So he was so
so deliberate in what he wanted as you know as
an actor, so clear, and so it made it so
much fun for us to go in the studio and
go back and forth, go back and forth. He comes in,
he puts the Kenny on it, and it's kind of
it was really it's a really magical team. It really
(05:31):
was really fun. It was intense. It was fun.
Speaker 1 (05:34):
Yeah. Yeah. The storytelling you guys did through the quota
fuse amazing and it's just so memorable that people leave
the theater doing those dances or trying to. They go
home and learn them. They want to look, they have
to do let's start. But if you don't mind. I
want to know everything you're doing, but I first want
to just go rewind the hands of time a little
(05:55):
bit and just take it back to the very beginning,
because I actually have no idea. I don't know how
you were first introduced to this project. Can you tell
us about well.
Speaker 2 (06:03):
I had worked with Kenny. I was one of his
uh choreographers associate choreographers for the for the Olympics, and
then we knew of each other in LA but our
paths didn't really pass because I was you know how
there's groups of people like I was always with Vincent
Patterson or you know, different groups and they're not groups,
but you'd get hired by the same people. But Kenny,
(06:26):
I guess, found out about me and he knew us
from Utah, and so he pulled me in the Olympics
was which was insanity amazing, and that's where we really
first worked together. And then I think so when he
went and got this project, he's just like, oh, you know,
Bonnie and Chuck, you would make a great team. Yeah,
(06:47):
they just brought me in. I mean, he just brought
me in and it was amazing.
Speaker 1 (06:51):
Do you remember how we brought it up to the
first time I.
Speaker 2 (06:55):
Think I got a call from my agent and then
actually Kenny and Chucky I was working. I was at
the theater with Odyssey one night and they and he says,
we were in town. We want to come and we
want I want to come and do somecography with you
and Chucky together, And I think he was just kind
of filling us out. So we went backstage and found
(07:16):
a little thing in that and that's history.
Speaker 1 (07:20):
Oh no, tell me so, So that's that might seem
common to you, but this is like such a foreign
world to me. When you do something like that, what
do you do?
Speaker 2 (07:27):
Uh? Well, they had Kenny had some ideas, and we
just all kind of I think I can't even really remember.
I was trying to think of this because I figured
you'd probably asked about it. But I just remember the
coming to the theater and uh we went back, you know,
we found a studio and uh, they had worked on
some stuff. They taught it to me, and we just
(07:49):
kind of, I think, went back and forth. And I
think he I really think Kenny wanted to see what
because I'd never met Chucky before that, and so I
think he wanted to see what our vibe was together too,
which completely hit it off. And we're the kind of
the ying and the ying, so we we we you
know what I have and he doesn't have. What he has.
(08:09):
I don't have, so we really not we don't have,
but our strengths are in different places. So we were
really able to play on that all three movies. It
was amazing.
Speaker 1 (08:20):
Yeah, yeah, you were. You guys really did compliment each other. Yeah, way, okay,
so you guys so you kind of like dance together, Yeah,
we did.
Speaker 2 (08:27):
We just danced together that night, and I was like,
I had no really no idea what it was about.
I mean, I wish I could remember better, but it
was so long ago. But I was just like, oh,
this is is pretty cool. My gosh, Kenny Ortella came here,
and Chucky's cool and be so fun to you know,
work with him, and and yeah, I think it happened
(08:47):
really fast after that.
Speaker 1 (08:50):
It's it's interesting about it.
Speaker 2 (08:52):
If you come into the theater.
Speaker 1 (08:54):
I will, I will for sure.
Speaker 2 (08:56):
Maybe they were both testing me, probably.
Speaker 1 (09:00):
Oh probably. I mean, you're going to go on a
journey together, you have to you have to know if
you're cool.
Speaker 2 (09:07):
Absolutely, and who knows, you know, who knew we were
going to go on seven years.
Speaker 1 (09:12):
Well, yeah, because it's just supposed to be just the
one movie at that point. And and uh, it's interesting
to me to think of like there's like three adults
doing all these you know, you see the movie, you think, oh,
this is the kid came from. The kid was the
adults that are working out, sweating in the in the
dance studio making it all happen. And then you gotta
that you gotta teach them. Do you remember how can
he pitch to the movie what he was, what he
(09:33):
was doing?
Speaker 2 (09:35):
No, I really don't. I think it was just a
musical and it was gonna be on the Disney Channel
and they'd be really excited to have me on as
a choreographer.
Speaker 1 (09:45):
And no name, there's no name of that point.
Speaker 2 (09:47):
Of course, it wasn't. I don't think. I think it
was high school musical or it had to do the
high school musical. I don't know. I didn't have working name.
I can't even remember that.
Speaker 1 (09:56):
Well, that was right, they said it was. It's it's
a high school music, So we're just going to call
it that until we come up with the name.
Speaker 2 (10:03):
Yeah, yeah, So I mean, I don't I don't I
don't know how you felt, But I don't know if
any of us really knew what we were getting ourselves
into in an amazing way obviously.
Speaker 1 (10:14):
Yeah, yeah, so what was the process? So after that
you got to call it? What from the agent or
did you know?
Speaker 2 (10:19):
No? No, no, I think I think Julie called me
and said, hey, they want you to do this, and
then it just started rolling. So we had pre production
meetings with Kenny and Chucky and I go through the script.
I remember going through the script and him playing his
songs and we kind of took it. Was it? Uh
that little high school off of State Street, not little,
(10:43):
but the high school off State Street that we started
rehearsing in, So Chucky and.
Speaker 1 (10:48):
I met not Murray, not Murray Hot where we shot.
That's where we shot a lot of the theater.
Speaker 2 (10:55):
Yeah, and uh so we I think we were a
Ballet West studio before we got to that. But Chucky
and I put some stuff together. Kenny always comes in
we show. He puts his thing in it. I mean,
Kenny's brilliant, Like he is so brilliant and again knows
so perfectly. He paints pictures as you know on screen, right,
(11:20):
So he knows and he's very visual. And I have
to tell you, I have a Kenny or take a
backpack that I take with me every job I do.
Oh I got so I learned so much in those
years from him. He was so giving and so awesome.
But anyway, so we go in the studio. We'd bring
(11:41):
him in when we felt like we had enough to go, hey,
are we going in the right direction? And then he
comes in and he moves. Man, he is good.
Speaker 1 (11:49):
He was so he's.
Speaker 2 (11:52):
So much a partner. Are you kidding? When we were
doing to the Top, I was like, this is fun.
We'll always worked on it. But yeah, I mean I
got to partner Kenny of course.
Speaker 1 (12:04):
Yeah, yeah, he's just bom So again, I have never
seen this part of the process, but it makes it.
You'll say, you read the script, you're kind of getting
an idea of the characters, and you're kind of feeling
that out. Do you listen to the music, so you're
really feeling out, You're like, and then you start thinking
what do we want to do in this dance?
Speaker 2 (12:24):
Like what do we and you can't even really think steps.
You have to think story and go what are we saying?
Like what is does this does this step? I hate
saying steps, but does this movement move the story forward?
Speaker 1 (12:37):
Oh?
Speaker 2 (12:38):
Well, that's that was a big thing because you know,
it's not about steps, it's not about really quarfy. It's
about moving the story forward through movement to make it
sense for Joe down the street that knows nothing about
you know, kickball change, right, So you have to you
have to make it so available to a can I say,
(13:00):
virgin dancer mind like has no idea what dancing, but
it just makes sense to them. You understand what we're
saying through those movements, and then you have in you
want to make it interesting of course, and visual and
for the camera and also you know, Kenny was very
very specific in what kind of shots he wanted, and
you know it was it was such a cool process.
Speaker 1 (13:24):
It was word He's done so many musical movies. Yeah,
had you done a muse? I know if you have
a dance studio, I don't anymore.
Speaker 2 (13:42):
I mean I used to long time ago.
Speaker 1 (13:44):
You did it at this time, right, So I did.
Speaker 2 (13:46):
Well, we had I had access to the treehouse in
Draper and that's where uh and before all this I
kind of a round a little program as I worked,
I left and come back and left me and come back.
But then I just you know, I got so busy
that I yeah.
Speaker 1 (14:05):
Yeah, yeah, So Bonnie, when you when you had the uh,
you have the script, you had the music was the cat?
Did you have the actors yet? Were they cast? We did?
Speaker 2 (14:16):
They were cast or I got involved they cast because
I was still living in Utah, Okay at that time.
I lived in l A. And then I moved to.
Speaker 1 (14:26):
Utah, back to Utah where we shot all three movies.
Speaker 2 (14:28):
Of course, yes, so they were all cast in in
l A. And Chucky was in on those castings, so
he kind of had an idea who was doing it,
and but neither one of us, Like we know, we
knew Vanessa had She's a she's a great look, she's
a great dancer, like she just came in great, right.
(14:50):
We knew that Lucas had musicality, music, you know, musical ability,
movement ability, Ashley. I thought, you know, she has some Monique,
some Corbin quite a bit. But the rest we knew
that we had to make it for them, for the
ones that had had as much you know, experience, but
(15:14):
also pull them along. So you know that also you know,
it's not like walking into a room full of professional
dancers and just like you know, hitting it right, like
what we usually get to do in a in a
gig and so and I've worked with so many actors,
which I love, so that helped me a lot to
(15:35):
know how to you know, what makes sense to you?
Does a writer left what make sense to you? Does
it really matter to us? No? What feels best to
you right? Like we wanted to cater it too. But
you look at the first movie, the choreography very simple,
We're oh in there, you know what I mean? You
look at the last movie where those guys went. It's amazing.
(16:00):
It's amazing the dancers, the movers, dancers that they became
and they were doing everything that the professional dancers were
doing everything. Wow, it was such a cool it was
such a cool journey with them, you know, and they
and you know, they work so hard. They come and
get us and go, hey do you have a second
(16:21):
or hey I'm free right now? Do you need anything? Yes?
Can we go over this? Like working so hard? No,
we go just wanting to be the best they can be.
Speaker 1 (16:33):
And not a lot of time.
Speaker 2 (16:34):
They didn't have a lot of time that moved that
first movie, right.
Speaker 1 (16:37):
It was like it was like a week, like a
week rehearsal.
Speaker 2 (16:40):
Gosh, I don't remember.
Speaker 1 (16:41):
I think the first like there just wasn't the budget
to have everybody in for a long time, all the basketball,
all the cheerleading and all the dancing everything.
Speaker 2 (16:53):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (16:54):
Yeah, And that's interesting what you're saying, because like, uh,
I've never been a professional dancer before.
Speaker 2 (16:59):
Yeah, I seen you move. You're a movie.
Speaker 1 (17:02):
Hey, thanks, I appreciate it. I do go ahead, but
I do go to my uh you know, local gym
sometimes and I jump in the dance class and okay,
here's the move an actor.
Speaker 2 (17:10):
It's so good for you.
Speaker 1 (17:11):
But the pros learned so fast they're like, oh yeah, yeah,
no problem, like the whole thing.
Speaker 2 (17:16):
Yeah, you learn lines really fast.
Speaker 1 (17:18):
So okay, So.
Speaker 2 (17:22):
You know what I'm saying, it's.
Speaker 1 (17:25):
Yeah, and you brought in you brought in some pros
in the cast.
Speaker 2 (17:30):
You dance the principal dancers.
Speaker 1 (17:33):
The principal dancers. Yeah yeah, and and so you had
like the but the but your main actors have they
can't be out danced by them, like it has to
has to blend right exactly. They do some of the
hard stuff and some of the dance specific stuff you did.
How many how many dancers did you.
Speaker 2 (17:49):
Bring in from l A, Well, I can't remember how
many are from Utah and how many from La. Utah
has such amazing dancers, like I work in Utah a lot,
and I can cast a movie in a second, like
just because they're so good. But I can't remember, actually
the number.
Speaker 1 (18:06):
Here's a story you could tell me if this is
true story. Now, this is a story I heard about
the dancing and I forgot I forgot to ask Kenny
about it. But that Disney that Kenny said, I want
this many whatever, I want this many professional dancers, and
they said the budgets like, no, you can't, like, you
can't have that many dancers because there we can't fly
that many people in from La. He's like, no, no, I'll
get them in Utah. And they said you can't, you
(18:28):
can't get those dancers. And Kenny's like I did the Olympic.
I know what kind of talent. I know kind of dancers,
and what kind of talent is in the state of Utah.
I will get them.
Speaker 2 (18:39):
This true story right, oh, yes, very true. I mean
I remember talking to him. He goes, we're going to
cast them, like, yeah, we can do it. We could
cast it three times over and we could have.
Speaker 1 (18:49):
It's amazing dances.
Speaker 2 (18:51):
It's amazing, it's amazing. There are some specifics that we
didn't get in Utah, Like I don't know if you remember,
I don't. I can't remember. If you're around for the
auditions for the dancers. It seemed to me ask Chucky,
but I think we were there like three days of
just group after a group, huge groups, like there were
so many the auditioned for this movie. And so what
(19:13):
was great about it, though, is we we put them in. Okay,
they'd be a great extra because you know how much
those extras danced, Oh my gosh, and Chucky and I
would teach them on the morning because you have to.
They can't have a prior rehearsal as an extra. But
they ought to dance oh so much, like so much,
(19:33):
And so a lot of those extras we used again
and again and again and again.
Speaker 1 (19:37):
I didn't I didn't know that. Is that like a
union rule or something like if you rehearsed before and
then perform the Uh yeah makes sense.
Speaker 2 (19:43):
Yeah, yeah, that's there's I mean, you couldn't afford that that.
Many think it a lunch room scene and all those
dancers around those tables were doing the exact same thing
as the principal dance.
Speaker 1 (19:54):
Wow. Wow, Okay, So how far out before the movie
did you have those rehearsals, those auditions with the dance auditions, it.
Speaker 2 (20:02):
Was it seemed really quick. It seemed to go really quick.
And I am so bad about time frames, but it
seemed pretty quick, like they we had auditions and then
we had callbacks, and from those, I want to think
that we nailed down the you know, the the principal dancers,
and then the next tier of dancers that we'd want
(20:25):
to use in the lunch room, you know what I mean,
the the gym scenes. As the gym scenes got bigger,
we called it a bleachography, and then they learned a
bunch of stuff in the vatures, right just some think,
I mean, yeah, I mean it was huge, it was huge,
and I'm so proud of Utah because they did provide
(20:47):
a lot. I mean, I remember with Kenny, we had
massive auditions for the Olympics and he was blown away,
blown away at the talent. So I that is a
very true story to come back around to your question,
and we could have we could have easily easily easily
(21:08):
cast a couple times over.
Speaker 1 (21:10):
Yeah. Yeah, it's been fun to watch everybody. I mean,
I'm jumping ahead, but it's been fun to watch everybody
after this go on. Oh yeah, like their world famous dancers.
Speaker 2 (21:20):
Now, oh it's amazing. It's just not I don't think
any of us really, I mean, well, those of us
kept going like we haven't stopped. And I look at
I remember Kenny was very worried about the diversity of Utah,
which at that time wasn't a lot. So I was
(21:40):
in New York with Bailey and Kelly at a dance
at New York City Dance Alliance, and I she Kelly
made friends with Brittrit Yes Brett Stewart, and I watched
her dancing classes, and I called Kenny from New York
and I said, we've found our We've found our girl.
We're looking He goes, really, he goes, yeah, he said,
(22:02):
let's while you're in Chrit actually lived with us at
our house. She could be in the movie. Yeah, because
she was under age. She was like fourteen or some
fifteen Kelly. I think she's Kelly's age, so I think
they were fifteen.
Speaker 1 (22:16):
Yeah, let's let's talk about the two special dancers that
you found, Oh, entered the cast. Tell me about that
whole thing.
Speaker 2 (22:24):
Casey Strow, Is that who were.
Speaker 1 (22:25):
Talking about your girls? Oh?
Speaker 2 (22:28):
Yeah, they Kenny met them in the Olympics. They both
were in the Olympics. Oh, I know that he loved them.
Bailey was very young in the Olympics. She was a
child of light. And I think Kelly was in the
Western part, but he had fallen. He really he just
(22:50):
loved them and knew how good they were, and they
they were just really good. And Bailey was I think
she was twelve the first movie, and so she's just like, wow,
this is awesome, Like I'm twelve and I'm in this movie.
But she was so good and tall, so she didn't
look twelve. She looked like she was in high school.
Speaker 1 (23:10):
No, she's been in pretty good Yeah. There of course,
full of those that don't know. Bailey and Kelly were
both cheerleaders.
Speaker 2 (23:17):
Yes, well, yes in the first movie.
Speaker 1 (23:19):
Yes, in the first one. And they did all the
dances throughout all the movies. Yeah, and they were they
were terrific. They were just staples of the set, like
they hung out. They were just like part of the cast,
so everybody was close.
Speaker 2 (23:31):
Yeah, yeah, absolutely. The first day I met Zach Jeffron,
I came home and I said, well, you guys are
gonna have fun doing this movie. There's a really cute
guy that's doing it. And Bailey's so young. She's like yeah, yeah, yeah,
and Kelly's like, what does he look like? But it
was really it was a really cool experience that I
got to do it. And I don't think even Disney knew
they were my daughters for a while because they have
(23:54):
different left last names, because I never want them or
they didn't want. I don't want them to, you know,
because your Bonnie's daughter, you know, not at all. They
had and they had to work twice as hard. So
but Bailey was an l three. Kelly didn't do the
second one because she was doing so you think you
(24:14):
can dance, that's right, Yeah, and then she came back
for the third one a little bit. But yeah, it
was so fun. It was we had together, you know
how it is the work with family, right Blessing.
Speaker 1 (24:28):
Yeah. Yeah, My brother was my assistant coach in high
school musical three. Brad worked with Kenny on several projects before. Yes,
in the past. Yeah, it's fun. It's fun. You have
your family together.
Speaker 2 (24:42):
It's so fun. It's such a blessing.
Speaker 1 (24:45):
Yeah, your girls are such amazing dancers. There's and they
were such a great like positive, like beautiful energy on
the on the set. They're just so friendly and always cheery,
and they've gone on to do really big things.
Speaker 2 (24:56):
So yeah, they've done, they've they've been, they've done, they've
had great careers. Bailey actually has assisted me and been
with buy on my side for gazillions of films, TV commercials,
live show like, she's been my right hand man and
been on front with me and on the other side
of the camera for Kelly's done a lot of shows.
Speaker 1 (25:17):
Yeah, who did Who was inas doing a big show?
Speaker 2 (25:20):
Kelly?
Speaker 1 (25:21):
Kelly did that?
Speaker 2 (25:24):
Yeah, I choreographed, Yeah, I choreographed a search show and
she auditioned for it and got it and that and
that's where you know, she really loved doing shows more
than film, and so film and TV not more, but
just as much. And so she just started doing shows
(25:44):
and she just kept getting show after show after show.
So where she spent her career spent same gigging some
moms just two kids.
Speaker 1 (25:56):
Amazing, Yeah, so yeah, crazy because she's just a young
little cheerleader of the movie.
Speaker 2 (26:02):
Ye mom with kids, I feel the same. How is
that happening? Right? Like it's like I'm the same.
Speaker 1 (26:09):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (26:11):
But anyway, they're they're beautiful women and I've just been very,
very blessed to work with them when I have been
able to, which is quite a bit. Yeah, it's such
a ride.
Speaker 1 (26:21):
Right, Yeah. What was your favorite part of doing these movies?
And do you have a favorite movie? Like do you
have a favorite song or sequence or like, I mean
it must be so. And what's the difference between doing
something if you're doing bet on It with Zach or
if you're doing all in this together where it's everybody,
Like what's you know?
Speaker 2 (26:41):
Oh gosh. People ask me that all the time, and
I can never give them an answer because it's all
so different. And like, like I said, Chucky and I
we would like he'd go work on like Boys and
you know, Boys are back. While I was working on
you know, I got it all like the fossy part
(27:03):
of the god at all or the or the rocket
so like, and then we come back and switch around
and so we really got to like have our hands
in everything, and you kind of you know how it
is like when you have a part that you just
like you have a part of it, So it just
it goes through your heart, like you know what I mean.
And that's how I feel about all these numbers. I
(27:25):
just remember because I see them. I rewatched one with
Kelly's kids not that long ago, and I was like, wow, wow,
you know, and just the feeling of when we were
filming those. So I have special thoughts and I'm sorry
that's the answer, but I loved all of them. I
think my favorite move the favorite ones are one and three.
(27:50):
I loved high School too because I love being in
Saint George and that look. It looked like we were
on a stage sound stage. It was so faked. It's
so beautiful. But I think if I had to pick
my favorites, it would be those two. And I loved
doing the film film with Kenny and you know, I'd
sit at the monitor and he goes, you want to
(28:11):
know why I'm doing it this way? Do you want
to know why I'm doing this shot? I was just like,
they're taking it all in, Like I in so much
every movie. I don't know that, but but then I go,
what time is it? Like? That was such a fun
you know, fun number to choreograph or one. I remember
(28:34):
this distinctly. I don't know I Kenny said anything about it,
but we were sitting at the monitor for all four one,
ging ging in and being young, and he looked at
me and we both had tears rolling down our eyes.
He goes, this is phenomenal. This is just beautiful. The colors,
the choreography was great. The I will say this, the actors,
(28:55):
the dancers, all the above made that so vibrant in them,
in their moving, in the visual, in every part of it.
It was just yeah, it was. It was emotional. And
then you remember the end of the third Oh, just
(29:16):
bawling on that just I just, oh my gosh, when
that last, that last take in the in.
Speaker 1 (29:22):
The cape and gown and the graduation scene. Yeah, yeah, yeah,
I'm glad we were all there for that. But oh man,
that was that was rough.
Speaker 2 (29:32):
That was that was that was rough.
Speaker 1 (29:34):
It was rough.
Speaker 2 (29:35):
I mean it's just here we are, like all these
years together and really in some ways we all grew
up together, like we all kind of grew together, right
and grew in this story with each movie, and.
Speaker 1 (29:50):
It was usual.
Speaker 2 (29:51):
No, you don't get that opportunity, No, you don't.
Speaker 1 (29:55):
You usually you know, you do it like you and
I have done a lot of movies and it's that
one movie you love it, you hate say goodbye, but
you and then you get to come back with the
same people, like it is amazing. And then the rehearsals
and the blood, the sweat and the tears and the
whole process, and then you have to come back again
like it's just it's such an unusual thing. And then
(30:16):
to see it go from this little undiscovered kind of
idea into the sleigh. Yeah, we all get to take
that journey together. We were like we were all in
the van together.
Speaker 2 (30:25):
Yeah, it was. It was it was a ride. It
was absolutely right. And you know, those that cast was special.
They were special. They were so awesome and worked so hard.
And I don't know, I'm grateful.
Speaker 1 (30:44):
Who do you think, who do you think work the hardest?
Speaker 2 (30:48):
I think it depends on the piece, and then who
worked the least. I'm not going to give you can ask.
Speaker 1 (31:03):
No, it's pretty great.
Speaker 2 (31:07):
I really was impressed. I was impressed with their work
ethic and you know, it was a big ask like
you look at the prom choreography. Holy cow. I mean
the professional dancers were hoped. They were beat out of
their brains and you know, you've got here, you know,
all these actors that have worked up to this doing
(31:28):
this exact same choreography exactly. We didn't hold back. We
were just like, Okay, we're gonna have fun with this choreography.
We're gonna partner, we're gonna We did do a lot
of partnering, and that was really fun because Chucky and
I had so much fun and that was that. I
thought that was really fun.
Speaker 1 (31:44):
Yeah, yeah, throughout that's really fun. I think not so
much with the.
Speaker 2 (31:48):
First one, but the second and third one we did
a lot of partnering.
Speaker 1 (31:51):
Wait, wait, what do you mean by a partner in
the choreography?
Speaker 2 (31:54):
Like I'd be like, hey, let's go, and he grabbed
mactorial and like, you know, do things together like straightd
on just we're dancing, you know. Oh. I Actually the
first one had some partnering. We put partnering in. Uh well,
along didn't. The next part was all partnering. We did
(32:16):
it in couples. That yeah, at the very end of
the first one, I think, yeah, yeah.
Speaker 1 (32:24):
Yeah, there's like this is it like what it was
like a little bit of a dance break and they
all kind of like.
Speaker 2 (32:29):
H and and again the actors, I think I think
Monique did it. I think I know Corman did it.
I mean, I'd have to watch it again. But I mean,
of course Vanessa and they killed it. They just killed it. Yeah,
they just they just really killed it. I just I
don't know, I just was really impressed with that. I mean,
(32:51):
it's a big ask. I mean we've worked I know,
you've worked with big stars. I've been worked with big stars,
and I always love those people that work so hard
alongside you, and then you find some that aren't willing
to and it's I mean, I can't imagine with these
kind of movies them not pulling their weight like they did.
(33:15):
It would have been a horrible experience because yeah, clean
right yeah, and drudgery, like, oh gosh, how are we
going to motivate these guys? You know what I mean?
And it was never that they were they just pulled
their own No.
Speaker 1 (33:27):
I think everybody. I mean, it's interesting. I always thought
it was an interesting dynamic that Kenny Ortega came from.
He did newsies, which was huge. It's a huge musical.
They shot at Universal Christian Bale, Dan Moscow like he's
like the whole big, huge cast. And then he did
Hocus Focus, which is like an iconic, iconic MOVI. His pedal,
I mean, his pedigree goes on and on Dirty Dance.
(33:50):
I mean, it's all this, but he he shows up
and he's treating this as an important as any job
he's ever done.
Speaker 2 (33:56):
Oh you saw him at the monitor, he'd be like
he'd like be painting way to say lighting. Duh duh, duh,
duh duh.
Speaker 1 (34:03):
Not right, I mean, that's that's funny. You should. Yeah,
you know, I have a story always. I always tell
a story and you're in the story. But I always
tell a story of like when when when people say like,
did you ever like was there ever a time like
on on the set where you thought like, oh this
might be it? I said, no, not not really, but
there is a time where I thought this is this
is really special. And it was doing stick the status quote.
(34:23):
And I remember like it was yesterday of BUDI because
Kenny was at Video Villain. You guys were all Video
Village and Kenny was watching and it was not it
wasn't a rehearsal. We were shooting or like shooting all
these cameras, right, and we had this amazing big room
in the in the cafeteria and shooting stick the stats
quote and you were on one side and Chucky was
on the other side, and Kenny was looking at the
monitor and while we're shooting, he's like, it's like painting
(34:46):
this looked like he had with a brush, and he's like,
I want this up here. They do a flip here,
and they do a spin here, and they turn there
and then do these guys and like spitting out all
this direction that you guys at lightning speed, and I'm
like how how and he you'll cut you guys just
want boom and just ran and then all these changes
and then twenty minutes later we're back at the monitor
(35:07):
and all the changes are on this. I'm like watching
all the changes on the screen, like.
Speaker 2 (35:12):
My gosh, no, brilliant, right, that's a brilliant mind, brilliant brilliant.
I just hope to you know, sut down a one
percent of that with my work, Like it's just he's amazing.
But you know, again you said it earlier. It's it's
all it's all the I always say, all of our
puzzle piece matters. Our puzzle piece matters. Like he pulled
(35:34):
all these puzzle pieces together and they just clicked, you know.
Speaker 1 (35:38):
Yeah. Yeah. I think as part of his brilliance is
recognizing who's going to contribute and who's going to bring
the most value to it. I mean, and I appreciate
that because they had they saw all of the pre
approved Disney actors. My age right played coach and he said,
they said, hey, pick pick any of these fifty guys.
(35:59):
You know, there's been a Disney shows. And he's like, oh,
these guys are right. So I'm grateful because he finally
came to me and said, you're the coach, You're the
I love him. When you are doing the auditions in Utah, yes,
(36:21):
and you saw how many people do you think you saw?
Speaker 2 (36:23):
Like people came from LA to Utah.
Speaker 1 (36:25):
Oh, for the Utah Dancer.
Speaker 2 (36:28):
Auditions were in Utah. They had to fly out and
there were a lot of LA dancers. Wow.
Speaker 1 (36:34):
Yeah okay. And then who did you find in that process? Oh? God,
well I think you found I think you found Casey.
Speaker 2 (36:43):
Ok Oh, Casey's from Utah.
Speaker 1 (36:45):
Yeah yeah, And I know she was at that rehearsal.
She do you remember seeing her and being.
Speaker 2 (36:49):
Like, no, I knew Casey from.
Speaker 1 (36:52):
You knew Casey. Okay.
Speaker 2 (36:53):
So so Kenny was talking to me and he goes, we
got to find Martha. We've got to find the perfect market.
And I said, well, you know, tell me about you know,
explain her. And he explained Casey and I said, well,
I know her, I know, I know you got to
you got to see this Casey stroke. She's it. So
I called her and I said, Casey, you need to
(37:16):
come in. And I don't know if you're going to interview.
Speaker 1 (37:19):
Her, but it did interview her. She's a good friend.
I loved you.
Speaker 2 (37:23):
Anyway. So so anyway, I brought her to Kenny and
didn't look back.
Speaker 1 (37:29):
Isn't that Kenny love her?
Speaker 2 (37:31):
Yeah?
Speaker 1 (37:32):
And she was supposed to just be in the one song.
She was just going to be in Status Quo. And
then you're a cheerleader, let's go.
Speaker 2 (37:40):
You can move. That's one thing. Those dancers were so good.
I got to do so many fun things with those cheerleaders.
We did such fun chography with those cheerleaders.
Speaker 1 (37:50):
Did you find Molly Gray there?
Speaker 2 (37:53):
Mollie, Yes, Mollie k Mollie was there. Jamie goodwe Jamie
Good I remember Jay.
Speaker 1 (38:00):
She was great.
Speaker 2 (38:01):
Love Alison Holker is another one that was the first one.
Speaker 1 (38:05):
Okay, these they were all at the at the Utah Uedition.
Speaker 2 (38:08):
Yeah, I'm thinking I think I may have called Allison.
I can't remember. It's been so long and I don't
want to give false stories. But but that's we loved
her obviously. Do you remember Fame Jasperson and okay, so fame.
He was on the Slton Crew of Hamilton and he's
(38:33):
been in Hamilton ever since. He's killing New York.
Speaker 1 (38:37):
Amazing.
Speaker 2 (38:37):
But it's just fun to see these guys.
Speaker 1 (38:40):
You know, Doug, Doug pet I saw.
Speaker 2 (38:43):
Him, Oh Doug, Yeah, yeah, yeah, du him to that.
Speaker 1 (38:45):
He's doing something in La I just saw them. Jared Marilla,
Yeah he's another Yeah, he's another one. Yeah, it's great.
Speaker 2 (38:55):
He was great. There's a lot of really cool I
don't know. Brad Tobler got right, yeah, sure, he's originally
from Utah, right.
Speaker 1 (39:04):
Sandborn was yeah.
Speaker 2 (39:07):
And he you know, he had no dance experience and
he would trip over his feet, but darned he really
got it, like he got it.
Speaker 1 (39:15):
I love that because there's all there's all types in life, and.
Speaker 2 (39:19):
It kind of worked with his character too.
Speaker 1 (39:24):
He was who else would say, how was your summer?
Miss Darvish.
Speaker 2 (39:32):
Alicia was another one who didn't have a ton of
movement experience, but she has I think I can't. I
want to say she has had a little, but she killed.
Speaker 1 (39:42):
It was she was she in the in in that rehearsal,
in the audition, in the dance audition.
Speaker 2 (39:49):
I'm not sure if she came in as an actor.
I think she came in as an actor.
Speaker 1 (39:53):
Yeah, I don't know.
Speaker 2 (39:54):
I don't remember her. I don't remember her as the audition.
I brought Casey Strow in. I think after the auditions
I'd have to ask Casey about that. I can't remember,
but we talked about it.
Speaker 1 (40:10):
I'd still remember that detail exactly, but I don't think
we talked about in detailed that point. But she talked
about the rehearsal process and uh and and tryouts and
being spotted and then the one turning into I mean,
Martha has been around now mar everybody else Martha, yeah
yeah yeah, so and then these dancers have gone and
(40:30):
then everybody all the dancers, so yeah, they're so young
on the first movie and now there is young It's
so fun to watch them on Dance with the Stars.
And you did so you think you could dance?
Speaker 2 (40:42):
Yeah, I did a bunch of seasons on So you
think you.
Speaker 1 (40:44):
I saw that. That was really fun for me to
see that. Thank you.
Speaker 2 (40:48):
It was fun.
Speaker 1 (40:49):
I love great.
Speaker 2 (40:50):
Yeah. It was probably one of the most intense jobs, really,
so little time, and their dancers are pulled. They have
to learn your piece and then this and this and this,
so you have like three hours here for us. The
first day is all like with cameras in there. Would
you say that again? Or would you like? The first
(41:11):
piece I did was bullying, and so I called my
friend that was bullied really bad, and so he told
his story. And then as I was teaching the choreography,
they're like, will you do you know so you know
how it is it? Will you say that again? Or
you know what I mean? So the first rehearsal doesn't
(41:31):
really count, so you have like two others and then
you're on stage like it's nuts. It's so intense. It's
so intense. But I loved it, and I loved working
with Jeff Thacker. He's brilliant. He's the producer. But yeah,
it was great. I you know, I got to be
on I got to do Kevin Costner's new his first
(41:53):
Horizon movie set with him for a week, which was amazing.
I've just been doing a lot of movies, commercials, TV film.
I'm just grateful. I just keep going. So I'm just
kind of riding the bike going, Okay, let's stay, let's
do another one.
Speaker 1 (42:11):
Yeah, and you're you're living in Vegas.
Speaker 2 (42:12):
Now I'm in Vegas.
Speaker 1 (42:15):
Okay, are you in Utube?
Speaker 2 (42:16):
Where are you at?
Speaker 1 (42:17):
Are you? I'm in Utah right now, I'm I'm fifty
to fifty right now back, Well, there you go.
Speaker 2 (42:24):
How do you make to be Midway?
Speaker 1 (42:26):
You know you can't beat Midway man Midwa That Way
is the greatest we have. Dollerina Farms here now you know?
So hey, and.
Speaker 2 (42:34):
Guess what that is Addie who did the series, my
high school musical series. She's my daughter in law. That's
her sister in law, the family that owns that one. Oh,
they just had a big thing there, a big like.
Speaker 1 (42:51):
Like, oh they did have a big event up there.
Speaker 2 (42:54):
Yeah, yeah, here, it's really cool. I want to go
up there.
Speaker 1 (42:58):
The foods, foods credit. This is I've been living in
the I mean, this is just a little dairy farm,
you know, but I had this bed and breakfast called
the Johnson Mill, uh for all these years, but living
in LA and then escaping up here, and I just
want to live up here.
Speaker 2 (43:13):
It's so nice. I know, I know. I have to
tell you since we're here, your energy on set and
you're what you have brought to the whole franchise is
just it's it's priceless, Bart and you are that way
on set. You're positive, You're awesome, You're I mean, and
(43:33):
you continue to be so and that's why people, all
the people love you so so and we all love you.
Speaker 1 (43:41):
That's so nice. I love you, guys. That's such an
amazing compliment. I really appreciate.
Speaker 2 (43:45):
Well, it's true, you know, it's really true. It's really awesome.
Speaker 1 (43:50):
So thank you. Love you guys. You're your whole family.
Your girls are so amazing, amazing job.
Speaker 2 (43:57):
Hey, I have a lot of help.
Speaker 1 (44:00):
Yeah yeah, I'm sure. I'm sure. Well you got an
awesome family doing doing it right, doing right. Let's get together.
Thank you so.
Speaker 2 (44:07):
Much for your time for having me.
Speaker 1 (44:09):
This is so I think it's so fun. I think
that that our our people, our East High families go,
they're gonna love hearing these stories. So thanks for sharing
all the fun.
Speaker 2 (44:19):
It's so fun and what a ride, right yeah, right.
Speaker 1 (44:25):
You know, I decided I'm gonna do I'm gonna do
this podcast every every time there's an anniversary of the
zero on the end. So at the thirtieth we'll talk again,
all right, if it's still.
Speaker 2 (44:36):
Hopefully i'll run into you on a set here.
Speaker 1 (44:39):
Yeah. Yeah, yeah, we're gonna get together. We're gonna get together, buddy.
Speaker 2 (44:42):
I want to I want to tell you, I said,
he and thanks to all the Wildcat fans.
Speaker 1 (44:48):
That's right, thank you, Thank you East High family. We
love you, we love you.
Speaker 2 (44:51):
I love you. Bye body, bye, see you. Mamma has
a more ind
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Will Friedle
Sabrina Bryan
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