With 4 Shows in NYC, Ellenore Scott Hopes You Can’t Tell She Choreographed Them All
Choreographers
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“I am just so grateful that Michael saw my work ethic and saw how I interacted with the dancers,” Scott says about the career-changing opportunity. But five months after the critically acclaimed production opened, the entire New York theatre industry closed due to the pandemic. In spring of 2020, like all her peers, Scott found herself sitting at home wondering how long it would be until she was back in a rehearsal room.
Yet even the shutdown couldn’t stop her ascent. A TikTok superstar with more than 1 million followers, Scott was tapped to choreograph the viral hit Ratatouille: The TikTok Musical, which began as a fan tribute to the classic Disney film and ended up as a professionally produced benefit for The Actors Fund. “I literally never met anyone that was working on the production in person,” Scott says. “I rehearsed my dancers over Zoom. It definitely made me realize what an honor it is to feel people’s energy in a space.”
Scott’s commitment to the well-being and individuality of her dancers supersedes any preconceived creative ideas she may have coming into a production. “I love getting in the room before auditions begin, to start trying to figure out how a show feels and moves,” she says. However, “I’m not the one performing the moves eight times a week. I want to make sure the folks that are performing feel comfortable, confident and that they can collaborate with me. That is such an exciting way to create.” Instead of imposing a signature style, she finds the right movement for the project at hand. “I’m hoping that although I have a bunch of different shows in New York, you can’t necessarily go, ‘That’s the same choreographer.'”
Later this month she’ll have a fourth musical running in New York showcasing her choreographic diversity: Titanique, Tye Blue, Constantine Rousouli and Marla Mindelle’s send-up of James Cameron’s 1997 Oscar-winning epic Titanic as seen through the eyes, songs and vibrato of Céline Dion. A concert performance of the long-gestating parody was live-streamed during the pandemic, which Scott also choreographed, and she’s excited to get the full show on its feet.
Also on Scott’s schedule this month: Mr. Saturday Night‘s Tony Awards performance and auditioning dancers for another production. But you won’t hear her complaining about being too busy. “It is such a blessing to be surrounded by shows and dancing and movement,” she says. “I’m very lucky that a lot of the shows I’m working on make me laugh when I’m watching them. I couldn’t be happier.”
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TDF MEMBERS: At press time, discount tickets were available for Titanique. Funny Girl, Mr. Saturday Night and Little Shop of Horrors are all frequently available at our TKTS Booth in Times Square.
Regina Robbins is a writer, director, native New Yorker and Jeopardy! champion. She has worked with several NYC-based theatre companies and is currently a Core Company Member with Everyday Inferno Theatre.
Top image: Ellenore Scott.
Regina Robbins is a writer, director, native New Yorker and Jeopardy! champion. She has worked with several NYC-based theatre companies and is currently a Core Company Member with Everyday Inferno Theatre.