An Interview with "Step It Up & Dance"’s Jerry Mitchell

AE: And to use an easy analogy, you’re the Tim Gunn of this show, right?
JM: Yeah, I’m little bit of a father dance figure to them. I’m “Dance Daddy.”

AE: But in a snippet from the preview of upcoming episodes, we see you get riled up, too. You tell the kids, “You’ve just got to suck it up and get out there and dance!” I don’t think Tim Gunn would ever say “suck it up.” Do you have moments where you get aggressive or ticked off at the contestants?
JM: Well, I was a dancer. I started my life out as a Broadway dancer and I’ve been in New York for 30 years, and I’ve been through what they all want to go through. There are a lot of times when you’re a dancer where you don’t get to choose the costume, you don’t get to choose the choreography, you don’t get to choose if you’re in the front row or the back row. You’re the dancer, so get out there and dance and quit your bitching.

AE: So will this be “A Chorus Line: The Reality Version?”
JM: Oh, I hadn’t thought about it that way. For me, it’s hard to tell, because I don’t know how much of their personal lives you actually get to see because I was never around for those interviews and things. I don’t know what they said. God, they could have said all kinds of things about me. I have no idea.

AE: Four out of the six guys on the show are gay. How does that influence the vibe of the competition, or does it?
JM: I don’t think it influences it. There’s no question that the dance community has a strong gay population, and it also has a strong straight population. There are a lot of guys who’ve danced for me on Broadway who were gay and were straight, and what I think is interesting is that dancing... There’s good dancing and there’s bad dancing. You don’t have to be straight to be a good dancer, and you can be a gay guy and be a great dancer. It doesn’t compute on the dance floor.

Step It Up's gay contestants from left to right:
Michael, Oscar, James, and Miguel

AE: There’s a moment in the first episode where the judge Nancy tells contestant Miguel that he’s got to “man it up” and be more masculine.
JM: Right.

AE: And he asks her “Did I look like a fag?” And she says, “Yeah.” [Mitchell laughs loudly.] I wasn’t offended by that, coming from her as a part of the dance community, but I do wonder, is that fair? How big a deal is it if someone is perceived as effeminate when they’re dancing?
JM: Look, he asked the question, right? And she answered it. So she was being honest. What is important for a dancer is to know the image that they’re projecting, especially when they walk into an audition. In this particular show, they’re being themselves, so they’re projecting a self image, but if I were walking into an audition for, say, South Pacific, which is running on Broadway right now, I’d probably want to tone down my gay quotient and up my straight butch military quotient. To have that knowledge of what I’m projecting as myself and be able to work with it, is going to allow me, in the real arena, to be more profitable as a dancer and book more jobs.

So if Nancy’s giving that critique to someone and they want to hear it, then they should hear it. And if you don’t care, then you’re limiting yourself, because dancers are actors. You have to act the part. It doesn’t matter what you do personally, you have to act the role that you’re playing. We all hear about straight guys who play gay parts, why can’t a gay guy play a straight part? He certainly can, if he’s able to act it on stage.

AE: Right. I suppose if you’re in a production of Damn Yankees, it might seem a bit out of character to have an entire team of flamingly gay baseball players.
JM: [Laughs.] Probably a little bit… And if Miguel came in and I was casting La Cage Aux Folles, I probably would have scooped him right up!

AE: Are you ready to become a TV star?
JM: I’m not thinking ahead like that. I’ve already got enough drama in my life with all of the theater stuff that I do, so whatever happens happens.

AE: I know you can’t be too specific about these things, but who should we keep an eye on? Which contestants are going to be fun to watch?
JM: I’ll tell you, from the very first day when they walked into the room, there were people who impressed me. I loved Miguel. I loved his spirit. I loved Janelle’s personality. I loved Cody’s dancing. I loved Mochi’s sass. I loved Tovah’s technique. They all had something. Oscar, I thought, was brilliant, and I’d seen Oscar here in New York. He’s an amazing technician. So, I knew some of the kids… James always made me laugh. They’re all unique and bring something to the table that’s interesting.

AE: You’ve done many Broadways shows, and films as well. What’s been the most gratifying project you’ve worked on?
JM: Broadway Bares. Because I did it from my heart, and with no expectations. That was a charity that I created out of scratch and it’s grown into this monster — a glorious, wonderful, spectacular monster.

Of all the Broadway shows that I’ve created, obviously La Cage is close to my heart because I won a Tony Award for it, and I was so allowed to be inventive and creative in my own way. Never Gonna Dance was my love for period movement and Fred and Ginger and Cyd Charisse and Gene Kelly and those pas de deux that I created in that show were ultimately some of the most gratifying choreography that I ever did.

But really, the biggest project that has brought me the most joy and certainly has been the longest of my shows is Hairspray. It’s given so much joy to so many people. Legally Blonde was the first time I was allowed to do the whole thing on Broadway by myself, and there are no words to express how exciting and gratifying that has been. We’re getting ready to do the national tour this summer and a production in London this February, so that’s been a huge moment in my life.

Next page! Jerry talks about not having sex with any of the contestants.