DanceLife Interviews Joey McKneely - Director of West Side Story

Director of West Side Story, Joey McKeenly is currently out here auditioning for the musical West Side Story which will be opening in Sydney on 2nd July followed by Melbourne. McKeenly's first experience with the show's choreography was back in 1989 where he rehearsed for six months to dance in the 1989 retrospective show Jerome Robbins' Broadway. Under the tutelage of the famously meticulous Robbins, McKneely developed deep affection and respect for the choreography of West Side Story, and he went on to direct re-creations of the show in Milan, Paris and a 2008 UK tour that began in London. Now he has taken on the ultimate WSS challenge: to reproduce-and, yes, to tweak-Robbins' beloved choreography for the current Broadway revival, directed by the show's 90-year-old librettist, Arthur Laurents. Read on for McKneely's fascinating story.

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Entertainment

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• joey mckneely
• west side story
• director
• musical
• choreographer
• australian musicals
• dancelife
• dance
• dancers