Tonys Talk: How Sergio Trujillo Made the Temptations Dance in AIN'T TO PROUD!

Welcome to Backstage with Richard Ridge. I'm in the Tony Awards suite at the Sofitel NYC

which is the official hotel for the 2019 Tony Awards, and I'm sitting with Sergio Trujillo

who is nominated for Best Choreography for Ain't Too Proud. So I am thrilled to be sitting with you, Sergio

Thank you for having me. I've been dying to talk to you. we go back how long to spider woman or fossey was first fossey was first 20 years ago we only

talk in decades all right i love that that's perfect well of course you're nominated this

season for your brilliant choreography in the temptations musical ain't too proud let's talk

about this because what i admire the most about this show is you know you pay homage to the

original temptations dance steps in the opening number but then you take over as sergio the

choreographer to bring us into the temptations now i made a choice that i was going to put myself

in a position of if sergio were choreographing the temptations today what would he do um you know

dance has evolved in the last 50 to 60 years and i didn't think that you know by simply putting

their choreography on stage would be good enough we're also doing an adaptation of the story all

the temptations. We're not recreating the temptations. So with the evolution of dance

with me wanting to really make sure that I put my own stamp on the choreography, and also the fact

that I really wanted this to be seen through the lens of today, those three factors were really

important in me figuring out exactly what to do with the show. What unlocked it for you? Because

this musical moves, and like you said, it's not a jukebox musical. This is a musical that tells a

story about these incredible men. You know, we all thought we knew the Temptations just from their

music. I didn't realize each individual story, and they're so wonderful of all these men. So what

unlocked the musical for you, dance-wise? You know, I thank you. You know, I like to, for our show to

be referred to as a biographical musical. You know, the music itself is undeniably the best

catalog that has ever existed and it is so soulful it is so funky and so i mean for me it was so easy

to get in the room and dance what what really unlocked it for me was a fearlessness you know

i i wasn't i was just i just wanted to get in there and create i've had you know over 20 years

of research on this period of groups from that period uh early on in my career i choreographed

Ushukop, Memphis, Peggy Sugamere in the West. And so back then I had done so much research, extensive research

So, you know, for me, it was just about stepping in, telling the story and letting myself just dance with abandonment

What I love about this also is each character, like during dialogue scenes that are musical scenes, they dance while they're telling their story, which I think is fascinating

Yeah you know this is where Dez and I are really wonderful really strong collaborators Yeah Dez and I really see things the same We are so respectful of each other He such a brilliant director He guides me so beautifully We have great conversations

And, you know, I think the thing about our show is, is that we really wanted to weave dance through it, the entire thing

And more important that there was always a presence of the temptations in Otis's life, because it is, it is about, about this brotherhood

brotherhood and um and so you know even there's simple moments and some of my favorite moments are

when they're just standing on the side snapping yeah and we're creating these these these really

really pointy pictures yeah you know so that was that was a a deliberate choice that we made

but like you look at the david ruffin character efrem sykes i mean during some of his dialogue

scenes with the guys he's doing like the david ruffin moves that you created for him so you know

the thing about about david ruffin is again you know people have an idea of what david ruffin was

like but i had fm sykes to play david ruffin who is a real triple threat yeah i mean they don't you

know nothing i think i think hinton battle and greg burge those and gregory hines you know he's

a he's a real he's the real deal so you know i i just it was it was like tailor-made i just kept on

on adding and really creating on him because I could ask Ephraim anything

to do anything. I say, Ephraim, you know what? I want you to do a double tour, land in the splits

but before that, throw the mic up in the air while you're doing all of that and then catch it

while you're coming up from the splits. Okay. So, you know, having those kind of artists

those kind of actors, for me has been a real, real privilege

So a lot of the choreography you put into this show was done on the actors once they were cast

So what I like to do when I prepare for a show is I spend two to four weeks in a studio

creating a blueprint of what it is that I'm going to do for every number, finding out the vocabulary

discovering narrative within the numbers, what happens in the sequence, what happens in this montage

so that when I walk in there, I have a real plan. Within that plan, I love to be able to work with the actors

that we've hired because I don't think that it would be fair for me to just all of a sudden want to impart the way that I think it should be

I want to be, it's like, sometimes I think of myself as a tailor because, you know, the actors come in, Derek comes in, Jawan, James, Jeremy, and Ephraim come in, and, you know

they all move, they all have different body types, but more important, you know, it's important for

me to tailor make the choreography so that it suits, it suits them, it suits the world

it suits the characters. What was the most challenging section of the show to work on

or was there one for you? You know, every section in the show for me was real an opportunity

a real opportunity to create something new and fresh. You know, when you have a configuration of five guys

either standing in a straight line or standing in a mic or what have you

you know, there's a real challenge. So every, and I remember everything, every moment as I was right now

when I was creating the show because I was actually, every day

I just looked to it with such excitement for me to be able to have this opportunity for me to get out there and figure out exactly what am I going to do You know how do I But more important what was important was the narrative And that delivered me You know I think the one that was not the most challenging

but the one that I was really kept on changing and kept on really, really digging out was Cloud9

And again, that is another one of the sequences that in our show is a montage

because there is such an error from beginning to end. And I kept on picking at it because I wanted to make sure that there was real evolution of the Temptations of the group from the beginning of the show all the way to the end

And that required looking at the vocabulary, looking at the way these characters had evolved, the way the characters had grown, matured

So, you know, that was really digging in for me. All right. Otis Williams

We have to talk about him because I understand that he has borrowed some of your new choreography for the Temptations

his temps now, right? You know, Otis Williams has been a champion

He's been so incredibly supportive. He's done nothing but giving me compliments

and embraced me and really supported me and encouraged me. And yes, you know, he did say to me

he did, you know, he came up to me, you know, he's always been around

just so cheerful and joyful. And he did say to me one day, he said, you know, I'm going to have to bore a couple of your moves

So there was one move in particular that we do in this show that he he's a i i gotta go see his show to find out exactly which one so

what was that defining moment for you when you said i have to be a dancer take me back i think

you know i'm lucky that i was born in cali colombia and in colombia it is your birthright to be a

dancer i think we are born born onto the dance floor like we are delivered we don't they don't

even spank us they just like throw us on the dance floor it is it is such a strong part of our culture

So ever since I can remember, I've always been a dancer. My family has always danced

They've always listened to music and they've always danced. So ever since I can remember, that's all I've been doing

Okay, you have danced with some incredible people on stage. But of course, we have to talk about Chita Rivera

What's it sharing the stage with her and being in that light with her? What is that like

It is for me, I tour with Chita in Kiss of a Spider Woman for two years

and it is probably one of the most incredible, memorable experiences in my career as a dancer

as a player in general. She is so incredibly passionate, so generous

Her spirit soars. And when she's on stage and when you're dancing with Chida, who is giving you her all

you cannot do anything but give it your all. It's an interesting story

We were in Chicago. And all of a sudden, at the end of Act One, we find out that Cheetah's injured

Cheetah's never been out. She tore her meniscus. And she was in tears because she couldn't finish the act

She comes back four weeks later from having arthroscopic surgery. She's back in the show

She's dancing. And then there's this one moment where we're spinning her in this cage

And she ends up on a high releve. And I'm on my knees

We always end up on our knees holding the cage. and there is cheetah a true true gypsy who because the choreographer had asked her to hold on to the cage but be up on relevan a passe and there is Cheetah four weeks later after having that surgery And because that was the choreography she did it and her leg was shaking

but there was no way in hell that Cheetah was ever not going to do what she was asked of her as a dancer

And that is Cheetah Rivera. Collaborating with Des McAnoff, what is that like

You know, Des is an unsung hero here on Broadway. He is a mentor of sorts

And Dez is, you know, he's a genius. He demands so much from us, perfection to some degree

But always, always in a really positive, supportive. He's a great leader

He's a great visionary. And, you know, it's evident from our 12 nominations that, you know, it's because of Dez

You know, Des really led the team beautifully. To this day, he still continues to lead it

We're always talking. We're always in conversation. You know, for me, it's like I'm going to get my master's in directing, you know

because when I'm alongside Des, you know, I've always learned so much from him

You know, we're sitting here in the official Tony Awards suite at the So Fatal

What does it mean to you to be a part of the Broadway community? I think, well, for me, it's a great privilege and it's a great honor, but I think to be nominated, for me to join the ranks of great men, legendary men and women who have contributed so much to theater, to this great, beautiful art form that is musical theater, which was created here in America

for me to grow up in colombia to come to america to be able to live the american dream and be

recognized and honored in this way for me it is something that you know it doesn't happen very

often it's a one-site-in-a-lifetime opportunity if you could sum up the best part of the experience

of working on ain't too proud what is it for you i think that uh this is uh one of the most

religious spiritual experiences I've ever had in the theater my entire team Dominique Morisot

Des McAnon our our Robert Brill Howell Benkley Paul Tasmo Peter Negrini our cast my associate

choreographer oh my god you know who I've known for 25 years and he still dances by my side and

loyal you know all of those things this family unit this spirit this passion this really real

believe in telling this story this is an important story in a in the history of

our country in the music in the history of music and for us to be able to to to

have the opportunity of telling the story this beautiful story has been for

all of us and continues to be I think one of the highlights so of my of my

career it is so great to be sitting with you because we go back like I said I've seen you on stage dance then you became an incredible choreographer and you're a

Papa now and everything else. So it's always a pleasure. Listen, you know, I simply adore you

You've always been such an incredible supporter of mine, always giving me even when I was, you know

when I was when I've been up, you know, you've had me up. And when I was down, you've held me up

So thank you so much. I love you. Good to hear you