We sat down with Alexzandra Sarmiento, Choreographer of The Children’s Inquiry.
This isn’t just a musical. It is a call to arms about the value of childhood and how love can be found in the most unexpected places.
A revolutionary true story crafted from the voices of the children themselves by multi-award-winning LUNG.
The Children’s Inquiry is at Southwark Playhouse Elephant until 3rd August. For more information and tickets go to https://southwarkplayhouse.co.uk/productions/the-childrens-inquiry/
Tell us about your background in dance, we’d love to know about working on Hamilton
I went to the “Fame” school in New York City, aka The Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School for Music and Art & Performing Arts. For those too young to know, it was the school that the movie “Fame” was based on – think dancers, musicians, actors, visual artists, singers, and technicians all rolled into an 8 storey building doing half a days worth of academic classes, and then half a days worth of their discipline’s classes. I was a dance major there and I thought I was going to grow up to become a concert dancer. But in my senior year of high school, my friend and I decided to audition for the international tour of “A Chorus Line” (for the bants) and I ended up getting the job! And I’ve called musical theatre my home every since.
I auditioned for the original London company of Hamilton back in 2016. It was a thrill to be offered the job and I was Dance Captain for the show as well. I learned so much from having that close proximity to the choreography department. Andy Blankenbuehler’s style and movement dramaturgy has informed a huge part of my own practice as a choreographer.
How did you become involved in the show?
LUNG reached out to me in 2020 saying that they were interested in having me come on board as choreographer for “The Children’s Inquiry”. I listened to the music and was HOOKED. We had some zoom meetings about ideas for the show during that year, we then had a research and development workshop at The National Theatre Studios in 2022, and now we get to do the full production in 2024 at Southwark Playhouse Elephant!
Tell us about your process when coming up with the choreography, do you read the script and then start work or does it start before that?
For me, movement for theatrical purposes always starts from the script. I like to read the script and locate the dramaturgical purpose of dance. Then I usually like to check with the director and see if they had any particular images/vibes in their mind that they want to achieve and make sure that I am creating something that is in line with their overall creative vision. Then I start to involve music in the process and blend my instincts in how to shape the rhythm of the movement with the visual shape of it that has been derived from the narrative requirements. Then I give that movement to the actors in rehearsals and tailor it to them and stage it appropriately based on what the set design is giving us.
How have rehearsals been going?
I’ve never done a show with a cast made exclusively of young people. The energy that they bring every day is infectious. It’s been difficult navigating such a short amount of time to make a completely sung through verbatim musical on 2 different casts of young people – but like all LUNG shows, that difficulty is only indicative of how innovative and powerful and exciting the work is that we are endeavouring to create.
What do you hope people will take from the show?
I would love audience members to understand and clarify their understanding on what it means to be a kid in the UK care system. I would love them to come out of the theatre questioning perhaps their own assumptions and possibly prejudices they might have had, and be inspired to learn more about kids in care, and what they could do to affect change, should they feel moved to do so!
What’s your favourite dance number from a musical?
I haven’t seen it in person, but I’ve seen a clip on TikTok of “Roaring On” which I believe is the opening number from the new Great Gatsby musical on Broadway – the one that is choreographed by Dominique Kelley. I haven’t even seen the entire number but from what I can see on the clip, I’m OBSESSED!