Page 23 - Demo

www.MOSTmag.com || MOST FITNESS || 23MFM: Do you have any other experience in dance besides cabaret, and jazz? Do you have a preference?LR: I started dancing at age 5. I fell in love with expressing myself through movement. I started with tap, jazz, and ballet, and am still taking classes to this day. My heart will always be with Fosse though. His style and his work are legendary. The first Broadway show my Mom took me to see was Chicago, I knew in that very moment this is what I wanted to do for the rest of my life!MFM: Since Cuba has opened up to the United States again, would you like to perform there? Why or why not?LR: It%u2019s always exciting to perform in a new city, let alone a country that has been off limits for so long. It would be great to get a chance to perform there someday. I would love to see Havana.MFM: Most dancers have a pre-meal before shows, what foods do you eat before showtime and why?LR: I have a very strict show diet. I can%u2019t have dairy because it causes phlegm and I move around quite a bit in this show so I have to make sure I eat early enough that everything settles down. I usually have salads, fish, veggie burgers, or my go to food hummus. Iput it on everything.MFM: What foods are your guilty pleasures when you aren%u2019t performing?LR: Ha! Basically I like anything that isn%u2019t good for you, but Oreos are definitely my favorite.MFM: Are there any choreographers you want to work with that you haven%u2019t had the chance to? What draws you to a particular choreographer?LR: Fosse is my biggest inspiration! Sadly I will never have the chance to work with him. I have, however, worked with some of the people that carry on his legacy, the brilliant Chet Walker and Gary Chryst just to name a few. I can%u2019t tell you how in awe I am of these men. When they enter a room you just stop and stare, they have such a presence that they command your attention. Even the way they walk is special, but to watch them dance%u2026that%u2019s perfection!When I saw the audition notice for ShowStoppers and that Marguerite Derricks was doing the choreography I literally ran to that audition. Marguerite is one of the most incredible choreographers of our time and I have always wanted to work with her. With choreographers it%u2018s all about the way they tell a story. In musical theater when words can no longer express how you feel, you sing, when song can no longer express how you feel, you dance...and Marguerite is a master of this. She has a way of connecting the story with the person telling it, making it personal to each performer she works with. She is extraordinary and the only word that comes to mind when I think of her is Star!MFM: Are there any fellow Broadway performers you would like the chance to perform with?LR: LIZA MINNELLI! She is my idol, inspiration and the reason I do what I do. I think I%u2019d pass out if I ever got the opportunity to meet her, let alone work with her.MFM: Is there any super food that you use, that you can%u2019t live without?LR: I like kale and recently learned how to make my own kale chips, which, of course, I dip in hummus.