CREATING
FUSION
An interview with Kung Fu
choreographer Sonya Tayeh
...he collected
from science,
from philosophy,
from different
kinds of fighting,
and he just
mashed it all
together and
that collision
of ideas is what
Kung Fu is.
– Leigh Silverman
Choreographer
Sonya Tayeh.
SONYA TAYEH, the choreographer for Kung Fu,
received an Emmy nomination for her work on
“So You Think You Can Dance” and is known for her
muscular choreography. Before diving into a dance
workshop for Kung Fu, Sonya spoke with Literary
Associate Sarah Rose Leonard about her newfound
love of martial arts and how to flow with Bruce Lee.
Signature: What is it like to incorporate martial arts into
your choreography?
Sonya Tayeh: I’d never even taken martial arts before! I knew my
choreography was combative-looking and aggressive, but I never
knew it was like martial arts. And now, working on this,
I totally see it. It’s a natural meshing because
there’s so much involved in this
play– Chinese opera, martial arts,
my stuff– all melded together.
Signature: How do you approach
creating movement for
a real-life character,
Bruce Lee, who had his
own style of movement?
ST: You base it off of
Bruce’s signature moves
and unique movement
quality. Evolving it off Cole [Horibe,
who plays Bruce Lee], who already has
such a natural range and beautiful way of
moving, makes it even more full-bodied and lovely. n
9
Cole Horibe, 2013.