For a dancer in New York City, life consists of audition after audition, performing a choreographer鈥檚 dance combos. Benjamin Rivera decided to change that.
鈥淚 kind of just took a step back for a moment when I was sitting around in New York and [thinking], 鈥業鈥檓 surrounded by some of the most talented people I鈥檝e ever met in my life,鈥欌� says Rivera, 鈥渁nd all we do all day is sit in studios and auditions, and then we hope that somebody hires us to give us the chance to create something. Why not just take it into my own hands?鈥�
Even at the young age of 24, Rivera didn鈥檛 want to wait for someone to hire him to dance鈥攖hough there has been no shortage of work since he graduated Oklahoma City University. (Rivera immediately boarded the Disney Fantasy as the dance captain and swing, before joining the national tour of Anything Goes, then the national tour of Elf and, most recently, the national tour of Dirty Dancing.)
Still, at the height of audition season this past winter, Rivera felt the itch to choreograph. He fell in love with dance at the age of seven, when his gymnastics coach suggested he start dancing to help his flexibility. 鈥淚 was instantly in love with it, and it kind of hasn鈥檛 stopped since,鈥� says Rivera. Later on, Rivera assisted his choreographers for high school productions, and that 鈥済ave me that confidence to create.鈥�
鈥淵ou find a song and it does the majority of the work for you,鈥� says Rivera. 鈥淵ou find a song and you鈥檙e like, 鈥楾here鈥檚 no way this shouldn鈥檛 have dance to it.鈥欌� For Rivera, that music was Walk the Moon鈥檚 鈥淪hut Up and Dance.鈥� The catchiness of the tune is undeniable, but Rivera鈥檚 inspiration emerged from the lyrics.
鈥淚t had such a bright energy of hope and joy,鈥� he says. 鈥淚t creates a story in my head that was so vivid.鈥� Inspired by the music, Rivera choreographed, directed and starred in what he calls a fairytale story. Rivera is hardly the first young dancer to choreograph his own work, but the professionalism and vision behind this video suggests he鈥檚 someone to watch.
In the video (filmed by Eric Mann), Rivera sees a girl across the dance floor who leaves the bar before he can talk to her, but on his way home鈥攚hile still thinking about his missed connection鈥攈e sees her across the subway platform. 鈥淭here was just this build of hope in the entire song for me,鈥� he says. 鈥淲hat are the chances in a city as big as New York City that you鈥檇 run back into somebody like that?鈥�
After landing on his story arc, Rivera needed to find his princess. He remembered a girl (the now co-star of his video, Lizz Picini) from dance class. 鈥淪he had approached me and was like, 鈥業 kind of want to play and interact and not just do the choreo,鈥欌� he remembers. Rivera harnessed that fearlessness, freedom and playfulness in his video, and not just through the movement.
While the original music video takes place in one club, Rivera wanted to capture the life and excitement of New York City. His choreographic vision was about a journey, not one moment, and a full picture through movement, not just steps. 鈥淚 wanted to create shapes and lines and with the train and with the bench鈥� you can do so much with the environment if you interact with it slightly,鈥� he says.
Rivera鈥檚 passion is palpable as he talks about the project. 鈥淭here鈥檚 something in creating for me,鈥� he says. 鈥淭here鈥檚 some kind of high that I get from being able to not just perform a piece, but set something on people.鈥�
The dancer hopes to parlay his extracurricular creativity into work as a choreographer. 鈥淚 know that I wouldn鈥檛 just become a choreographer overnight, and I knew it took time, and it takes getting people to know you and know your work,鈥� he says. 鈥淚 know I鈥檓 young, but I [thought], 鈥楾here鈥檚 no reason I shouldn鈥檛 start now.鈥� There鈥檚 no reason I shouldn鈥檛 start getting my name out there and putting in the time and the work.鈥�
In the meantime, Rivera will next be working on Pirates of Penzance at Barrington Stage, choreographed by Joshua Bergasse. As he continues to feed his first love, dance, he鈥檚 also excited to learn from Bergasse, absorbing his process, never losing site of the end goal.
鈥淚t鈥檚 because you get to put a piece of your heart in it,鈥� says Rivera as to why choreographing is particulary meaningful. 鈥淵ou get to sit back and watch it come together.鈥�
Ruthie Fierberg is the Features Editor at 半岛体育.com. She has also written for Backstage, Parents and American Baby. See more at and follow her on Twitter at .
