Interview with Rahmier Dailey - Choreographer
** Choreographer as Project Manager
It was such a pleasure to grab a few moments with one of my favorite
local choreographers Rahmier Dailey.
He’s been performing for many years, even though he’s still very young
and has such a long career ahead of him.
He was gracious enough to chat with me about his work as a choreographer
and how similar that work is to project management. For more information about Rahmier and his work, check out his Facebook page here. Our lovely conversation went something like
this:
LT: How long have you
been a choreographer and when was your first project?
RD: My first project was
in 2008 and it was for a dance program in high school. Seniors are asked to choreograph a piece, but
no one really volunteered, so I became an “accidental choreographer” because
the faculty needed another piece so I stepped up. I had three different
pieces to choose from and they opted for my jazz character piece.
LT: How was that
experience for you? What did you learn from it?
RD: At the time I was so
nervous because I was shy and didn’t know how to communicate clearly what I
needed people to do. Looking back, because I didn’t take control and
manage it according to my vision, I’m actually unhappy with the piece. To
say the least, I lost control of that project and while the outcome was good I
learned a valuable lesson in how to better manage my work.
LT: Since then how many
pieces have you choreographed?
RD: In addition to
choreographing for schools and cheerleader teams, I also work with a number of
artists so the number is somewhere around 20 pieces.
LT: How do you get
clients?
RD: All the clients come
to me through referral, so I have been blessed not to market myself as yet, but
that’s something I will do at some point.
LT: So let’s talk about
the process. Who provides the vision?
RD: When working with
artists, the artists provide the vision. You have to sit down and
communicate with them and go through the music track list, drill down into
their vision and then bring that to life. With dance companies and cheer
teams, often it’s my vision and so these are distinctly different
approaches.
LT: How do you manage the
process?
RD: Overall I’m responsible
for bring the artists vision to fruition, but you have to manage the dancers,
from the point of audition to completion I am managing the blueprint. I
am managing the actual choreography; actual talent, staging and wardrobe. I’m also responsible for holding the artist
meetings then with staff like lighting techs, venue management, artist
management and also dancers.
Artist management first
Over the course of the project I will continually meet with the
artist and management throughout the process to ensure their vision is being
executed and brought to life. Meeting with the dancers is like tearing off
bandages because you’re dealing with a lot of personalities and different
levels of talent so it can be difficult but that’s why we must meet on a
regular basis.
LT: That sounds
intense. So who handles payment and rate
negotiation?
RD: In my case, I have a
manager who handles my contract negotiations and it’s important for us to get
paid for our craft. I have a set rate, but I am flexible based on the
budget of the artist or event. With cheer teams, it’s based on a salary
so once I’m secured; I am paid based on that. With schools, I also offer
a flat rate but that process is six months long. For example, I’m there
sixth months before the show to start the process and stay in touch with the
teacher and then I don’t return until three months later to finish, clean and
work with staging and lighting, etc.
Additionally, sometimes I’m responsible often for making sure
that talent is paid, meals are provided.
LT: What’s on the horizon for you?
RD: I’m moving in the direction
from behind the scenes and I’m signing to an up and coming Management Company
and starting a pop group, so Atlanta should be on the lookout for us releasing something soon.
LT: Sounds like great
things are coming for you and I’m super excited about what the future
holds. I know it will be bright. Thanks for taking time for me today and I’m
looking forward to continuing to work with you.
RD: Ditto and thanks for
talking to me.
