“The Big Leap” Keeps It All in the Family | Inside Dance
[et_pb_section fb_built=”1″ _builder_version=”3.22″ custom_padding=”0px|||||” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_row column_structure=”1_2,1_2″ _builder_version=”3.25″ background_size=”initial” background_position=”top_left” background_repeat=”repeat” custom_padding=”0px|||||” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_column type=”1_2″ _builder_version=”3.25″ custom_padding=”|||” global_colors_info=”{}” custom_padding__hover=”|||”][/et_pb_column][et_pb_column type=”1_2″ _builder_version=”3.25″ custom_padding=”|||” global_colors_info=”{}” custom_padding__hover=”|||”][/et_pb_column][/et_pb_row][et_pb_row _builder_version=”3.25″ background_size=”initial” background_position=”top_left” background_repeat=”repeat” custom_padding=”0px|||||” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″ _builder_version=”3.25″ custom_padding=”|||” global_colors_info=”{}” custom_padding__hover=”|||”][et_pb_text admin_label=”Text” _builder_version=”4.10.7″ _module_preset=”default” hover_enabled=”0″ global_colors_info=”{}” sticky_enabled=”0″]
FOX’s new scripted show, The Big Leap, is keeping it all in the family with two familiar So You Think You Can Dance faces working on and off-camera on the series. Choreographer Christopher Scott, whose work was most recently seen in In the Heights, and Comfort Fedoke, who is working as an assistant choreographer and playing Aja on the scripted dance show. Scott told Inside Dance that it is “an honor” work on the heartfelt and inspiring story because he “connected deeply” to the message behind the script.
The Big Leap is essentially a reality show within a scripted series as the quirky characters play contestants on a dance competition show looking for a second chance and the opportunity for success. (And by the way, they are learning Swan Lake — no easy feat!) To accomplish this, Scott needed to build a choreography team with “a wide range of styles which was the “big driving force” to match “what the show had already laid out.”
He brought together Fedoke for hip-hop and her versatility from working on So You Think You Can Dance, Lance Guillermo for locking and breaking and Danielle Sten for ballet and contemporary. But filming the pilot didn’t turn out to be as easy as they expected — just as they were about to film the pilot in Chicago in March 2020, the pandemic hit and everyone was sent home. Scott called the delay “a little silver lining because they got to reassess everything” and he “changed the choreography completely” after getting to know the actors and “what would sit well on their bodies.”
Once they got back to filming the pilot last fall, Fedoke’s on-camera role came about at the last minute. One of the actors had to drop out and in true Hollywood fashion, the dancer was in the right place at the right time — producers asked her to step in and they haven’t looked back. Scott calls it a “very gratifying moment” to see her “killing it” on-screen because he also knows how hard she was working off-screen as a part of the choreography team. The three-time, Emmy-nominated choreographer is also thrilled to be working with Raymond Chan Jr. (Justin) after first encountering him when he was eight years old — Scott was his first tap teacher. “I feel really honored to be able to say I’ve watched him learn how to break,” he enthused. “His B-Boy name is Prodigy because that is what he really is. And now, to have this moment 14 years later and watch him train ballet, he is working so hard, but he makes it look so easy.”
The other star everyone wants to see dance is Scott Foley (Scandal, Felicity), even though his role as the conniving reality show director, Nick Blackburn, currently doesn’t demand any dancing. The choreographer laughed when we asked him if that might happen at some point during the first season. “It’s the question of the season,” he said while refusing to reveal any more. OK, so we aren’t going to get a straight answer out of him, but we will take that as a “stay tuned” response for later in The Big Leap season — and we can’t wait.
The Big Leap airs on Mondays on FOX at 9 p.m. EST.
[/et_pb_text][et_pb_image src=”https://www.insidedance.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/Jean-Whiteside_FOX.-scaled.jpg” title_text=”Jean Whiteside_FOX.” _builder_version=”4.10.7″ _module_preset=”default” hover_enabled=”0″ global_colors_info=”{}” sticky_enabled=”0″][/et_pb_image][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.10.7″ _module_preset=”default” hover_enabled=”0″ sticky_enabled=”0″]
Inside Dance Talks THE BIG LEAP!
Inside Dance’s Kristyn Burtt talks with Choreographer Christopher Scott and Co-choreographer and recurring cast member Comfort Fedoke of the new FOX series THE BIG LEAP!
The show is “a modern tale about second chances and chasing your dreams.”
[/et_pb_text][et_pb_button _builder_version=”4.10.7″ _module_preset=”default” button_text=”Click Here to See the Interview @insidedancemag” hover_enabled=”0″ sticky_enabled=”0″ button_url=”https://www.instagram.com/p/CUVE1NOFubO/”][/et_pb_button][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.10.7″ _module_preset=”default” hover_enabled=”0″ global_colors_info=”{}” sticky_enabled=”0″]
Photos courtesy of FOX
Subscribe now to receive the September/October Issue of Inside Dance magazine featuring Kenny Wormald at www.shopinsidenation.com
[/et_pb_text][/et_pb_column][/et_pb_row][/et_pb_section]
