Broadway in Chicago has brought an unforgettable production to the Broadway Playhouse at Water Tower Place. SAVOR AFTER HOURS is 90 minutes of dance, fun, and amazing talent.
Featured dancers Val Chmerkovskiy, Max Chmerkovskiy, Jenna Johnson-Chmerkovskiy, and Artem Chigvintsev brings those of us who are fans of the show Dancing With The Stars into a whole new world of dance and storytelling.
I sat down with Val and Artem recently to talk and gush about the production. I explained to them that it wasn’t what I expected. The stage is small, so I immediately thought it was going to be crowded and just dance numbers with not much of a storyline. I was so wrong. I explained to Val and Artem that it reminded me of reading one of my favorite books. It has a great story, made up of wonderful chapters with some verses that took me on an emotional journey of laughing to tears to clapping and jumping to my feet with applause.
Val gave me the process of the show, “It came about as a creative project for an incredible mind, a beautiful artist. His name is Mark Swanhart, or otherwise known as Swanny. He wrote and directed the show a few years back and originally named it “Tasting Notes” because he was having a glass of wine, just kind of having his creative process. And he was like, instead of tasting notes, let’s have these dance numbers come alive, inspired by different tastes that you get in different things that you get inspired by when you have that sip of wine, your favorite wine, and so he named it “Savor.” Really, it’s a storyline, not just, you know, inspired by wine, but really, it’s inspired by the human experience. And savoring every moment that you get, whether it’s a hard one, a loving one, you know, savoring moments with your family, with your loved ones, and so, yeah, that’s how it came about.”
In the show, Artem, whose nickname is Velvet, dances to one of my favorite songs, “Time in the Bottle” by Jim Croce. I asked him how he got so deeply into the character of the old man.
He told me that Swanny gave him the freedom to make it his own. Artem went on to tell me how it felt to him:
“What I want to tell through this dance, and I think that’s why I love this job, is because I’d be able to express those types of feelings versus just dance moves. I don’t know if that’s something that comes with experience or with a certain age, but I actually really love that. I think that’s why this project is so special for me. It’s because I can put more emotion into it than just the dance moves.
That specific piece, I don’t know, maybe it’s something close to my heart because I could put myself into that character, who is an older person, has lost the love of his life, and is at the end of his life, transitioning into heaven. He meets her, and the way… It’s hard for me to describe. You have to actually see it in person. But it just opens a different side of me that I didn’t necessarily think I had.”
I truly know, as I was blubbering at the end of it.
There is so much audience participation in the show that you feel as if you are truly a part of it. The use of space is amazing. They are on the stage, in the audience, dancing with the audience, and, of course, showing off their bodies.
Watching the dancers close up, not on TV, and not on a huge stage that’s far, far away, I don’t think people who do not dance like me really understand that a dancer is an athlete. And I think seeing it up close, where we can actually see their moves, seeing the muscles in their legs, seeing the differences of body language. You realize they work harder than any tennis, football, or track person out there. I didn’t do anything, and I was tired after the show. I had to ask how they kept up their stamina with the dancing and quick changes.
Val responded that they grew up being competitive ballroom dancers, dancing at competitions where it’s agility, stamina and athleticism. He explained that they were athletes in Eastern Europe. You’re a master of sport in boxing, a master of sport in gymnastics, a master of sport in ballroom dance. It’s a form of athleticism. being in such an intimate space, seeing the velocity of some of this, this movement, it’s, it’s a beautiful thing.
He went on to say, “I’m glad they appreciate it, because, you know, I have a five inch titanium plate in my neck after wear and tear of that type of velocity, I have sacrificed my body. We have sacrificed our bodies for this art form, and that’s why we are so passionate about what we do. And so, thank you for acknowledging that I love that the audience comes in and sees that it’s not just an emotional drain, it’s a physical you get every ounce of our being on that stage. I think that’s a beautiful thing, and I will, hopefully this is just figuratively speaking, but I will die on that stage.”
Artem, Val and I spoke for almost an hour and there was so much we talked about. Their marriages and children, Val dancing with his wife Jenna in the production, Artem living for a while in Chicago on State Street, not far from Whole Foods. I had to get Val straight on his dogging Chicago’s deep-dish pizza compared to New York’s pie. He redeemed himself when he went on to say, “You know, I grew up in New York, but I love sports, obviously, the Bulls, the, you know, all the incredible athletes that came out of the city, but really is the culture and the art that came out of the city, just the swagger of the native Chicagoan.”
If you would like a great evening of dance, fun, laughs, and pleasure, go see “SAVOR AFTER HOURS.” This is one you will not want to miss! It gets 5 Winks of the EYE!!!
Until next time, keep your EYE to the sky!