Interview-Spencer-Liff-SYTYCDHe is a choreographer who´s on top of the world, and is one of the great results of such shows as So You Think You Can Dance, in which he choreographs the contestants.

He has been nominated for an Emmy Award this year for his work on SYTYCD. His credits also include How I Met Your Mother, Dancing With The Stars, Parks and Recreation, Hairspray, Across the Universe and Smash.
Still in his twenties he is already a seasoned veteran of Broadway where he started his career at age 9.
He has recently worked with Daniel Radcliffe on Gypsy of The Year and is the choreographer of the upcoming show A Snow White Christmas.

I had the chance to interview Spencer Liff for fifteen minutes, and the audio interview is embedded in this article.


Interview with Spencer Liff por f628508535

Some of the bullet points from our interview:

  • I´m very happy and I´ve been working in a lot of things, so I started the show later in the season. And the dancers are strong as they can be.
  • The talent is extraordinary this season.
  • I think there are always favorites, and the top couples are always outstanding. Every year there´s a new crop of 18 year olds that can join the show.
  • The audience would love to see what´s going on behind the scenes, because he have so little time to do it.
  • Often times the number´s not good until the last minute.
  • You have to be smart and know the capabilities of the dancers. If you get the hip hop guys, who haven´t had that much formal training, you can´t have them do nine pirouettes, because they won´t learn them in time. You might push them to do a couple.
  • You always need to think of a number that´ll make the audience vote for them.
  • I have several backup plans in case they can´t make a specific move.
  • Somehow freedom makes it harder. When I am doing a show within a stroyline I just have to fill in the blanks. Last season I choreographed for How I Met Your Mother and it was for a specific character, done for Neil Patrick Harris and Cobie Smulders, and I knew exactly the relationship they had.
  • When I´m sitting there I am so inspired of how talented everybody is.
  • There´s nothing like the feeling of being part in such an amazing show.
  • Your life changes very quickly (when nominated for an Emmy)
  • I don´t like dancing for the dance sake. I want meaning to the pieces.
  • Start as soon as you can and take every style that you can.
  • If you want to do it for fun or for a profession, you´ll need to be as well rounded as possible.
  • And you´ll have more chances if you can act, sing and dance.

What do you think? Let me know in the comments section. Also, follow me on Twitter for more interviews.

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