by Maya Abou-Rizk
If you were to ask someone what they thought about The Lion King, you would most likely get solely positive reviews, plus the people around you would probably chip in with excitement, along with a few comments about it being the best show they’ve ever seen on Broadway.
Last Friday during F-block, three cast members from The Lion King U.S tour came to the auditorium to talk about their past and lifestyle, and to teach some students a part of one of the dances performed in the actual show.
Erynne Marie Dickerson told the audience that she had been born in Los Angeles and had been with the show for five years as a dancer.
John Sloane said he was born in Detroit, had been with the show for 7.5 years as a singer, and currently was an understudy for the role of Bonzai. He included that he had grown up with music, his mother being a piano teacher.
Russell Brown told the audience that he had been born in Georgia and had been with the show for 9 years. He is currently a bass singer and understudies for the role of Mufasa.
After presenting a clip of the “Lioness” performance from the show, the three cast members called students who volunteered to go up on stage and learn a part of the dance that is performed every night across the country.
The cast members divided the selected students into two groups: the confident and less confident dancers. Both groups learned the same combination with a slight variety to make one easier than the other.
Junior Elise Hausman performed the original, harder combination. “Learning the choreography was definitely my favorite part,” said Hausman. “It was real choreography from the real Broadway show, which is really cool,”
After the students performed, the cast opened it up to questions.