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Teacher Bio
Chaz Wolcott (he/him) is theatremaker based in New York City, and a proud member of Actor's Equity Association. He holds a BFA in Dance from Oklahoma City University and an MFA in Theatre Arts from the University of Idaho.
...Read moreChaz Wolcott (he/him) is theatremaker based in New York City, and a proud member of Actor's Equity Association. He holds a BFA in Dance from Oklahoma City University and an MFA in Theatre Arts from the University of Idaho.
As a director/choreographer, Chaz’s work has been featured on Broadway in Red Bucket Follies, Gypsy of the Year, and Broadway Backwards, and in I Put A Spell On You, Broadway’s Biggest Halloween Party. He has directed and choreographed at Music Theatre Wichita, The Gateway, 3D Theatricals, Westport Country Playhouse, Forestburgh Playhouse, Timber Lake Playhouse, Ensemble Theatre Cincinnati, Short North Stage, and more.
Chaz has served on faculty at Penn State University, University of Cincinnati’s College-Conservatory of Music (CCM), Pace University, and Marymount Manhattan College. He has also taught for BroadwayCon, Celebrity Conventions, Tada! Youth Theatre, Broadway Connection, Disney Musicals in Schools, KC Jazz Dance Intensive, Big Apple Tap Festival, The Streetz, Dancers Against Cancer, Dancers Responding to AIDS, and more.
As a performer, Chaz played Buttons on the First National Tour of Disney’s Newsies, and starred as Mr. Mistoffelees in the 30th Anniversary Tour of Cats. You can catch Chaz’s performance in Disney’s Newsies: The Broadway Musical, now available on streaming services. Chaz was a featured contestant on FOX’s So You Think You Can Dance. Other favorite performing credits include: NY City Center Encores, Music Theatre of Wichita, Arena Stage, The Rev, The Gateway, Lyric Theatre of Oklahoma, The Fulton, The Fireside, Casa Mañana, and more.
Chaz is a passionate supporter of Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS, from leading fundraising campaigns to producing multiple cabaret events.
Chaz works as a freelance director, choreographer, actor, intimacy director, movement director, and educator - and cherishes every moments he gets to create in a theatrical playground with passionate artists. He strives to make his class a place where dancers are challenged, yet cared for. He hopes to help them to grow and evolve while providing a supportive environment.
Learn more about Chaz at www.ChazWolcott.com or follow him @dancinchaz on social media!
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Class Descriptions
Chaz's theater dance class is the best of both worlds. His warm-up is fun and engaging, while working on technical development, strength, and awareness.
There are center exercises that address Jazz technique and most importantly assimilation, helping students prepare for the dreaded complicated dance audition. Chaz's combination focuses more on performance and storytelling then technique, with some technical elements mixed in for variety.
Chaz encourages all dancers to feel good about their work in class, no matter their level or ability. Coming out of class feeling improved is the ultimate goal. Focusing on the story or the message the choreography is trying to convey usually proves to be the missing element in booking jobs in the musical theatre industry, so Chaz tries to give students help and encouragement in that regard!
Chaz Wolcott's tap class focuses on reinforcing basic tap technique and building on various tap styles. A warm-up that both develops strength and technique and challenges the student's ability to pick up choreography begins the class. Next up is some tap technique exercises which help to reinforce vocabulary, clarify technique and build the student's repertoire. Finally, a combination of steps is taught to work on the student's acquisition of choreography. A variety of tap styles help prepare students for any type of tap that may be thrown at them in an audition setting, and Chaz focuses on preparing the student to be confident in their tapping ability regardless of their background with the style. Come tap with Chaz to help improve your tap style, re-examine your tap technique, and practice learning new choreography and being able to perform it with confidence!
This workshop will introduce the beginning student to basic theater and jazz technique by starting with a thorough warm-up that focuses on teaching vocabulary, building muscle strength, and energizing the body and mind for class. From there, we will work on some theater jazz movement and eventually assimilate some of the vocabulary into a routine where we will simultaneously work on executing the steps and telling a story. It’s everything theater dance should be, but at a pace a singer/actor/mover can keep up with! We will get back to the basics and set a strong foundation to build upon.