JustArts: How did you first become involved in choreography? Have you choreographed any other performances at Brandeis?Julie Judson: I've known that choreography was a passion of mine since I was ten years old. I saw the musical revue Fosse when it came to my hometown, and fell in love with the movement. I remember sitting through one of the numbers, "Bye Bye Blackbird," and thinking: Someone made this up? And then immediately after I thought: This is totally what I want to do. ... A Chorus Line is my first big show at Brandeis, but Greg and I did have a blast co-choreographing the 24-Hour Musical, Legally Blonde, a couple of months ago.

JA: How much do you draw on a knowledge of previous productions of the musical when choreographing, and how much did you conceive yourself?

JJ: A Chorus Line is a classic in the dance world, because it speaks so truly to the daily struggles of dancers. ... And because the show stays true to dance and to show business, we wanted to honor the show. Our goal was to throw in some of the original choreography from the show because of its absolutely iconic nature, but also to put our own flair into it.

JA: What other dancers, choreographers, or other influences inspired you when working on this musical?

JJ: Our biggest inspirations for this show were the so to speak "trifecta" of dance at the time A Chorus Line first came to Broadway: Michael Bennett (who directed and choreographed the original production), Bob Fosse (my personal favorite), and Jerome Robbins (the genius behind West Side Story and the man who gave Michael Bennett his start). Those three styles created by those men are similar in a lot of ways, because they lend themselves to a very clean, classic style of dance that really focuses on the blend between movement and music.

JA: How did the two of you collaborate to plan out the dances?

JJ: We normally met up to choreograph for a couple of hours every week or so at the beginning of this process. He and I would just turn on the music and begin to dance around and watch each other, and when one of us liked what the other did, we'd run over, pause the iPod, and try to repeat it back. ... It was so mutual. I think as a male/female team we were able to recognize when I was better to teach a step or when he was, and often times we would give tips based on gender, because generally male dancers are trained differently than female dancers. ... Greg is much better at teaching technique than I am, but I tend to explain stylized movement, such as a popped hip or roll of the shoulder, more clearly than he can.

JA: How did working on A Chorus Line compare to your previous experiences?

JJ: We knew going into this show that A Chorus Line was going to be a challenge. ... It was clear to everyone in the theater community that we had more than enough acting and singing talent to do the show justice, but there were a lot of confidence issues about whether or not people could dance. ... Our promise to everyone was that we were going to bring those two separated worlds, dance and theater, together during this process, and I think we did that. ... Greg and I vowed that we would stay true to the level of dancing that this show demanded and make it as challenging as we could while still being realistic. I worked with the cast an average of 12 hours a week, and in addition to that Greg and I both held "office hours" that people could sign up for to get more individualized attention on the choreography they struggled with. ... Watching their progress has been more inspiring than I can say. ... working on A Chorus Line has been the greatest challenge of my eighteen-year-long dance career, but also the highlight.