The musical Cats has been around for so long that it is easy to forget how groundbreaking it was at the time. The design, realised by John Napier, had a rubbish dump instead of a set and employed new and astounding technology and costumes with fabulously evocative masks. Because of the Eliot estate provision that only use the original poems could be used as the text, the musical uses hardly any original script or spoken word to link sections. Perhaps for this reason, it is one of the first musicals to have dance as a major factor – it almost completely “danced-through”. The responsibility for the all-important choreography went to Gillian Lynne, who was also the associate director.
Now the original team has come back together for a Cats revival. One of the people who was involved right from the beginning is Jo-Anne Robinson, who was the dance captain on the original production. While Dame Gillian (as she now is) at 89 years old is still very much involved, it is Robinson who is charged with the choreographic duties in Australia.
Read the full interview with Jo-Anne Robinson in the Dec/Jan issue of Dance Australia available now from your favourite retail outlet or download our free app to purchase a copy HERE.