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[0:10] Rob Russo: Welcome to DANCIN'' Man, a Fabulous Invalid podcast featuring exclusive behind-the-scenes interviews with the cast and creative team of Bob Fosse's DANCIN' on Broadway.

[0:18] Jamie DuMont: I'm Jamie DuMont, and we're your hosts.

[0:21] Rob Russo: We're also excited to be co-producers of DANCIN' on Broadway and thrilled to be back in the Rosevale Cocktail Room at Civilian for another conversation with a member of the cast.

[0:29] Jamie DuMont: Yes, and joining us this week is cast member Ida Saki.

[0:33] Rob Russo: Born and raised in Dallas, Texas, DANCIN' marks Ida's Broadway debut.

[0:37] Jamie DuMont: But she's no stranger to the stage and film.

[0:39] Rob Russo: Ida came up in the world of competitions. She's danced with the Cedar Lake Contemporary Ballet, and she's been in off-Broadway shows and in films like In the Heights and Cats.

[0:49] Jamie DuMont: A true standout in the show. I cannot wait to talk to Ida.

[0:52] Rob Russo: Yes, let's do it.

[1:04] Jamie DuMont: Ida, welcome to the show. So lovely to have you here. So DANCIN' is fully in the swing of things. You opened a couple of weeks ago. You're kind of hopefully in your rhythm. How are you feeling today?

[1:18] Ida Saki: Kind of wild. I just feel like I'm just always running at a high, high, high frequency. And then like yesterday, I was like, up and at it, Erin's. That was our day off. And then just crashed so hard. I think like, you know, it's just so many ups and downs right now and getting used to the schedule. And for me personally, this is a whole new life, new experience being on Broadway. So I'm just like really taking it in bit by bit. Lots of laughter and high frequencies. Woo!

[1:51] Jamie DuMont: Nothing wrong with any of that. It sounds like you're enjoying it most of all. It sounds like above all of that, it sounds like you're having fun.

[1:59] Ida Saki: Yeah, I mean, I'm sure that, or I hope that you can see it on stage, and I'm sure that you can hear it on stage because I'm definitely the screamer of the group that's just always screaming, so excited. Maddie loves my dressing room roommate, and we're both always like, it's a great day to do a show. Let's do a show. And we're just always like yelling.

[2:20] Rob Russo: What I've noticed is the cast has interactions with each other in, you know, in every number, right? You're looking at each other, there are moments, but you seem to be the number one cast member that people go to that have the looks with, that have the like I've noticed that. Like everybody has a moment with you that doesn't seem scripted, right? They seem to be in the moment.

[2:46] Ida Saki: I'm happy that you see that because for me personally, like that's what keeps the show so fresh and exciting for so long. I didn't think I wanted to do the Broadway route because it was like eight shows a week doing the same thing every night. Like, there's no way I can do that. I performed in Sleep No More for a bit, and that was my first experience doing that many shows of the same choreography. And because the audience is always different, there were I truly did have a different experience every time. And so that was one of my goals in going into this was I never wanted to be bored. Again, Maddie and I, we always talk about our intention going into the show, and it's always different every single night.

Part of that is like keeping it real with my castmates, and sometimes it's not a great show, and we'll like have those looks like I've got you, you got me. Okay, let's go. Let's push it. And then there are some days that we're just screaming at each other and laughing and just having the best time of our lives.

[3:39] Rob Russo: Yeah, well, we were in the audience for a couple of previews where some folks were out, and your amazing understudies, you know, understudy dancers came in for like the first time in an all-dance show. And you could feel in those performances exactly what you were talking about, right? The like, I got you. Yes, right, like we're gonna get through this. And you know, I mean, we knew because we're in the know. We know, you know, if you were just a regular audience member, you would never know that Gabe was on, and you know, that was like, you know, he was just a member of the cast, right? It was so seamless.

[4:07] Ida Saki: Doing that track for the first time learned it in like an hour and a half before. That's not something that he actually covers. So our understudies are unreal.

[4:16] Rob Russo: Yeah, superstars, superstars. But you could see that that exchange, that energy, that like feeling of like, okay, we're gonna do this. And it was really cool. I actually had just listened to Yanni's podcast with you guys, and she was talking about the hand slapping section. And you know, I always feel I feel like everybody's part in that section is difficult because even the coming in, you're like, oh, she's speeding up. Oh god, am I gonna catch up? And like just our spidey senses are so, so high. And listening to that and hearing how lonely she felt and how like difficult that part is. I remember Crystal going in the other day, and I just like had even just more empathy for her at that moment, and like you could feel everyone was like just locked and loaded into her, and it was like it's those moments that are so, so so exciting in the show.

[5:04] Jamie DuMont: And DANCIN', let's not sleep on this, is your Broadway debut.

[5:07] Ida Saki: It is.

[5:08] Jamie DuMont: So, what did it feel like? You know, I guess for you, I've been dying to ask someone this question. You know, Broadway debut means a lot of things to a lot of people, right? And what's like the moment in the process that felt like your Broadway debut, right? Because there's the first preview, there's the dress rehearsal, there's the tech, there's opening night. Like, when did you have a moment, or maybe you didn't, that was like, okay, this is happening. This is real, like, this is my debut.

[5:29] Ida Saki: It's funny that you say that because literally every single one of those moments, everyone was coming up to me. It's a Broadway debut. I was like, okay, invited dress. This is my Broadway debut. Oh my God. And then literally the next night, first preview, everyone's like, your Broadway debut. And it was like, that wasn't yesterday. Like, what? I'm just coming down with yesterday. And then opening night, it was the same thing. So I still, I mean, this whole process is gonna be my Broadway debut. So it's not a moment.

[5:57] Jamie DuMont: Yeah, exactly.

[5:58] Ida Saki: Exactly. And I'm just I'm just trying to enjoy it. Is obviously very, very special, but I have had a career in so many different aspects of dance that for me it just feels like a really, really cool job that I'm doing. Not necessarily this like end all be all, but this show and this experience didn't exist for me five years ago. You know, I was at a point numerous times in my career where I was like, I'm not gonna dance anymore. I think I've done everything that I want to do. I'm like really satisfied, and now it's time to move on. Like I was studying for the LSAT when I met Nando. I was like, I'm gonna be a lawyer. And there are moments and there are shows like these that come up out of nowhere, and you're just like, oh no, I'm not done.

I have to do this with my whole being. You have to be the most passionate in order to be successful and to do this for a living. And I think you know, passion goes up and down, and there are times when it's down where you're just like, I am busting my ass to do this every single day. And then those are the moments you question it, and then those are always the moments that I'm like, no, this is what I'm I'm like literally put on this planet to do. And yeah, I feel it with my being.

[7:14] Rob Russo: Well, I feel like there's something to that like ambivalence. Ambivalence isn't really the right word, but like that like love hate, right? You know, like some especially something that's so physical and that demands so much of your body, right? And as the years go by, you know, we all age, right? And it gets harder and harder to, you know, sort of keep going in something that is so physical. Gwen Verdon famously said, dancers die twice, right? They die when they stop dancing, and then they die when they actually die. Um, and that's like just like athletes.

[7:43] Ida Saki: That's dark.

[7:43] Rob Russo: Well, just like athletes. But it is true. Wendy Whalen in that documentary too, she talks a lot about that, and you see it. I saw it so clearly in that documentary. And that's that was one of the moments for me that I was like, oh no, I need to keep on dancing. I feel it so strongly. And in the pandemic for me was actually that that moment for me that I was like, I need to be on stage. I was doing a lot more film work, and I was doing a lot of teaching, a lot of choreographing, and watching these like competitions. I was like, I love these kids, but I was like, move over. I want to be doing what you're doing. I need to be on stage right now.

[8:20] Jamie DuMont: Yeah, yeah. So what was your audition process like for DANCIN'?

[8:24] Ida Saki: I have a really, really good friend that I knew from middle school and high school who has literally, I don't know if he's psychic or what, but like has always told me my next step in my career. When we were in college, he was like, You're gonna leave to do Cedar Lake Contemporary Ballet. And I was like, okay, whatever. And like, same whenever I was studying for my LSAT. He's like, you need to do Sleep No More. That that's your next job. And for me, I was like, I think I'm just gonna go more the teaching and choreographing route. I love it. And he's like, DANCIN' is coming to Broadway, you're doing it. And I was like, what? Like, not in the Broadway world at all. I didn't really even know that it was happening.

It had just been posted. Wrote my agents, and then the audition came, and that was my first in-person audition in a long time. And I was battling with a lot of like insecurities. I was like, I'm out of shape from the pandemic. I haven't done jazz dancing in years. And like, even really anything technical, I was like, what am I doing here? So nervous. And I was the first person there. And I just remember person by person walking in and being like, oh, they're gonna get it. Oh, they're getting it, they're getting it. And like, they're the perfect Fosse dancer. There's the perfect Fosse dancer. And it said in the call, it was like, leave everything that you believe about Fosse out the door. This is like a new thing, just come as you are.

And I remember coming and I watched Corinne doing the movement, and I was like, who is this creature? What is going on? Like, and just so full-bodied. And I just remember like being in my head, and then they asked me to do it with only two other dancers at the end, and like I couldn't view it as a positive thing. I was like, they hate me. What am I doing here? And then I wanna say it was like a month, maybe a month and a half later, I was about to get on a flight, and Lauren Cannon, who's the assistant, she texts me and asks, Hey, are you interested in and available for a private audition for DANCIN'? I was like, Yeah, absolutely, let's do it. Today, yeah, I guess I can do it today. Can you come in in the next hour?

Oh my god, okay, yeah, let me just like move around some stuff and I'll be there. And she said, Okay, great, dust off your point shoes. And I was like, I'm sorry, what? I already said I was interested in available, so I can't back out of this now. Minor panic attack, was very honest with her about it. I was like, I don't know about this. And she was like, I really believe you can do it. Just trust yourself. Like, we just want to see you as you are. Don't try to be a ballerina, just do you. And I was like, okay, don't try to be a ballerina. Oh, yeah. I can't do this. I can do this. I whip out the only pair of point shoes I had, which were from Cedar Lake, which were like seven, seven years ago or something, put them on.

They're literally ballet shoes. I can't get on them to save my life. They are so soft as can be. And I'm like trying to turn on them. And I'm like, these aren't gonna work. And I put on a new pair of point shoes and I try and I fall and I like end up in a child's pose. And I was like, this is the end of my career. I busted my tailbone, my wrist is broken. My husband's like, oh my god, ignore her, ignore her. Oh, what is happening? My dog's yelling at me. It was just all of this stuff happening. And I was like, well, at this point, all I can do is laugh. And like, I'm clearly not prepared for this at all.

[11:34] Ida Saki: So I'm just gonna rip off the band-aid. I just remember Corinne just being like, we'll get you there. Like, stop freaking out, relax. And it was like the first moment that I was actually able to breathe, and I learned part of uh, it was kind of a combo platter of Ronnie's Verez solo, Peter's America Solo, and the America Solo that I do. They were so encouraging. And there was a moment that my hair fell out, and I was like, oh my god, my hair fell out, freaking out. And Wayne was like, amazing, do it with the hair down. And I was like, what is happening? And it was just like the coolest experience ever because I was in this private audition with these like icons of dance in front of me, and it was so chill.

It was so so welcoming, and they really just wanted to see me be me, which I hadn't felt in a really long time. As a dancer, it's always like, look at the choreographer, do exactly what they're doing. Who are they looking at? Why are they looking at? Can you can you be more like that dancer to get their attention? And so it felt really special to just be seen as me and just to do the thing. And he literally asked me at the end of the audition. He was like, Well, you're beautiful. Are you available for the next three months? I was like, I'm sorry, what? I was like, I can be, I will figure it out. Okay, bye. And I just remember calling my mom, calling my dance teacher, calling my husband, just freaking out. Sorry, that was a long story, you guys.

[13:00] Rob Russo: Whoa.

[13:01] Jamie DuMont: No, that's the only audition story that we've heard quite like that.

[13:04] Rob Russo: Oh, I'm not cutting any of that. Are you crazy?

[13:06] Ida Saki: Oh god, yeah. Well, what I didn't tell you too was I thought I broke my wrist, and my husband wrapped it around, like I looked like I was a boxer and I wore like a Lululemon like thumb cover. Like it was it like I just couldn't help but laugh. Like I was like, this is the most ridiculous audition story I've ever experienced.

[13:23] Rob Russo: And so well, what I heard was a very talented human being who's a very confident person, have a moment of loss of all of that, right? A brief moment of a loss of confidence, a belief in their talent, all of that, and then picking it up, picking themselves up, going and doing the thing and getting the job. That's what I heard, which I think is a great story because everybody loses confidence, everybody doubts their talent, whatever they do in life. And I think it's important to know that sometimes in the chaos, we can find actually the power and the strength to push forward. So thank you for that.

[14:01] Ida Saki: I don't even know if they saw it at the audition. Like, I think what you're saying, too, is so crazy, is that, like, yeah, I might have come in and like did the thing, but then what was going on internally was the exact opposite.

[14:13] Rob Russo: That is that's what I mean. It's it's a very it's a complicated thing.

[14:16] Jamie DuMont: Yeah. Hearing you say in in an audition, someone can say to you, dance more like that person. That's what they want. That's what they're looking at. That's a very hard thing to hear and to reckon with. And I I just that I was very moved by that hearing that, because it's not that's not easy to hear.

[14:34] Ida Saki: Yeah, and I think that's what's so special about our show is I feel like every single person is seen for who they are. And like bowing with our names in the back. Like I've done a lot of shows, but a lot of times, like you go and you see a show, and the ensemble is like they are killing themselves in doing the thing, but they just kind of blend in or behind behind the storyline. And so it feels like this is hopefully like a new era too for dance on Broadway and really seeing the individual. Because as you can see in our show, like everyone does everything in the show, and they do it very, very well.

[15:12] Rob Russo: So yeah. Let's dig into that for a second because you referenced being a member of Cedar Lake, and now you're doing eight shows a week in dancing. They're very different experiences, they're there, very different worlds. What is that like? How how are they different?

[15:27] Ida Saki: Yeah, I always thought Cedar Lake was my dream. That that's why I think I kind of was at a reckoning afterwards of whether I even wanted to dance, because that ended up being my first job, which was really wild. To like, I thought that that was my tenure goal. And then I got it so quickly that after that I was like, well, what what else is there? I think what I realized with Cedar Lake that was really difficult for me was that you are rehearsing maybe 90% of the time and only performing that 10%. So that was really wild for me to I'm a person that loves the process, but I think I really realized that no, but I I need the adrenaline and the thrill of performing in the connection with the audience to also like understand and remember why I'm doing this.

And so then to go into eight shows a week, it's now the exact opposite, where all I'm doing is thinking about like how to be my best self for performing, and that's warming up and cooling down, but it's it's a lot less time of being in the studio. And I I do miss those times, of course, but I I feel I feel more myself when I'm able to perform more consistently.

[16:39] Rob Russo: And I I imagine that you know, with uh ballet company, I'm and I'm not as familiar with Cedar Lake, which no longer exists, right? It was shut down. You have like a repertory, I imagine, right? There's a there's a bank of dances that you draw from, and that's why there's so much rehearsal, right? Because you're not doing them every night. Whereas this, you get to do the same work every night. I imagine it allows you to go a little bit deeper into the pieces themselves as a performer. Has that been your experience?

[17:06] Ida Saki: Yeah, absolutely. And you just find something different. And I I do feel like I still got that experience with Cedar Lake because we were still probably running it the same amount of times, just maybe not in front of an audience that many times. So we definitely like I I love that part of a process is just going deeper into the work and like what is my pinky toe doing at this moment? Like the most like bizarre thing. And that's what like again, Maddie and I in the dressing room every day. We're like, okay, well, what are we gonna think about this show that's different than last night? I'm I'm coming from it from this place today, so how is that going to serve my performance?

[17:40] Rob Russo: It's very clear from what you've shared with us already and from just seeing on stage that you have a background in ballet.

[17:47] Ida Saki: I don't.

[17:48] Rob Russo: You don't?

[17:49] Ida Saki: I I was like a competition dancer growing up. So honestly, for you to say that, I'm like, whoa. But I again, I'm like, is this a mental health podcast? Because that is what I am talking about today. But that's something that I really, really had to like deal with and like talk to myself. I'm like, Really? This is not a ballet solo. It has ballet technique in it, but I have to like come at it from a different point of view, or else I get so insecure. And I I know my faults as a ballet dancer because I started quite late. And so, even in terms of like development, I I like don't have the turnout. And so I do a lot of things to don't watch it, but like I do a lot of things to like fake the line because I know what the line, quote unquote, should be, but I I just was never trained classically. I had a really, really wonderful ballet teacher who who took me under her wing while I was competitively dancing, and um really helped me keep up with the dancers.

[18:50] Ida Saki: And so maybe that's part of the This is the biggest revelation I uh that I think we've had in this entire podcast experience. I was freaking out the day. I think that there was someone else that told me, Oh, yeah, there are some New York City ballet dancers out there. And I was like, they're gonna blow my cover and they know.

[19:08] Rob Russo: Well, you know what? It's it's interesting that you have that feeling because what we've learned from some other interviews we've had and from working on a play we've been developing about Bob Fosse in part, is that he was incredibly insecure precisely about his ballet background, right? And his technique and his facility with even the terminology.

[19:28] Ida Saki: Yeah.

[19:28] Rob Russo: Right? That like he felt like kind of like I'm not saying that you feel this way, but like kind of like a fraud in some ways. Like some someday someone's gonna catch on that. I actually don't know the terms for these dance moves because he didn't have he was performing in nightclubs, right? That was his training, you know.

[19:44] Ida Saki: Um so that that's really fascinating, Ida. And it's funny because I had gotten a job fairly recently, right before dancing, that I was teaching ballet on a convention. And I remember like talking to the director about it, and I was like, Well, I'm not a ballet dancer, so I don't know like how I can really help you out with this. And Caseder Lake was contemporary ballet, and especially when I joined, we were really leaning into the contemporary, and like a lot of numbers I wouldn't even be pointing my feet, like it was all like floor work and all this crazy stuff. But um, I remember the director being like, Well, just think about what you have to offer. And I remember thinking like I came from this background of competition dance, being scared of ballet and like tightening up and doing all this stuff. So I really had to like come to terms with myself, and what do I have to offer as someone who understands and enjoys and loves ballet technique, but also just loves movement in general.

[20:44] Ida Saki: And so that was something that I really worked on, and I guess probably helped me get this job now, thinking about it. Because I I really had to work on not being afraid of ballet.

[20:54] Rob Russo: So you mentioned starting late. When did you start dancing?

[20:57] Ida Saki: I was about 12 or 13.

[20:58] Rob Russo: Okay, yeah.

[20:58] Ida Saki: So that is that is later. I mean, especially female.

[21:01] Rob Russo: Carly, and she started when she was three.

[21:03] Ida Saki: Yeah, most dancers do, yeah.

[21:05] Rob Russo: Yeah, yeah. That's so much.

[21:06] Ida Saki: So what what what brought you to dance? What what made you start dancing?

[21:09] Ida Saki: Um, just uh talent show at my school. I had a bunch of friends that were doing it, and I was like, I want to hang out with my friends more. And I enrolled in the dance studio that was closest to me. Very quickly they asked me to audition for company, and I think that they realized that I was a lost cause. And it was the ballet teacher that that told me years later, she was like, I pulled them to the side and was like, she has potential. You can put her in the back corner, it doesn't matter. Just like put her on company, even if it's just one day a week, that way I can like get my hands on her and really like really help her. And she she really did that. And she had the um she had the philosophy of letting you do whatever you could and then putting the technique on it.

So I wasn't like put into a box. She was like, kick your leg as high as you can, do as many turns as you can, as messy as it is, and then we'll we'll fine-tune it. So I think maybe that's why I I might be able to show it, but I feel insecure because I'm like, oh, I I never actually got that true bass training from the very beginning. But yeah, she she was a really, really wonderful lady that helped me out. And then I I was competitively competitively dancing for years, and my uh dance teacher got pregnant, and she was on maternity leave and asked a teacher from New York, her name's Jess Hendrix, to come in and just take over her for three to four months. And she came and asked us. She was like, um, in class one day, she was like doing a movement, and she's like, and this is a little Fosse-esque.

And everyone was like, okay, whatever. She's like, Fossy-esque. And everyone's just still standing there, and she's like, Do you guys know who Bob Fosse is? And everyone just kind of stood still. I think maybe there was like one person that raised their hand, and she was like, Oh wow, we have a lot of work to do. And that night we had to write an essay about Fosse. The next week it was Jerome Robin. Like in just every single week, I had to write an essay about Cedar Lake.

[23:07] Ida Saki: Like it was, she was really, really educating us, pulled me and my parents into a meeting, telling me that I could do this professionally if I wanted. And I was like, Dallas Cowboy cheerleaders, like that's the only thing that I knew. Nothing against them, but I was like, that's not me. That's not what I do. And she was like, oh, you don't know what professionally dancing is. Like, she was like, audition for Juilliard. I was like, the acting school, what? Like, just so lost. So I really owe her everything. And she was third row for opening. So she was like proud mama. Like, we're here, we're doing it.

[23:40] Rob Russo: That's amazing. Shout out to the teachers who see you for real.

[23:43] Ida Saki: Push you and open doors. Yeah, for me, it was all just chance. Like the fact that there was that one ballet teacher that was just like, I think she can do this. And just trusting and believing.

[23:54] Rob Russo: And what did you think when you were first exposed to Fosse?

[23:56] Ida Saki: I mean, I loved, for me, it was Gwen Verdon that like really made me fall in love with him. Like, I just will never forget watching her do whatever Lola wants for the first time and being like, what is this? Like, I was so mind blown by like her precision and freedom, and still to this day, like I will geek out on videos of her all the time. And that's been one of the like best parts of this process, I think, is like going back and watching all the videos. Like, because I think at the time I was like familiar with Chicago and like the stereotypical Fosse of it all, the black fishnets, the like the precision of it all. And more recently, going back into his like old school stuff. Like I remember when I watched Steam Heat for the first time, that was actually during this process that I was like, this is the coolest thing I've ever seen. Like I love that this show shows him in a different light and isn't that the stereotypical Fosse that I think a lot of people believe was the only thing he did.

[25:01] Rob Russo: Well, speaking of dancing and all the fabulous moments in the show, you have a handful where you get to really pop and shine, as is everyone in the company. You already mentioned one, which I want to dive into, which is Rally Round the Flag.

[25:11] Ida Saki: Yep.

[25:15] Rob Russo: Which is the ballet, capital B.

[25:18] Ida Saki: I'm balleting back on the I don't have blind today. That whole number is so balletic. That's not a word, but it's so it feels like every move you do is a ballet move.

[25:33] Rob Russo: Don't look at my supporting leg.

[25:36] Ida Saki: And that's for everyone listening to this. I'll tell you what, the what blows me away in that number, the circular leaps you do across the stage.

[25:46] Rob Russo: That you make it look so effortless.

[25:49] Ida Saki: You guys, I can't say how much this means to me because I get so nervous about jumping in general. Jumps are just not, I that's why learning the solo for me, I was like, this is all of my vulnerabilities in one solo. Thank you, Bob.

[26:05] Rob Russo: Well literally, I'm like, who choreographed this?

[26:08] Ida Saki: Well, what strikes me in addition to the literal rally round the stage, right? Is the footwork that you're doing. What what's the name of that step? Or is there, or is there even a name for it?

[26:20] Ida Saki: The jumps like this, they're like change ma's, but they're landing on straight legs. That's the one the like ballet one-on-one, the one thing I can tell you about ballet is you plie when you jump right in your legs before and after. And you don't in this. So it was like this wild thing of like, how am I gonna do this and how am I gonna do it sustainably? And watching the video of Renee doing it in the original America, that's honestly when I had the full panic was I was like, I will never look like that. And so had to do like a bunch of like pep talks with myself and just be like, you are not her. What do you have to offer? And that's what Wayne and Corinne were so wonderful about. Like, this is now your dance, and however you interpret it, like we really want to see you come through, which I really appreciate.

[27:09] Rob Russo: So and what is sort of your approach to that moment? Because it kicks off the America section, which we've talked about with a couple other dancers on this podcast, is a number that contains a lot of themes and ideas. It's not one note, right? It's all the notes, it's exploring, you know, patriotism and nationalism and America and what that means, you know. So this piece, Rally Around the Flag, just from the title alone, and the joyous choreography suggests a more like positive, patriotic sort of you know, approach to thinking about America. What is your sort of impulse when you're doing it?

[27:49] Ida Saki: My parents are immigrants from Iran, and I all of my family, extended family, is still in Iran, and hearing them talk about the states in America and what it means to them has really for me fueled this because no matter what is going on in America, and we all know there's always something. I just do feel like this immense pride in like my parents coming over and just I feel like it is kind of this immigrant story, at least for me, and to start the whole piece of choreography in dressed in white, like I feel like this light. And then at the end with that beautiful Amanda Gorman quote about being a beacon of light, it feels full circle for me, where it feels like it starts out with this like bright-eyed view of America and what we all think America is in this patriotism. And then we do kind of go into like some of the like trials and tribulations a little bit. And then we end with this beacon of hope quote, which I think is a really beautiful full circle moment.

[28:57] Rob Russo: I know it took us a lot of time to like land there, as you guys saw in San Diego was a very, very different dance then. It would have just been easy just to be like, okay, it's cut, it's too hard to do at this time in our lives. And he was very much like, I feel like it's a cop-out. And I want to challenge myself, and Bob would do the same thing. And what are we trying to say about America? And I do think it is in a way that it is very subjective, and everybody can view it in a different way. And everyone has their own story behind it. But I know for me, like I think about my mom almost every night, and especially with everything going on in Iran right now. It feels, I feel like a very proud Iranian woman on that stage.

[29:39] Ida Saki: And I do think too, like Bob was always about the story and being an actor, and I think that's what was my obstacle in this solo was how do I view it outside of just the technique? Because the technique is making me freeze up and freak out, and like that's not all I am, that's not all I want to be. And how can I approach this showing myself within this box of technique?

[30:05] Rob Russo: And it's poignant. I mean, as you just to put a fine point on it, you know, you're an Iranian American woman dancing, kicking off the America section, right? And I love in Gary Owen, which is another piece, it's a trio. It's Manny, Corey, and Yanni, right? Three people of color, right? And like those are all very clear intentional choices that are speaking volumes, just in the personnel, let alone the movement.

[30:28] Ida Saki: And we all have our own stories and our own heritage to bring into those pieces, which I do think is very important as well.

[30:33] Rob Russo: You mentioned that the America section has changed a bit since San Diego. One of the things that changed was your costume.

[30:42] Ida Saki: Um, I'm probably gonna get this wrong, but in my memory, which the memory is not always, you know, it was like a ball gown. I mean, it was like a beaded, like it felt very heavy, it felt very like it felt I mean, it was a beautiful costume, but it didn't quite seem to fit the moment. And now you're in a like white sheer pantsuit that's flowy, and I can only imagine that this current costume only helps you in getting, you know, in doing the number. I mean, it just it seems to flow with you.

[31:18] Ida Saki: Yeah, I mean, like there were times that I was caught in that in the blue chiffon that was like because it just had a mind of its own.

[31:28] Rob Russo: Right, you had like a long scarf on the back.

[31:31] Ida Saki: That's what I like to believe that I was. It was never told to me that I was, but I believed I was either that or an aquamarine superhero, one or the other.

[31:39] Rob Russo: Or both.

[31:39] Ida Saki: But yeah, exactly. She's aquatic, you know?

[31:43] Rob Russo: It is all flooding back to me now what it looked like.

[31:46] Ida Saki: Yeah.

[31:46] Rob Russo: It really is. I think I was confusing your sing headdress with um because you know you have that great, like beaded.

[31:46] Ida Saki: I think I was confusing. Now I'm really remembering what that costume was.

[31:57] Ida Saki: Yeah, yeah, yeah. And Reed and Harriet made that so last minute because we got it, and it just was not right in any way. Way, shape, or form. And they were like, we have this extra fabric. And if I'm not mistaken, it was the fabric that the um that Colton, what do you call them? Spats. I don't know. The like the boot things were made of in spring chicken.

[32:18] Rob Russo: Oh sure.

[32:19] Ida Saki: In San Diego. So I'm pretty sure it was made from leftover material of like the first rendition of that.

[32:24] Rob Russo: Oh my gosh.

[32:24] Ida Saki: And they were like, We're gonna make you a unitard real quick. Made it in 30 minutes. Like it was just this wild thing, and that's why they're so good at what they do is they were just like, we were given this thing that did not work, and you are about to perform. So let's make you something. And I just remember us like playing with the chiffon. Like we have a hilarious video of like Reed and I just dancing to it, and they're like, Well, it flows, let's go. And it was funny because I remember walking out, and Wayne goes, I didn't know you were gonna be wrapped in saran wrap.

[33:00] Rob Russo: Well, this is the moment to also just say again how brilliant Reed and Harriet are.

[33:05] Ida Saki: They really are geniuses.

[33:07] Rob Russo: Their costumes are extraordinary.

[33:09] Ida Saki: Yeah, and they talked about it in the podcast with you guys about the suit, the blue suits as well. Like we got these suits thinking that they were great, and then with the tone of the rest of the piece, it just was not right. Which I think was similar with mine. They were just like, they essentially had to improvise because and the same thing I think happened with Crunchy, where in the workshop we did the like old school old version of the song. And then we updated it on our way to San Diego, but they still had the costumes based on that like stuff. So I was like in a bike tart with leg warmers dancing to like this rock version of Crunchy Granola Suite. And I just remember being them being like, well, this is no longer gonna work. I think with all of us knowing what San Diego was and what we ended up with in San Diego, they were able to be much more prepared for this version. And you know, it was just a wild, wild ride.

[34:00] Ida Saki: But yes, I am stuck in my costume much less with the white, which is very, very helpful because I don't have to think about that as much.

[34:08] Rob Russo: But um and it's your bow costume, right?

[34:10] Ida Saki: It's my bow costume.

[34:12] Rob Russo: Did you choose your bow costume? How did that um?

[34:15] Ida Saki: I'm pretty sure we all got like two to three costumes that we could choose from? And like mine were ding America, and I may have had one more, maybe like massage parlor or something. I don't remember. But I think we all also thought what was gonna be the easiest to get into because we knew it was the end of the night, everyone was dying. Like we've heard that's the quickest costume change forever because you're in that last trio.

[34:38] Ida Saki: Yeah, yeah.

[34:39] Jamie DuMont: So we were all just trying to figure out like, okay, what is the most like logical to get into?

[34:45] Ida Saki: And that's how I think we all have to be.

[34:50] Jamie DuMont: Yeah.

[34:51] Rob Russo: Well, it accentuates your legs, right?

[34:53] Ida Saki: Which you have very long legs.

[34:55] Rob Russo: See, you guys know what to do because actually my torso is a lot longer than my legs.

[35:00] Ida Saki: Really?

[35:01] Rob Russo: I'm always wearing something high-waisted.

[35:03] Ida Saki: That is a good thing. I love to trick the eye.

[35:05] Rob Russo: Are you sure you're the Ida Saki that performs in DANCIN'?

[35:07] Ida Saki: We didn't check your ID when you walked in.

[35:10] Rob Russo: I feel like somebody else showed up to this.

[35:12] Ida Saki: You guys are just hitting all of my like either insecurities or some things that I like literally try to fool people. Like Reed and Harriet, no, anytime they tried to put me in something low, I'm like, no, it has to be high waisted, or else everyone will find out my secret.

[35:25] Rob Russo: But now they're all finding it out on the street.

[35:27] Ida Saki: Yeah, we just spoiled it. Um, you referenced earlier that when you saw the audition, you know, announcement, you were like, well, I'm not a Fosse dancer. Like, I'm not the look, whatever, you know, that they're that they might be looking for.

[35:40] Rob Russo: And it's funny because "Percussion Three" to me, and I said this before on the show, is like the distillation of Bob Fosse. It's just like an explosion of style. And there's a moment, and Jamie knows it well, because this is the moment when we grab each other in the audience, where you come in stage left on your toes.

[36:01] Ida Saki: Oh, yeah, with your arms back behind you, and you guys do those pelvic, you know, bumps. And it's just like, well, that's Bob Fosse. Right? I mean, that's like it is 100%.

[36:13] Ida Saki: Yes.

[36:14] Rob Russo: And that's probably my favorite number in the entire show.

[36:17] Ida Saki: And it's deceivingly hard.

[36:20] Rob Russo: Oh, it looks hard.

[36:21] Ida Saki: Oh, okay.

[36:22] Rob Russo: It doesn't look easy to do.

[36:23] Ida Saki: It looks, I should say it looks really cool.

[36:25] Rob Russo: Oh, okay. It looks really cool. But when you start to think about it, you're like, okay, well, they're on their toes. Like, how are they isolating that many parts of their body at one time? And because you guys know Wayne too. Wayne is like, get the heels up, arch the back. And I'm like such a student for life that I'm like, oh, oh, just like so extreme with everything. And then they're like, okay, now relax and look cool on top of it. I'm like, oh my God, what are we doing here?

[36:47] Ida Saki: No, but that moment, and you know exactly what I'm talking about, is just it's really fun. It's stunning. And it's funny too, as an audience experiencing, and I'm sure you hear this from the stage. People laugh.

[37:00] Rob Russo: And I they're not laughing at you.

[37:02] Ida Saki: No, I see it. There's like a chuckle, yeah, that sort of breaks across the audience because it's so playful, right? And it's like a recognition of like, oh, we're just having fun here, right?

[37:15] Jamie DuMont: What is your story? Because again, it's also a very abstract piece in the show. So, like, what is your mindset during "Percussion Three"?

[37:25] Ida Saki: For me, the environment's different every night, but I think the environment is like the biggest part of it. I think we've all kind of come to the conclusion together that we're like all on a beach hanging out with our bikinis and we're just like sipping a mojito, whatever. And I feel like that helps us have the cool undertone, but for me too, it's like always about connection. Like, I love spotting Jacob when I go around the corner and my shimmies with Colton. Like, those are the things that for me in life in general, that's what I love. And I love at least my track for that reason, where like crunchy granola, even if you're like not ready for the show, you are literally launched from that cannon and you have to go. And then "Ding" like provides this like meditation, and I'm just like from that craziness to be able to like get grounded again and then to like ramp up a little bit with "Calypso." For me personally, it's like the best way to start the show.

[38:21] Rob Russo: "Join Endeavors."

[38:22] Ida Saki: Oh, yeah.

[38:23] Rob Russo: Act two. You and Dylis have a little moment.

[38:26] Ida Saki: Oh my god, which Dylis and I went to high school together, not at the same time, but we went to the same high school.

[38:31] Rob Russo: Oh my gosh.

[38:32] Ida Saki: What a connection.

[38:34] Rob Russo: So you knew of her long before her.

[38:38] Ida Saki: Right. Well, that's true. I mean, legend, right? I remember not speaking to her for I think the first three days of the workshop. And then I was like, I have to tell you. I watched your trumpet solo so many times. She's like, and just so sweet. She's the best. And now it's crazy to like call her a friend and see her every day and like be joking around together and be doing a lesbian love scene together. It's pretty wild.

[39:01] Rob Russo: Yeah.

[39:03] Ida Saki: I mean, those three numbers, those three duets, I guess you could say.

[39:07] Jamie DuMont: Well, Carly is just singing her face off in the show.

[39:09] Ida Saki: Oh my god. I mean, it's like just it's one of my favorite moments in the show. And it's something that, like, because there are so many memorable moments in the show. I feel like every time I see it, we get to that moment, you know what it says "Join Endeavors." I say, oh yes, I forgot about this. I love this. It's so good. Because it is like it's kind of the sexiest moment of the whole show, right?

[39:30] Rob Russo: I mean, I guess so. We aren't wearing much, and the lighting is really dim, and we're all grinding up on each other. So yeah, I would guess so.

[39:39] Ida Saki: Yeah, and it does have a bathhouse quality to it.

[39:42] Rob Russo: It does, right? Like I say that in a good way.

[39:45] Ida Saki: Yeah, oh, for sure. Well, there's some cruising that happens on stage in addition too. Um, no, but what's cool about it is that choreography is lifted from "All That Jazz" from "Take Off With Us," right? And in the film, the three dances are happening at the same time. And the camera, of course, because it's Bob Fosse keeps cutting away and it's all different angles and such. But now in DANCIN', we get to see the whole piece, you know, each individual duo.

[40:12] Rob Russo: Were you familiar with any of that choreography before?

[40:15] Ida Saki: Oh, yeah, absolutely. I like you'd studied, yeah. And even before that, like it took me, I knew the chair one really well just because she's standing on a chair balancing for 700 years. So I remembered like some of the poses on that so it's kind of funny that I ended up doing that moment but I definitely remember the sexiness of it like even just "Take Off With Us" alone I was like that is the sexiest thing I've ever seen and then they all started taking off their clothes and then I'm like taking off wow okay yeah and yeah so and it was really really fun because Corinne was really helping like find the transitions and how do we create this as choreography because we only have glimpses of each of these positions. So it was fun just to like be playful about it.

[41:02] Jamie DuMont: One thing that we haven't talked to anyone about and we're excited to talk to you about because you're the first person we're talking to since we thought of it is "Beat Me Daddy Eight to the Bar," which is you know sort of the last number of the show before coda and bows and all that obviously it's an iconic duo you've got Tony and Nando dancing their bodies off but there's also a whole ensemble dance that's happening behind them which I keep telling myself every time I see the show like okay this time I'm not gonna watch them I'm gonna watch what's going on behind because there's so many layers to the we're having so much fun too like because that's that too yeah yeah and Corinne again was like so wonderful at staging that because what I think she did so brilliantly in staging was it was that trust that I got from that private audition with everyone was it was like do your own thing and then we'll kind of we'll play and we'll finesse and I think that's how you get so many different personalities in the show is because we weren't stripped down, and I think Yani even mentioned it in her podcast that we all had our parts before we even came.

So we were already seen. We weren't fighting for any attention. And I think that it just created like the most cohesive ensemble and like the most exciting for all of us to just trust one another and know like I can't do what anyone else in the show does as themselves and they can't do what I can do and just coming in as me, which is really cool.

[42:29] Ida Saki: And I feel like you can probably see that in "Beat Me Daddy."

[42:32] Jamie DuMont: Well, we want to get you on your way. You have been so gracious with your time. I do have a couple other questions, and I'm I am lightning round.

[42:38] Ida Saki: Yeah, well, no, it won't be a lightning round.

[42:40] Jamie DuMont: But I am curious, you seem to be the only company member that's not on Instagram. And I'm wondering, is there a reason for that? Seems like such a hard I could never not be on Instagram.

[42:51] Ida Saki: Oh my god. Well, I admire that Ida.

[42:51] Jamie DuMont: Yeah.

[42:55] Ida Saki: As I just talked about like my anxiety and all that. I just like it it's not for me personally, but I do sometimes steal my husband's phone and he's like, oh, down a rabbit hole are you?

[43:07] Jamie DuMont: It's hard, right? Not to.

[43:08] Ida Saki: Of course, of course. But I love personal connections with people, and I find not being on Instagram is really helpful for me with that.

[43:19] Jamie DuMont: Well, that makes it makes perfect sense. And I also I wanted to say this earlier. I don't stop dancing, but I think you'd be a fantastic lawyer.

[43:27] Ida Saki: I really do. I think that that's like the Iranian way. It's like you're an engineer, a doctor, or a lawyer. So my parents were like, choose between one of those. And then they were like, okay, you can dance.

[43:38] Jamie DuMont: Yeah.

[43:39] Ida Saki: Yeah.

[43:40] Jamie DuMont: Well, there's one other thing. I want to read this quote because I thought it was so beautiful. You said this. Everything that makes you human is in dance.

[43:44] Ida Saki: Everything that makes you human is in dance.

[43:52] Jamie DuMont: Yeah, and I think that's why I keep on coming back to it. Like it's literally everything encompasses in this art form. And I really can't think of something else that's meditative, physical, and mental, like communal, also like internal and external. It feels like everything to me.

[44:14] Jamie DuMont: It's beautiful.

[44:14] Ida Saki: Oh, thank you. I fell in love with you when I heard you say that. I thought it was such a beautiful way to talk about your art and you as a person, all wrapped up in one.

[44:27] Ida Saki: I do love dance, so I hope you can tell on stage. I love it. I feel very, very lucky to be doing this.

[44:34] Rob Russo: Yeah.

[44:34] Jamie DuMont: Well, and I think audiences are very lucky to see you and the whole company get to do this because it's several members that we've interviewed have said this. These shows don't come around that often.

[44:46] Ida Saki: No.

[44:46] Rob Russo: Right? I mean, this is sort of like a once-in-a-generation kind of thing that you get to do an all-dance show, and not just an all-dance show, but Bob Fosse's dance.

[44:55] Ida Saki: Yeah, exactly. But hopefully, this will encourage the like Bob Fosse's of our time to come up with their own show, and hopefully, producers will now be able to invest in it because they see the impact that the show's having. I hope for the future. All the fingers crossed.

[45:10] Jamie DuMont: Yeah. Amazing. Well, thank you so much, Ida.

[45:13] Ida Saki: Thank you guys. This is a blast.

[45:18] Rob Russo: A dancing man.

[45:20] Ida Saki: A dancing man with footsteps on the sex.

[45:27] Rob Russo: Bob Fosse's DANCIN' is now on Broadway at the Music Box Theater.

[45:31] Ida Saki: For tickets and more information, visit DancinBway.com.

[45:34] Rob Russo: DANCIN' Man, a Fabulous Invalid podcast, is a production of OM etc. and the Fabulous Invalid LLC, and a proud member of the Broadway Podcast Network.

[45:43] Ida Saki: Special thanks to Civilian for hosting us and to our audio engineer, Kyle Moore.

[45:47] Rob Russo: If you liked this episode, we've got over a hundred episodes of the Fabulous Invalid Podcast that you can check out, including a two-parter on the life, work, and legacy of Bob Fosse and Gwen Verdon.

[45:57] Ida Saki: You can find us online at thefabulousinvalid.com and on social media at Fabulous Invalid, and on iTunes, Spotify, and wherever you get your podcasts.