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[0:11] 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.

[0:19] Jamie DuMont: I'm Jamie DuMont.

[0:20] Rob Russo: I'm Rob Russo.

[0:21] Jamie DuMont: And we're your hosts.

[0:22] Rob Russo: We're also excited to be co-producers of DANCIN' on Broadway and thrilled, as always, to be back in the Roseville Cocktail Room at Civilian for another conversation with a member of the cast.

[0:32] Jamie DuMont: Yes, and before we get to that, I just have to say, we celebrated the opening night of DANCIN' last week, and it was a really, really special, special evening.

[0:41] Rob Russo: It was a special evening, both at the Music Box Theater and here.

[0:44] Jamie DuMont: This is a great place for a party.

[0:46] Rob Russo: It really is.

[0:46] Jamie DuMont: It really is.

[0:47] Rob Russo: And speaking of a party, uh today we're talking to cast member Yani Marin.

[0:52] Jamie DuMont: Uh Yani toured the world with Beyoncé before making her Broadway debut in the 2009 revival of West Side Story, where she understudied Anita and got to go on.

[1:01] Rob Russo: DANCIN' marks her fourth Broadway show after Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown.

[1:05] Jamie DuMont: I saw her in it.

[1:06] Rob Russo: And Wicked.

[1:07] Jamie DuMont: Yani has also worked extensively in film and TV.

[1:10] Rob Russo: And as she'll share with us, uh sort of came back to dancing with a G for DANCIN' with an apostrophe.

[1:16] Jamie DuMont: I can't wait to talk to her.

[1:17] Rob Russo: I am very intrigued and fascinated when I watch her on stage.

[1:22] Jamie DuMont: So I cannot wait to talk to her as a person.

[1:24] Rob Russo: Yes.

[1:24] Jamie DuMont: In real life.

[1:25] Rob Russo: Great.

[1:25] Jamie DuMont: Well, here's our conversation with Yani.

[1:37] Yani Marin: Thank you so much for joining us today.

[1:40] Jamie DuMont: My pleasure.

[1:41] Rob Russo: You are the first person we've spoken to since DANCIN' opened on Broadway a couple of nights ago. I have to ask, how are you feeling?

[1:48] Yani Marin: I'm feeling excited to finally just like be open and know what the show is and know that there shouldn't be any changes coming. And personally relieved because I honestly wasn't sure if I was gonna make it.

[2:09] Yani Marin: So it was a really, really big and life dancer affirming night for me.

[2:16] Rob Russo: So did I notice after the lights blacked out when after you've all done your wonderful curtain calls and the lights black out, did I notice a huge sigh from the company? Did everyone just kind of did all this energy come out of your body, you specifically? Like what, like in that moment, what was going through your mind?

[2:34] Yani Marin: It was like a sigh of just release and uh relief. Because, you know, uh leading up to it, we did have like a lot of people who were either injured or sick, and our understudies are freaking incredible, and I'm inspired by them daily. But to have the full original cast on opening night was just so magical, and that we were just like all together experiencing the response from the audience and our loved ones out there. There just is like nothing like it.

[3:07] Yani Marin: So we like that. That was a truly electric performance. I mean, we were very grateful and honored to be in the audience to witness it, but the energy from that stage and the joy, and you know, you could sense, I think that feeling of accomplishment and the feeling of like, yes, we got here, we got to opening night.

[3:24] Rob Russo: Yeah, absolutely.

[3:26] Yani Marin: And then even, you know, like Wayne's speech at the end, and you know, it was just everything was just so moving and yeah, really special.

[3:34] Jamie DuMont: And he's a crier.

[3:35] Yani Marin: He is a crier, and I am a crier, and if we look at each other, it's a wrap.

[3:43] Rob Russo: What got me was Corinne.

[3:45] Yani Marin: When Corinne lost it, I thought, and I'm not a crier by any stretch of the means. And I got very emotional because it because even if you didn't know their history at all, you could feel in that moment the connection and the love. And it was it was great.

[3:58] Jamie DuMont: A part of your dancing journey has actually been a different show that you did last fall that we had a really amazing opportunity to see, which was Signature Theater's gorgeous production of My Broken Language. Which I mean, I don't know, scheduling wise, but happened to fall between San Diego, the out-of-town tryout of DANCIN', and starting rehearsals for DANCIN' on Broadway. I was wondering if you could share with us a little bit about how that project came about and what it meant to you. Because we were absolutely floored by it. We loved it.

[4:27] Yani Marin: It was, I mean, it really came out of nowhere. The choreographer Ebony Williams reached out and said, hey, I'm working on this play. The original person who had been cast had a bunch of conflicts that like just weren't gonna be able to be worked out with this with the show schedule. Um, would you be interested? Um, you know, it's Giara Allegria, and like all of these people are in it, Daphne Rubin-Vega, and I was, you know, and I was like, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, what? What do I need to do? Sign me up, I'm there.

[4:52] Yani Marin: So it really just was super random. And then I had a Zoom with Giara. I just kind of expressed to her how I have this list of things I want to do, you know, like goals, dreams, uh desires, and she was in the top 10. Like they're not in like order of importance, but like that's it's got like 200 things on it, this list. So it means when she's on the top, that means I've been wanting to do this for a long time.

[5:24] Yani Marin: It was to do a straight play, was up there to do a play at Signature Theater was up there on in the top 10 and to work with Giara Allegria. So, you know, I told her this, and I just felt like it would just be you know such an honor to be part of the premiere of her show, My Broken Language, based on her memoir. And yeah, and then I was like in the room like three days later. It was the most spiritual and deep experience I think that I've ever had with these five, you know, we were just five women um telling Kiara's story, and I was so blessed to be able to also tell it through movement. It just felt like really, really uh special.

[6:06] Yani Marin: And and I got to explore being an actor on stage for the first time, and like kind of, I guess, like holding my own with like all of these incredibly talented and amazing women.

[6:19] Rob Russo: Well, we sat down in the theater and we went, wait a second, we know her. She's in DANCIN'. Oh my gosh. It was like such a beautiful moment of like seeing you in a different, you know, realm, right? Because obviously we've seen you on stage before, but yeah, you know, to see it so recently, right? Like right after DANCIN' to see you on stage in New York, it's like, wait a minute, wow. We were there for the play, the playwright, and the director, and then we got a double bonus.

[6:41] Yani Marin: Yes, but I didn't know Daphne Rubin-Vega was in it either. I sort of went in blind-ish, and what a delight.

[6:47] Yani Marin: Yeah, it just felt right. It felt, you know, it's funny. We were chatting before we started recording about how tight the company of DANCIN' is, and we'll get into that in a little bit, but I got a sense from My Broken Language that that was a tight group of you five were very bonded through that experience.

[7:05] Yani Marin: Our very first day of rehearsal, we did like an actual uh spiritual cleansing, which is part of the Yoruba religion that Kiara, you know, opened up uh opened up to us if we were wanting to partake, and that was on the very first day of rehearsal at the end of the day. I think that that was the moment that just kind of like locked us in, and we just became this like one entity.

[7:33] Rob Russo: That's an unusual end of the first day of rehearsal, correct?

[7:37] Yani Marin: It is very unusual.

[7:39] Yani Marin: Yeah, I mean, many things were unusual about the creation and the process of My Broken Language. We had like an altar with our ancestors' pictures up there. We would light a candle at the start of every rehearsal and then light turn it off at the end. It was just so beautiful. I mean, I like I said, I've I've never experienced a space like that. Actually, now thinking about it, it's it's similar to the space that like Kermin and Wayne have created and have cultivated, but it's such a safe space to be yourself and bring in all of it, you know, the good, the bad, the ugly, the like let's just like use all of it. But that was the first time that it was just like so personal and so like deep, like soul work.

[8:26] Jamie DuMont: Well, something we've been learning as nascent producers is how essential it is for that trust to be established between everyone who's working on a theater project. And I'm sure it's the same in different realms, but there's something about the theater and imagine dance, especially, yeah, where you have to bring your total self to it. It's your body's your instrument, and you're all, you know, in this, it's like being a member of a sports team, I imagine, you know.

[8:52] Yani Marin: Yeah, you have to have, you have to trust each other, you have to really establish that bond. Otherwise, it's not gonna work.

[8:57] Rob Russo: No.

[8:57] Yani Marin: Right?

[8:58] Rob Russo: Yeah, no, we like we need each other.

[9:00] Yani Marin: Yeah.

[9:01] Yani Marin: And we need each other to be present and vulnerable and loving and supportive. And you know, I I've been saying this, I feel like all weekend that we're just such fans of each other, not just as artists, but as humans. And I think that Wayne and Kern just did like such a beautiful job of picking these humans.

[9:23] Rob Russo: Um, and that's why it works so beautifully on stage.

[9:26] Yani Marin: Yeah, that's the secret sauce, right?

[9:28] Rob Russo: Yeah.

[9:28] Yani Marin: It's the people.

[9:29] Rob Russo: Yeah, for sure.

[9:30] Yani Marin: And you say that at the end of the show, right? It's the people you fall in love with on a show.

[9:35] Rob Russo: Yep.

[9:36] Yani Marin: So you're in love, basically. That's what you're saying.

[9:37] Yani Marin: I'm in love with everyone.

[9:40] Rob Russo: So Bob was right.

[9:41] Yani Marin: He was right, and he was right.

[9:42] Rob Russo: He was right.

[9:43] Yani Marin: Exactly.

[9:44] Rob Russo: Well, taking a step back, I'm wondering if you could tell us a little bit about uh where you're from and your childhood and and how you started dancing and when you started dancing.

[9:52] Yani Marin: Yeah, um, so I was born in Jersey City, New Jersey, and I started dancing when I was four years old at the first Latina-owned dance studio in New Jersey.

[10:04] Yani Marin: Wow.

[10:04] Yani Marin: Called One Das Dance Studio. Um, she is from Cuba. My parents are both Cuban. They came from Cuba in 1980. And yeah, I started dancing, like I said, when I was four, from there. I had the opportunity to audition for the School of American Ballet when I was eight years old.

[10:25] Yani Marin: And I was chosen. I was doing like both programs uh simultaneously and performing with the New York City Ballet since I was nine years old. Um, so that was like my first professional gig where I was like getting paid and like doing shows.

[10:26] Rob Russo: You were nine.

[10:26] Yani Marin: I was nine.

[10:42] Rob Russo: What are you doing at nine years old with the New York City Ballet? Like what's what's your job like?

[10:47] Yani Marin: Yeah, I I was doing the Nutcracker. I also did the ballet Coppélia. I did Harlequinade. I mean, we're like in the sh like in these ballets, working, yeah, rehearsing, like showing up for your half hour, like doing your makeup, doing your hair. All the same thing that I'm things that I'm doing now.

[11:05] Rob Russo: Was it when you're that young and you're working like that? Was it did it feel like work or did you feel like it was play?

[11:13] Yani Marin: Not to diminish how hard ballet is. That's not at all what I mean. I think both. At a very early age, I was aware of the fact that this is like a profession, and now I'm doing it and I'm a working dancer. Like, you know, as like a five-year-old, like my all of my friends would always say, like, oh, you just were so much more like aware, hyper aware than like most five-year-olds.

[11:39] Yani Marin: Um, and I think, you know, my parents were business owners, and and all I saw was like work, work, work, work, work, and that kind of was just like instilled in me. So I knew that like I had a job. So I would go to school all day, then I would go to the dance studio for my regular classes and prep for competition, and then I would go, my mom would drive me into the city to be performing at the Lincoln Center with the New York City Ballet.

[12:06] Rob Russo: That's crazy.

[12:08] Yani Marin: And then do it all again the next day.

[12:10] Rob Russo: And you continue doing that through your teenage years?

[12:10] Yani Marin: So I did that up until I was like 12. Um, then my parents decided uh to move to Miami for the weather and just like, you know, they were expanding their business. And I kind of was in this phase of like uh rebellion where I was like, well, I didn't want to leave and I'm not gonna dance anymore because there's no way that like dance is gonna be great here and like you know um so I I didn't really dance for a while, but I had a cousin who had been dancing, you know, since she was a little girl too.

[12:46] Yani Marin: So then I kind of started going to that dance studio, and then once I got to high school, um there was um a dance team and there was like dance as an elective. So it did start coming back into my life, and I one of my mentors who is still a part of my life, huge part of my life, um, Miss Jerry Caruncho, uh, was the head of the dance program and still is. And she kind of uh yeah, like brought I keep saying like dance always brings joy back into my life, and and that was probably like the first time that I realized that.

[13:23] Yani Marin: Like I don't know if I can survive without it.

[13:25] Rob Russo: So in a way that that rebellion was kind of helpful because you realized once you weren't doing it that wait a second. I need I need this.

[13:31] Yani Marin: Yeah, I need it.

[13:32] Rob Russo: Yeah, yeah.

[13:33] Yani Marin: And then of course you got back to New York for college, right?

[13:35] Yani Marin: Yes. So then I yeah, I I wasn't like a huge fan of Miami just because it was so different. And and again, I think it was just like this thing. I was just angry at my parents. And my dream school was was always NYU. I don't know like where that came from, but like I think I heard it once from like someone that I looked up to and I was like, that's where I want to go. And and when I went to NYU, it was the first time that I like was doing modern and I fell in love with contemporary um dance and like concert dance.

[14:10] Yani Marin: And that really was kind of like what I uh was like, oh wow, like I I wanted to do all these things, you know, like Broadway and like dance for an artist. And but like I really thought that like concert dance was gonna be my thing.

[14:20] Jamie DuMont: Yeah, yeah.

[14:25] Yani Marin: Like when I left there. I was like, oh no, I'm gonna dance with like Larry Kegwin, and yeah. Funny how life has different plans for us most of the time.

[14:34] Rob Russo: Right.

[14:35] Yani Marin: Well, so as a professional dancer, taking in addition to New York City Ballet at a very young age, as we just discussed, you've had a wide range of jobs. You went on Beyoncé's World Tour in 2007. You've done Broadway gigs like Wicked, and you've also and West Side Story. Can't forget West Side Story and Radio City.

[14:59] Rob Russo: Yeah.

[15:00] Yani Marin: So I'm curious, for example, Beyoncé's World Tour. How does that compare or prepare or how is that different to doing eight shows a week on Broadway?

[15:12] Yani Marin: Oof. Or 17 at Radio City. Um it's not that different, especially I think with an artist like Beyoncé whose work ethic is like insane. Like she loves to rehearse. So, you know, we're like over-prepared and over-rehearsed, and that's why her things look the way they do.

[15:32] Rob Russo: Are you rehearsing before every show?

[15:34] Yani Marin: I mean, not so much, I guess when once we were already on the road, um, unless she wanted to change something, then we were not rehearsing as much. But I just remember like, like you know, being like, there's no way that we're gonna be in like heels for 16 hours without a break. And we were because she does not take her shoes off, she does not take a break. I'm like, do you drink water? Do you need to use the restaurant? No, okay. Superhuman. That's why she is who she is.

[16:02] Rob Russo: I was gonna say though, that sounds a little like leading by example, right?

[16:07] Yani Marin: Yes, like if I'm gonna do it, we're all gonna do it, kind of thing. Absolutely. Yeah, and I mean, one of I mean, I I loved every second of that, and I was so young and it was amazing, and I was doing a lot of things I probably shouldn't have been doing, but um dance-wise. No, I mean like on the road, like on the road, you know, like this rock star life of like not just drinking all night and like sleeping all day, just you're young, yeah. Much younger.

[16:36] Rob Russo: Um, but I also got to meet my wife on that tour, so I think that was the best part of it.

[16:41] Jamie DuMont: Yeah, yeah. Well, life has a way, right? All these things, you know, sort of coming together and working out.

[16:46] Yani Marin: Sure. Well, when we spoke to Manny, he mentioned that you know, several folks had come out of their quote unquote dance retirement to to be a part of DANCIN’. Yeah, and I know before we started recording, you mentioned that you know your last Broadway opening was 13 years ago with Women on the Verge.

[17:03] Rob Russo: Women on the course you did Wicked in between, but it's been a while since you've been on Broadway, it's been about seven years, right?

[17:08] Yani Marin: Yeah, so was that true for you? Did you sort of step back into this after I know you're doing a lot of TV work for a number of years?

[17:15] Yani Marin: Yeah, um, yeah, I I don't think I was like, oh, I don't want to do Broadway anymore. I it was more of like I don't want to just be seen as a dancer anymore. Um, and also my body, I mean, I I started at a very young age, uh professionally, so my body was kind of starting to hint at me that like, hey girl, like maybe we should do something else. Um yeah, I decided to like leave the business or the world of dance um and like you mentioned explore more of like TV and and really focus on my acting the so that happened in 2013 was like when I officially was like okay cool like this is it did you go to LA?

[17:37] Yani Marin: I did yeah I moved to LA because it was really hard to do that transition here you know like they put you in this box and and it's really hard to get out of so I felt like the only way was to just not be here and to say no to all the calls that were coming like hey we have this audition for this ensemble and I'm like no like no that's just the way that I I felt I needed to do it also my girlfriend fiancé at the time I can't remember what year that happened but was living in LA and we had been doing long distance for five years so it just felt like the right time you know to like you know figure out like what's going on here.

[18:36] Yani Marin: I missed New York a lot so we ended up coming back but this for this show I tried to like pass on it a million times just because I was like there's no like there's no way I'm I'm not in shape. I I I'm not gonna be able to do what what is required of this masterpiece. So I just tried to like get out of it for a really long time until like the very last call that they had and it was coming out of the pandemic. I don't know is it really over but and I was like, you know what I've been really depressed and I think it would really cheer me up to like see my friends in person and give like real hugs and just go and you know be a fool and like you you know you're gonna look crazy like but I knew it was gonna be a safe space to just have fun and dance and like I really did not put any pressure on myself at all and really it was just a beautiful day to like just see all of my friends on.

[19:41] Rob Russo: I was just gonna ask if you walked in and knew all the faces in the room.

[19:44] Yani Marin: Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. I was like crying. Like all my like all my West Side girls and like you know, like everyone Wicked and like everyone was there, and it was just, you know, like we all like wanted it, but I think what we really wanted was just to be in a room again, like moving together to live music, to watch Corinne demonstrate the movement because she's so fierce.

[20:10] Jamie DuMont: Well, there's a great lesson there, I think, for folks who are in the business, which is like, you know, I would imagine I've never been in the position of auditioning or going through that process, but I can imagine that the desire or the pressure can sometimes get in the way of the work.

[20:24] Yani Marin: Yeah.

[20:24] Jamie DuMont: Right. But what you're describing sounds like a place of serenity where you just sort of succumbed to the moment and whatever's gonna happen is gonna happen.

[20:32] Yani Marin: Yeah. And then that's when you book the job.

[20:33] Jamie DuMont: Yeah.

[20:34] Yani Marin: Right. Yeah. And to be honest, like I feel like that that is probably has always been my energy going in as you know, like a dancer or like for an ensemble track. I think for West Side, it was like the same, you know, like I just loved the movement so much. And I was like, I'm not, you know, the pressure of like booking the job. Like, I wasn't I didn't walk in with that. I'm the person in the room at the audition who's like screaming for everyone. Like, work, bitch. Like, you've you've sorry, I mean, I I don't know. Or express it. We're expressive. Like, you know, like you fucking killed it. You know, because I'm like, if I don't get it, like I want someone who's talented to get it. You know what I mean?

[21:19] Yani Marin: Like, and I support all of the talented people in the room. And yeah, like some people are like, oh my God, like, you know, she's screaming. Like, are we allowed to do that? I'm like, I don't, I don't know what's allowed, but that's that's how I express, you know, my love and my joy for for dance and and for the people in the room who I'm maybe not gonna get to experience this with again.

[21:41] Rob Russo: So we we've heard that from several dancers, which is like this business is hard enough. Yeah, can't we just support each other?

[21:46] Yani Marin: Right, and like cheer for each other.

[21:49] Rob Russo: Absolutely. And again, and then that's the energy that gets rewarded in the end, right? You know, I mean, you got to play Anita.

[21:55] Yani Marin: I did in West Side Story on Broadway.

[21:57] Rob Russo: In the same that was crazy because I I did end up going into the open call for that. Um that was right after the Beyoncé um gig, and I moved back to New York. Um and I was like, okay, I'm gonna do Broadway now. And my agents were like, no, you're not. Like, you need to train, like you've been on this commercial gig, you need to get into vocal lessons, you need to take class, you you need to do all these things. And I'm like, I've been doing all these things my whole life.

[22:26] Yani Marin: So if you're not gonna get me an appointment, then I'll just go to the open call. I mean, look at me, I'm perfect for the show. I went to the open call, and Joey McNeely was literally, I will never forget his words. He was like, Where have you been? And I was like, Oh, well, you know, I'm living in Jersey, and he's like, No, no, no, like how come I've never seen you? And I'm like, oh, well, I don't do Broadway. Like, you know. Um, and then I booked the ensemble from that open call, um, my my track, which a little side story, or um Arthur Lawrence ended up naming like my character Alicia. That's the name of Alicia Alonso, who was like O Primo Ballerina from Cuba. So I was just like really moved when he was like, oh, we were friends back in the day.

I'm like, what? Um, so yeah, it was amazing. And then I booked the um the ensemble track, and then the callback was basically to go in for Anita, and I was like, what is happening? What is life? I didn't even have a book. Like I sang like an Alicia Keys song. Um it was wild.

[23:31] Yani Marin: It was wild, but I knew that the creative team was on my side, and they just like really, I could tell that they like wanted me to, you know, to not just to perform, but to believe that I could do it. Um, and after the first like two times that I had gone on, Arthur like pulled me over and he was like, I just want to let you know that everyone knows you're Anita. You just need to know it. And I was like, oh, okay. Like, I can't be Karen. Like, I could never be Karen Olivo. So I have to find Anita in Yani and be Yani as Anita and believe that she is that. You know, like he really just like opened up all of these like new dream doors inside.

[24:23] Jamie DuMont: Well, thinking of that that list you described at the top of our conversation, I imagine Jerome Robbins was probably somewhere on that list and Bob Fosse.

[24:32] Yani Marin: Yeah.

[24:32] Jamie DuMont: Right. So now you're doing, you know, you've had the amazing experience of stepping into that iconic choreography from West Side Story, which, like, come on, what is more iconic? Perhaps the only thing that is is Bob Fosse, right? The world of Bob Fosse. So one of the great pleasures of the show is that every member of this principal cast gets moments where they shine, where they are spotlighted, where they have a solo or a moment where they pop. You have a lot of great moments that we'd love to tick through a couple of them to see, you know, just get some insight and your reflection on some of those.

[25:06] Yani Marin: So the biggest one for me is I gotcha, which happens during Big City Mime, and it's just this explosive moment. How did that come about in the room? You know, sort of who does what? And can you share with us a little bit about how you step into that choreography?

[25:22] Yani Marin: So the way it came about prior to us coming into the room, I think they had already kind of decided like who was gonna do what feature. So there was never like, you know, that thing in the room where it's like, oh, we're gonna teach it to four people, and then see, like, oh, I appreciate so much that they didn't do that. Because I don't know if we would all be friends. You know what I mean? Like, it's just a different thing. So once we like little by little started kind of discovering our features, they just felt so appropriate for each person, right? Um, and to be honest, like I'm I'm very embarrassed to say this, but I was not familiar with I gotcha. Yeah, so I had to go back and like watch Liza with a Z. And like I wanted to see her version of it.

Um it's funny because the older I get, like two things are happening. Like the confidence is growing, but also the doubt and the fear is like simultaneously growing, and it like one presents itself stronger and different at different times.

[26:34] Yani Marin: And I didn't want to get in my head too much about like what it's supposed to be, because I can't be any of these people, you know, like I said before. Like there's no way that I can be Karen Olivo, and like, you know, I wasn't gonna be my gotcha, was not gonna be anything like Liza's because she's Liza, you know what I mean? So I think it was more about like feeling confident that I know the movement that was taught to me and the intention and the motivation behind why I go into it in in that larger piece of big city mime and connecting to like the specificity of of you know, like the shoulders and the hips and like how subtle everything is and then how explosive it is. And every night I'm like, how did she also sing this?

Because I'm like, I think I'm on stage for like I don't know, 35 seconds, and I'm like, you know. So um, I'm just honored that I get to be the one to have that little slice in there, and hopefully I'm making it my own, but still, you know, the people who are familiar with the piece see it and that it's there and that it's not lacking, and it's just an honor.

[27:57] Yani Marin: It's not lacking at all. It's all there.

[28:01] Jamie DuMont: It's great. So I'm gonna jump around a little bit because now I have to talk about the female star spot, right? Which comes right after "Sing Sing." We saw it in San Diego, and it's very different in New York now than it was in San Diego. And I'm just curious, just to set it up a little bit, it's five of you.

[28:19] Yani Marin: Um, it is five of us now, yes.

[28:21] Jamie DuMont: Five of us, but in San Diego was it four?

[28:23] Yani Marin: It was four of us, and Eo came in as like the straight man character, you know, like, yeah.

[28:28] Jamie DuMont: Great. So it's five of you on stools right after you all dance the marathon that is "Sing Sing," which we can also talk about in a second. How did it evolve? How did it get to where it is now? Talk to us a little bit about the female star spot.

[28:47] Yani Marin: Yeah, I think um the five of us have been through so much with this number um to land where we finally have landed, and it seems like the audience is enjoying it, and you know, we still kind of go backstage sometimes and are like, what are we doing? Like, you know?

[29:06] Jamie DuMont: Well, that's what you're doing on stage too.

[29:09] Yani Marin: So also for anyone that hasn't seen the show yet, you're singing the Dolly Parton song, "Here You Come Again."

[29:17] Jamie DuMont: And it's one of the few moments in the show where there's almost no choreography, right? I mean, you do have a little bit, there's a little bit of um, every stoolography, yes.

[29:27] Yani Marin: That's upsetting and also perfectly descriptive. Um, so that's what it is, right? You're basically meant to sit on stools and sing a song and it kind of gets away from it like a cabaret style.

[29:40] Jamie DuMont: Correct. Um, and then we are interrupted by one of the characters who's like, why are we singing this song? And then like everyone kind of has their moment of realization of like, oh wow, but these words are like not really hitting with me anymore. Like, why are we singing this song?

[29:56] Yani Marin: And I think this version, we do get to bring a lot more of ourselves into it, which kind of makes it more fresh and like updated, I guess. If you don't know the lyrics, they are a little bit um problematic by all standards.

[30:16] Jamie DuMont: Yeah.

[30:16] Yani Marin: Um, even though it's Dolly Parton, which is what I was gonna say. I love that your character is like, "Dolly Queen, I love you."

[30:21] Jamie DuMont: I love you, but yeah, and you know what? Like, what we really wanted, we didn't want to trash the song because we do know that Dolly is a very smart woman, and she maybe her, you know, reasoning and meaning for the song is not the way that it can easily be interpreted, right?

[30:43] Yani Marin: Right, it has to be layered. So we didn't feel like trashing the song was the right way to go. And I think it's more like, oh, you know, this song is fine and we've been doing it for years, but like, can't we just do a different song? Like, you know, like, why aren't we doing something from now? Or like, you know, so I think we kind of uh are able to kind of like let that go. And then the version that we did in San Diego was more about like the fact that we were all dating the same man, and we kind of discovered that at the very end of the song.

[31:17] Jamie DuMont: What works now is what you said when we first started this conversation, which is that all five of you get to be yourselves for a moment. It's nice to be able to see you five and have a personal moment with you as an audience member, which is why I think everyone's connecting with it so much more.

[31:33] Yani Marin: Yeah, our responses are definitely, they just feel more grounded and like authenticity, like how Yani would actually react to something that she wasn't okay with, you know, and like Ronnie's next to me, and he's like, "Oh girl, I love this number. Like, just shut up right now." You know, and I'm like, and that's like Ronnie, like, you know, he's just like so laid back and cool.

[31:50] Jamie DuMont: Well, and it is, I mean, I have to say, from an audience perspective, it really is landing, and it's a really fun moment. In fact, and it's shorter too. Sorry, I didn't cut you off.

[31:56] Yani Marin: So that's good.

[31:58] Jamie DuMont: Yeah. Well, I I I just sent a friend of mine from Kentucky and her son to come see the show. And I always ask everyone, what's your favorite number? What's your favorite performer? You know, just this little party trick. And this, I he's gotta be what, eight or nine years old. His favorite moment in the whole show was "Here You Come Again."

[32:14] Yani Marin: Really?

[32:14] Jamie DuMont: Yeah, he loved it. He loved the interruptions, he thought it was funny, he thought it was smart, you know, the whole thing.

[32:19] Yani Marin: Yeah, so you've got a fan in continuous.

[32:21] Jamie DuMont: I love that. Thank you, Ben. Well, we can't talk to you without talking about "Dancing Man," because you're at the tip of the spear of that central trio, and then throughout the entire number, and it's the first b-roll that was released from the show. It's arguably how the show got its title. It's a very important moment that closes act one. And I think if you've seen the footage, you know that there is this, I don't even know what you call it. What's the sort of sort of technical term for the hand slapping that you've got to do it?

[32:48] Yani Marin: Yeah, there you go. Hand slapping.

[32:49] Jamie DuMont: Yeah, the hand slapping section that you lead. Could you share with us A, what it was like to learn that, and B, what it's like to perform it every night?

[33:03] Yani Marin: Yeah. You know what? It was challenging to learn. Yeah, but I think that having to perform it is more challenging. Every day I go through like a mini panic attack right before. And then when it's over, I'm just like, thank you, Jesus. Um, because it feels even though we're all, it is one of my favorite moments in the show for myself and my own track, and I get very emotional on some nights if I, you know, like we're saying the words and they all mean something different to each one of us. But like sometimes if I'm like really listening, I'm like, wow, this is deep. And it's very um lonely to be the one to start it because you know that you could potentially fuck it all up, and no one can save you. It's scary, and then at this when it's over and we're all together and it magically just like happens, and the audience is like, wow! I'm like, okay, that was worth it, you know.

[34:10] Yani Marin: Um, but Wayne, you know, most times comes up to me and he's like, you know, because I did that part, and I know it's lonely because you're up there and it's you start the whole thing, you have to set up the timing and the rhythm, and every night is different. Um, and you have to be so like laser focused. There's so much going on on stage and with, you know, with the band, and sometimes if there's like a cough, like that can kind of interrupt the rhythm. So it's, it's yeah, challenging but rewarding.

[34:45] Jamie DuMont: And even before that moment, right, where the music goes out, and you're, you know, you start this final round of it, there's two other rounds that happen before that, right?

[34:54] Yani Marin: Right.

[34:54] Jamie DuMont: And I can't remember if it's the first round or the second round, there's I'm getting more into like watching everyone in the middle in that middle cluster because there's this really complicated rhythm that's happening where you're all slapping different parts of your body at different times.

[35:09] Yani Marin: Yeah, it's a counter counterparts.

[35:11] Jamie DuMont: And it feels like it has not evolved, but some nights it's different. And I don't know if that's just me hearing it or if it's intentional or no.

[35:22] Yani Marin: Okay, all right. No, maybe it's just maybe the slaps hit differently at different times. You know, it can have a different uh energy or emphasis.

[35:29] Jamie DuMont: Yeah.

[35:30] Yani Marin: Maybe that's a better way of putting it. It's always the same choreography, obviously.

[35:33] Jamie DuMont: Yeah.

[35:34] Yani Marin: But it can feel different different nights, which is maybe what you're talking about. And the sound, the sound varies depending on like, you know, I always try to hit my thigh in the same spot, but like that's it's just too hard, right?

[35:46] Jamie DuMont: Yeah.

[35:47] Yani Marin: And the sound varies, like depending if you're a little too low, closer to your knee, it's gonna sound different than if you're like higher up. So that can also be distracting because you're gonna hear things differently, and the people like I can hear all of them because they're behind me. So yeah, like depending on where they decided to do their hit that day, like might be a little different. And like I said, it's really like we're having at least I'm having a good time, and I try to look, I have a moment where I make eye contact with each one of them before we do like the big section. But yeah, the focus is real.

[36:24] Jamie DuMont: Oh yeah, and you can feel it in the audience, right? Well, y'all were all laser focused on you, and you can feel that energy. It's like, what are they gonna do?

[36:32] Yani Marin: Yeah, I guess I'm just I'm really struck by the fact, based on what you just said about making eye contact with everybody, that every dancer has a moment where they're leading the company, it feels like. Everyone has that moment where I'm, I don't want to say I'm in charge, but I just did. But like where I'm it's, it's my, you're all I'm here and I'm gonna start it, or I'm here and I'm gonna take us to the next place.

[37:01] Yani Marin: Yes, great. Thank you. This is why Rob is around. And that has to be fantastic to be able to share that with everybody, not just the moment that you're holding the baton, but knowing that everybody gets that moment too in the show.

[37:17] Jamie DuMont: And we're all willing to follow because we trust, we trust in the work and we trust in the people. They're not gonna lead us astray, you know?

[37:25] Yani Marin: And I mean, I hope that's how they feel about "Dancing Man" when I'm leading, but that's how I feel.

[37:30] Jamie DuMont: Well, we're talking to all of them, so we're gonna find out.

[37:32] Yani Marin: Yeah, well, but I think so. I just trust, you know, like there are some shows where, you know, like when people do have moments where they get to have a feature or to shine in a way, you know, like the energy is a little like chaotic, and like sometimes they do more than is needed, or and it's hard to trust someone like that, right? But here, you know, everyone knows that even though it is my moment, I can't do this moment without you. So we're in this together. Yes, maybe I'm in the center and I'm starting it and I'm leading you, but like I cannot do it without Jacob and Tony next to me because when I hear them join my class, I know that I'm not alone. And then it starts growing and it starts growing, and the release is so fulfilling that I can't do that by myself. Never.

[38:30] Jamie DuMont: Well, there's so many other moments we could talk about, but I know we've kept you for so long. Um, is there any other moment that that you feel like do you do you have a favorite moment that you do or that that someone else does in the show?

[38:41] Yani Marin: Oh god, so many. Um, I'm just gonna go with my own track. I I do feel really honored that I get to close out both acts. Um, I think it's it's really special and for the journey that I've created for myself in the show, it feels like I have this beautiful arc and that I get to end with Bob's words, but feel them so truthfully. I think my monologue at the end is what is different every single night, you know, like the show is different because of the audience and like what we're each bringing in every day personally and artistically and all of that, but like the monologue is the moment that really feels really different every night for me. I'm just like enjoying discovering the different things and how to have enough of myself in there without letting it like take over, because I do tend to be a little uh overly emotional and sensitive. So, you know, containing that, um, but still telling the truth.

[39:51] Jamie DuMont: Yeah, I hope that's working.

[39:54] Yani Marin: Well, it's an incredibly poignant way to end the show.

[39:57] Jamie DuMont: Yeah, and and I think we all feel it, you know. We feel you speaking those words because they're Bob's words, but they're now your words.

[40:04] Yani Marin: Yeah.

[40:05] Jamie DuMont: Right. And and the idea behind it all, right? That it's worth it.

[40:10] Yani Marin: Yeah, it's worth it. And I love that when he talks about, you know, you mentioned like the end, it's about the people, and he says the actors. Right. He doesn't say the dancers. And that just like I just feel so seen.

[40:26] Jamie DuMont: And that's why I'm back.

[40:28] Yani Marin: Yeah.

[40:29] Jamie DuMont: Yeah. Well, we're so glad that you're back eight times a week at the Music Box Theater. Thank you so much for chatting with us, for sharing your story, your remarkable career, and um the insights that you have, you know, to the work and um not just the work, but also how to live uh an intentional, vulnerable life where you're manifesting things that you want and you're doing them, which is inspiring. Right? Like dream, dream on dreams. Like just yeah.

[40:34] Yani Marin: Yeah. Amazing.

[40:34] Yani Marin: Thank you.

[41:05] Yani Marin: Thank you for having me.

[41:19] Jamie DuMont: Bob Fosse's "Dancing" is now on Broadway at the Music Box Theater. For tickets and more information, visit dancingbway.com. "Dancing 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. Special thanks to Civilian for hosting us and to our audio engineer, Kyle Moore. 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. 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.