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If anyone deserves to be called a “born entertainer,” it’s Justin Timberlake. What hasn’t he done? From his early days singing and dancing with The Mickey Mouse Club and ’NSYNC, to hosting SNL five times, to his Grammy-winning solo career and big-screen roles—he’s worked with everyone from Jay Z to the Coen brothers—the guy’s a natural. Plus, he can move. “I’ve told him that if his voice ever got taken away, he could be a professional dancer for sure,” his longtime choreographer, Marty Kudelka, said yesterday from Las Vegas, where he was fine-tuning the Jacksons’ new Planet Hollywood show (which debuts today).
A Texas native, Kudelka credits his big break to a surprise phone call from another Jackson—Janet—less than a year after landing in L.A. to pursue choreography; he cut his teeth on her 2001 video “Doesn’t Really Matter,” and went on to work with P!nk, Mariah Carey, and Jennifer Lopez, among others. But his most fruitful collaboration, spanning a dozen years and counting, has been with Timberlake. Along with awards show performances and six world tours, Kudelka is the man behind the grooves in “Rock Your Body” (2003) and last year’s David Fincher–directed “Suit & Tie.”
This week, Timberlake brings his 20/20 Experience World Tour (codirected with Kudelka, among others) to New York with a two-night run at Madison Square Garden, while also heading to 30 Rock on Friday as a guest on Jimmy Fallon’s new Tonight Show. (Last night’s MSG performance was postponed due to health reasons; we’re rooting for Timberlake tonight and tomorrow.) We spoke to the choreographer about working with an acclaimed film director, why he first got into dance, and Timberlake’s jaw-dropping skills.
I hear you’re in Vegas for the latest Jacksons show. How is it going?
This is my second time working with them, which is still surreal and amazing. I feel like, with their catalog of music, they could literally just come out, sit on the stage, and sing for two hours and everyone would be excited. They have all these routines that they’ve done for 50 years that people want to see, so we just had to make minor changes. They let us do our thing on some of the songs that didn’t have old-school choreography.
What first triggered your interest in dance?
In ’84, the movie Breakin’ came out. That’s what interested me at first, people spinning on their heads. I would start trying to do it, and my mom would say no—so of course, I wanted to do it more.
You’ve been working with Timberlake for quite a while. How did you meet?
I was still on and off with Janet, and I got a phone call in my hotel room one day. I thought it was just one of the dancers messing with me. They’re like, “Hey, this is ’NSYNC’s tour manager, and Justin wants to get on the phone with you,” and I hung up! Our world is so small, he got in touch with somebody from our camp. I did a video for [’NSYNC], and the first tour that I codirected ended up being their last. About a month later, Justin called and said, “Hey, man, I think I’m going to do a solo record, and I want you to be a part of it.” He hadn’t recorded one single song yet, and I was in.
What’s it like in the studio with him?
He is—and I mean this—one of the most talented people I’ve ever met. He’s really a perfectionist. He makes everyone better, from the band to the dancers to the choreography. We all have to step our game up.
How did you approach the choreography for “Suit & Tie”?
It starts with the music. It’s very Rat Pack–ish. But, you know, I’m not going to have them break-dance with Tom Ford suits on; it doesn’t match musically or style-wise. It’s very nonchalant, almost new-school jazzy.
What was it like to work with David Fincher?
It’s unbelievable that we got to work with him on a music video—that doesn’t happen! The one thing I loved is that he has [everything] in his head already—there’s no shot list, there’s no storyboard. But when you see it all come together, it makes sense why he is who he is.
Did you have a role in the Tonight Show performance for Friday?
[Justin] will probably only do two songs that he can just get up with his band and do—not a lot of heavy choreography. He could freestyle around, too, if need be. Those two guys, get them in a room together and they’re the funniest people on earth.
The post Talking with Justin Timberlake’s Longtime Choreographer Marty Kudelka appeared first on Vogue.