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"His innate musicality ... and off-beat sense of humour make Hawley's work irrestistable to watch, and the detail in the movement give it a depth often found lacking in commercial dance."
[Dance Australia Magazine]

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"... it was the gutsy, brazen choreography and vibrant dance routines by Keith Hawley that made the show buzz."
[Herald Sun on Sweet Charity]

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"You would expect 'Sweet Charity' to have some pretty snappy dancing and you wouldn't be wrong. Keith Hawley has adapted Fosse's work beautifuly: expressive and never extraneous."
[The Sunday Age]

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"... Sweet Charity is a bubbly feel-good production with more zip, more zest ... more energy than a US space rocket ... 'with' some of the slinkiest hip-swivelling choreography you're ever likely to see on stage!
[Herald Sun]

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Frankly Fabosaurus!
He's different, quirky and irresistable: choreographer Keith Hawley.

Keith Hawley does not appear the archetypal dancer/choreographer. Tall, broad shouldered, and with a cheeky grin, he has been known to take rehearsals in board shorts, baggy t-shirt and runners, encouraging the dancers with cried of "Wow! That's fabosaurus!" But his casual demeanour belies an inner drive and determination that has seen him succeed in an industry that destroys more ambitions than in nurtures.

A veteran of commercial dance in all mediums as a dancer and choreographer/director, his curriculum vitae is rich with diversity. Highlights such as West Side Story [1983], Black & White Minstrels [1984], La Cage Aux Folles [1985], Danny La Rue Show [1986], Jackie Love - International Tour [1987/88 and 89], The Mikado [1995], Sweet Charity [1999] and Frank, the Sinatra Story in Song [1997/98 and 2001/03] pepper a career in which Hawley has rarely been without work.

Hawley is still in love with 'the business'. Eager to extend his skills into new directions, he has developed a profidic secondary career as a photographer, and recently completed the publicity headshots for The Lion King. In great demand now as a teacher as well as a performer and choreographer, in September 2005 he accepted a year-long contract as lecturer in music theatre at the Hong Kong Academy of the Performing Arts.

Brisbane born, Hawley fell into dancing at the age of eight when a dance teacher friend of his mother's asked if he would like to join tap classes. "I thought jazz was 'poofy'," remembers Hawley, "and I wouldn't do ballet, 'cause I wouldn't wear tights." Peversely it was his sister who learned cricket, Hawley being the only dancer in a family of five. Two years later he moved to Sandra Breen's dance school. "I was the only boy, and it was pretty confronting, but she let me dance in my board shorts. I didn't have to put on any dance gear, so I thought that was cool."

Hawley ignored the taunt of fellow school mates, largely because he was having such a good time at dance class. "Although Miss Breen was very strict, it wasn't deadly serious. All the girls had the best sense of humour - Kelley Abbey, Sue-Ellen Chester, Lisa O'Dea - so we had a blast!"

At 18, Hawley was working for T&G Insurance as a property management assistant when Breen suggested he audition for West Side Story. "So I did it in sneakers and shorts - no song, no music. I had not much idea of what was going on," he laughs, "but two weeks later I was a professional dancer in Sydney. They had the best dancers in the show - Lisa O'Dea, Jane Beckett - an amazing company. Therefore I wanted to be as good. I'd also never really seen myself dance in front of a mirror, so that was a totally new experience. And partner work - Sandra Gaha was my partner - that was absolutely fantastic. I thought, 'Wow this is great!' I loved it and took it really seriously. I couldn't even touch my toes when I started, but all of a sudden I was 'going for gold'. I found I could turn and became really flexible."

After continuous work for six years, Hawley took a sabbatical, returning to Brisbane. "I had taken off in a direction that I had never planned, and I was finding it a bit overwhelming." He worked occasionally - as dance captain for Aquacade at Expo '88 - while teaching two classes a week at Metro Arts. His former dance partner, cabaret artist Jackie Love, would often ring up. "We were really ideal partners, because we were both very tall," remembers Hawley. "She was blond and I was dark, and we just matched each other perfectly. It was a great relationship, and I had travelled the world with her show. During 1988 I'd sometimes fly to Perth for the weekend to do something with her, or go to Los Angeles. It was really good fun."

However, it was not long before Hawley became restless. "I had all these great design ideas for shows, and I wanted to start implementing them." Sydney beckoned.

Hawley has now over 20 years experience in musical theatre, cabaret, film and television. His reputation as a choreographer is secure with choreography for Sweet Charity with Kelley Abbey, Tom Burlinson's Frank, the Sinatra Story in Song, Simon Gallaher's The Mikado, and numerous cabaret shows locally and internationally, beginning with those of Jackie Love. He has also choreographed for television [including numerous commercials], for conference and trade shows, and for performing arts institutions such as the McDonald College in Sydney and the Queensland University of Technology.

His choreography is, even by his own admission, "quirky". Whatever the medium the style is crisp and edgy, focusing on the detail - a flick of the wrist here, or a lift of the shoulder here - and invariably celebrating the unexpected.

"I love originality on any level. In the beginning I would take bits and pieces of movement and I'd try and make them my own, twist them into something that felt good for me." Hawley then discovered Bob Fosse and felt an immediate connection and also validation of his own style. "Fosse's choreography was absolute proof that not everything has to be symmetrical, and doesn't have to be what you expect - and I love doing the unexpected." His innate musicality [Breen's influence], and off-beat sense of humour make Hawley's work irrestistable to watch, and the detail in the movement give it a depth often found lacking in commercial dance.

Hawley approaches the creative process from a visual angle. "Before I even start to choreograph it I have to know what the dancers are going to wear. For instance, if you're wearing stockings, can we rip the stockings for four counts?" Music often inspires images and patterns of movement which he actually visualizes, but says Hawley, "the actual detail of the choreography I don't do until I see the dancers, finding their particular abilities to make them look the best they can in my style. I very rarely have the choreography prepared beforehand."

Is is often difficult to find dancers who are capable of mastering his style, admits Hawley, and he acknowledges a noticeable difference between those with and those without ballet training. While he admires the discipline, dedication and technical facility of the ballet trained dancer, sometimes their inability to let go emotionally he finds inhibiting. Nevertheless a dream of Hawley's is to work with a ballet company. "That would be the ultimate for me, because of their ability to make shapes - I love shapes."

Hawley acknowledges the influence of people like Jackie Love, Tom Burlinson and Mandy Carnie, who inspired him in different ways to always strive for perfection, and he is delighted now to be able to pass down his work ethic to others. His advice to someone starting out as a freelance dancer is to always have something to offer within your own industry. Teaching is a great way to supplement your work, he believes, rather than working in a cafe.

"Ring around different schools, especially in outlying areas," he suggests. "When I've had absolutely nothing on offer, instead of a job cleaning pots and pans, I'd phone up dance schools and say that I was available. That way I still felt a part of the industry. Be intelligent and smart - create work, something that you can pass on to others."

Acknowledging advice his brother once gave him, Hawley points out that in 'show business' the 'business' side of it is the harder but equally important aspect to work on. "I've said to a lot of students that it's the time in between shows that's difficult to deal with - your sense of self worth, if you're not getting jobs. Some people take longer to achieve. Personally, I feel that I'm finally getting somewhere. A lot of young people are already choreographing overseas, and I think 'Wow!' But for me , although I've done a lot of things in my life it's taken longer. And I'm glad about that because I don't want to be like everyone else just to get the work. I want to be different."

Hawley's pet hates. When it comes to auditions, Keith Hawley has a small but virulent list of pet hates.

"That mouth open, chewing look! When dancers are trying to sell it - like they're really sexy, yet they look as if they're eating their lunch. Mouth choreography - I hate it."

However his major complaint as a choreographer is that dancers often don't actually observe the finer details. "They don't follow exactly what is given to them; they do their own version of it. In commercial dance I find that really irritating."

Someone who is very quick to learn, and who has got an "inner vibe" will get a job with Hawley. "They don't necessarily have to be brilliant," he adds, "as I like people who may not be the obvious choice."

He tries to make the rehearsal room as comfortable, as open and honest, and as respectful to everyone as he can. "It's really hard to choreograph if someone is rolling their eyes as if bored. I find that incredibley irritating and so disrespectful."

Mobile phones? "I can't stand them in the room, even messaging or vibrating in a bag. People think that's all right but I find it rude. They should be turned off."

Feature article by Denise Richardson
[Dance Australia Magazine]