I am very happy to present Mr. Aubrey Lynch at Interview En L’air. Aubrey is some one I grew up admiring. Who can forget that famous video of him dancing on the Cosby show. A kind of dancing legend in NYC. When I asked him to take part in Interview En L’air, I was nervous he would not know who I was and think I was crazy for asking him! My nervousness turned into excitement when he happily said he would take part! His interview touched me for so many reasons. For one thing I have never laughed so much during an interview… I was dying! We did a phone interview and I had to cover my mouth many times… His happiest moment was soooo touching… I cried every time the recording came to that part. You could really hear the happiness in his voice. Also Aubrey had a very beautiful way of telling it like it is… poetic even. I love that.

Aubrey Lynch II from Woodhaven, Michigan danced with Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater and then was an original cast member of the Tony Award-winning Broadway musical, Disney’s The Lion King and acted as the production’s associate choreographer and then associate producer. As such, he led the team responsible for overseeing the creative aspects of all Lion King productions worldwide. Aubrey works with artists all over the world coaching, teaching, and leading workshops including Steps on Broadway and The Ailey School. He is on faculty at Therapeutic Arts Alliance of Manhattan, has co-designed and co-led workshops and programs for Theater Development Fund, and mentors for Young Arts Week. He is also Director of Dance at the prestigious Harlem School of the Arts.

Most recently Aubrey has personally coached students with professional ambitions five of which have gone on to play lead roles on Broadway, television and film. Aubrey is Founder and Artistic Director of Aubrey Lynch Extra Essential Arts AL-EEArts born out of the belief that “The arts aren’t extracurricular; they’re extra-essential.” ® Aubrey’s programs including, Mr. Aubrey’s Show Kids MASK provide opportunities for children and adults to attain their highest level of excellence through artistic expression and commitment. In June of 2014, ALEEArts/MASK collaborated with Harlem Children’s Zone and Jazz at Lincoln Center creating Jazzland. Aubrey Lynch directed, produced, designed, and wrote the story bringing nearly 100 students from sixteen academic and pre-professional arts schools who performed with the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra led by Wynton Marsalis for an audience of nearly 1500 at the historic United palace Theater in Washington Heights.

Most recently Aubrey was a creative consultant for Serino Coyne casting and staging the latest advertising campaign for Disney’s The Lion King including commercial spots, digital media, and print. Aubrey continues to inspire many students through his current work with children. Thank you Aubrey for believing in this series and thank you for your inspiration!

 

When you were little what did you want to be when you grow up?

 

The first thing I can remember wanting to be was an astronaut. I don’t know why but for some strange reason when I was very young, I started to want to be a child psychologist. Strangely enough, even though I am not a child psychologist, the work that I do now with life coaching, mentoring and working with children has a lot to do with child psychology.

 

Favorite things to eat?

 

Pizza. Give me some pizza and I am very happy.

 

Favorite books?

 

“Natures Numbers”. I love math, science and spirituality and this book has it all. I am also a big fan of science fiction. One of favorite books is called “Childhood’s End”.

 

Favorite dance piece?

 

It’s probably going to sound cliché but “Revelations” by Alvin Ailey. I think it is one of the greatest spiritual works ever created. It is so simple…and in it’s simplicity it allows your imagination to fill in the blanks and it becomes deeply personal to the viewer and the person performing it. A true window into the soul.

 

Favorite musical?

 

Ironically “The Lion King” is my favorite. It’s beautiful. Like “Revelations” it is simple in its complexity. It inspires the imagination. Good music, nice to look at. It stands on its own.

 

I like dancers who….

 

Are able to use vocabulary to tell a story…especially their story. I like dancers who are human first. When they move you see the human first, not the shape. We are not dancers pretending to be people. We are people who happen to dance.

 

I am afraid of…

 

Failure. I have always been a bit driven certainly by a fear of failure. A more positive way to say that is I am afraid of my own perfectionism. I want things to be high quality all the time. There is very little room for compromise. If I find myself in a situation where I can’t get what I need to make great work, I really do get stressed.

 

A dance piece should?

 

Be as simple as possible. And in my opinion always have humanity in it. People want to know what’s going on when the curtain goes up. I’m not saying they don’t enjoy being challenged, but bear in mind that if it is too much they get bored or distracted. Some aspect of the piece has to be grounded. By nature, dance is abstract already. I am all for experimental work, but people like to feel connected. It’s my opinion. When I choreograph I try to make sure that the story is clear without being literal.

 

Something you like to do outside of dance?

 

I don’t have a lot of free time, but when I do, I love reading science fiction, going to the movies, heated debates about philosophy, humanity, the state of the planet…sexuality. The conversations we should always avoid I love.

 

What is one of the happiest moments of my life?

 

I was a student at Alvin Ailey. I came to New York City from a small town. I risked everything I dropped my chemistry scholarship at the university of Michigan to become a dancer. The first years were very difficult.

I had auditioned for The Ailey company three times and my fourth audition was coming up on the following Monday. Alvin Ailey took me out into the hallway of the old Ailey building that Friday and said “Aubrey I am inviting you into the company. We are going to Paris in two weeks and I want you to come with us.” My whole world went from black and white to instant color. We talked for quite a while. He said that I had a unique lyrical style and he hoped that he’d be able to use it. It was incredible. He also said “You can’t tell anyone. You still have to audition, but on Monday I will pick you” I kept that secret all weekend long until I thought I would die. What if he changed his mind? What if he picked someone else? He picked me that Monday and that was the happiest day of my life. I remember doing those first few seasons and taking my first vacation that I paid for myself. I remember being on the beach in Martinique and there was nothing else in world I wanted. My dream had come true. I was dancing and making money doing art. I have never been that happy since. That whole period was the happiest time of my life. It has not been topped.

 

One of your most unusual or coolest experiences?

 

I went snorkeling on the barrier reef of the coast of Belize. It was a beautiful reef called the fire reef and it really looked like fire. It had sharp edges and you had to be careful. It was quite far out. You could feel the sea kind of pulling you along. My friends and I decided to go and try snorkeling at night. It was a crazy idea. Why? I am afraid of the sea in midday and I still don’t what possessed me to try being in the middle of the ocean in the dark… I don’t know why I did that. It was terrifying you could only see where you pointed the flashlight. It was pitch black. You were in the food chain. Something could just swim up and eat you. I put my head up from the water, took my goggles off and looked up and all you saw were Stars. The sea was pitch black and the sky was bright with stars. It was the most incredible thing. It was the most humbling experience I ever had. I never forgot it. We are such a small part of a big universe. We are as important as those stars and as insignificant as the stars you can’t see. I was at peace and in absolute horror all at the same time. I got out of the water immediately. It was such a profound experience feeling significant and equally insignificant. I spent the rest of the evening on the boat. And I will never do that again.

 

One of your most embarrassing moments?

 

It was my first season at Alvin Ailey. Alvin had just passed away and Judith Jamison had taken over the company. We were dancing a piece that was choreographed for her and she was dancing in it with us. Someone got injured and I had to learn their part at the last minute. We had to do a pinwheel in the piece. Now… In a pinwheel you always have someone walking forward and someone walking backward. I was at the very end going backwards. I was the shortest guy in the company and the costume I had to wear had pants that were too long. Of course as we swung down stage center I tripped and fell on my butt…right on center stage. I could see the tech guys in the sound booth laughing with their heads back and arms flailing. I had to run to catch up. I saw Judith’s eyes glare at me. It was awful. She was very gracious in forgiving me.

 

Who has been the most influential person or people in your life? Or career?

 

My parents. My mother in particular taught me how to have confidence in my decision making. My father taught me discipline. Being on time. Keeping your word and things like that. Creatively I think Alvin Ailey and the genius of his choreography really set the tone for everything I do now. Garth Fagan who was determined to have his own movement vocabulary. He was so inspiring. It was amazing how he did that. Julie Taymor like Alvin, taught me that telling a story is the most important part of any art and that one should avoid being literal.

 

One of the hardest things about your job?

 

Not having enough money to pay people to help me. I want to be in the studio with the children. I want to be able to create. I want to help people evolve. Very few of us have the luxury of just creating the art. Lack of resources makes that very difficult. I spend so much time administrating my own programs that I can’t always see a creative vision to full fruition and that can be frustrating. I am sure I share this issue with many artists.

 

Do you have any goals?

 

My goals are to live a life that is fulfilling, meaningful and self-sustaining. How dare I want to be fulfilled and happy and live in it?! Why should I have a good time and be paid for it? It is a goal! Why is it always one or the other? That’s a tricky thing… So that’s my goal. It’s the artist’s goal. I don’t need to be rich but I do want o get paid enough to live and my life must be meaningful.

Something you would change in the DANCE world?

I’d get rid of this ridiculous idea that dancing makes you gay. Yes I am going to go there… Quote me on this and show it to the world. Men love to dance as much as women. But we have been trained to think that if you put on tights and move in a soft way it makes you gay. That is the most ridiculous thing I have ever heard. As a human race we lose, because there is a part of the male story that is not expressed. Dance is as hard as football. Do you know how many boys come to my school and want to dance, but their parents will not let them? Precious dreams smashed before they ever leave the gate, all due to ignorance. It’s infuriating, heartbreaking and silly. I’ll get off my soapbox now.

Equally frustrating is that is in a female dominated art form there are very few female choreographers. We have to change that too. Yes, I’m talking utopia here.

What is something that you would change in the REAL world?

You don’t have to be wrong for me to be right. We can both agree to disagree. We are both right. We often approach conflict by trying to prove the other is wrong. More empathy. We have to teach that from a young age. I am talking utopia again but hey, stranger things have happened and dreams do come true. I can certainly attest to that!

A piece of advice for young artists?

Know yourself, pick a dream, find the courage and do what it takes to make that dream come to be. “The arts aren’t extracurricular; they’re extra-essential.”® ~Aubrey Lynch II

 

Aubrey Lynch II and Nasha Thomas, Barry Martin’s Chelsea’s Bells. Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater_compressed

Aubrey Lynch II and Nasha Thomas, Barry Martin’s Chelsea’s Bells. ©Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater

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Aubrey Lynch II and Raquelle Chavis in Revelations_compressed

Aubrey Lynch II and Raquelle Chavis in Revelations. ©Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater

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Aubrey with Lion King South Africa

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