TEAM EFFORTS
Christi Coachman-Orengo, director of entertainment, Royal Caribbean Productions, oversees Royal Caribbean’s entertainment production operations including the shoreside North Miami facility as well as the shipboard operation that includes all performers and technical staff for theaters, aqua theaters, ice show, Two70, Royal Promenade productions, and more. She reports to Weir, as does colleague Ken Rush, director of entertainment and guest activities, who oversees Royal Caribbean’s onboard activities, sports program, Adventure Ocean children’s programming, the onboard “live music” program with 500 musicians fleetwide, and 5,000 headliner performances.
Azamara Club Cruises’ and Celebrity Cruises’ entertainment also takes shape within the North Miami facility. For example, Becky Thomson-Foley, associate vice president of entertainment at Celebrity Cruises, has directed the creation of multiple Celebrity shows and collaborations with top names in entertainment such as William Baker and Steve Anderson.
Simply put, artistry oozes from every corner of the studio building. During a recent tour, we watched one Royal Caribbean rehearsal as female dancers practiced a sultry “Hey Big Spender” dance, followed by dance duos performing a softer Mr. Bojangles routine. Coaches watched, critiqued, and directed the dancers to “do it again”… and again … and again.
Amanda Poulson, a singer who hails from Madison, Wisconsin, describes the studio training experience as state of the art. Now on her 10th contract, she just came off Allure of the Seas where she played Tanya in Mama Mia!
“I really enjoy my job at sea,” says Poulson, who’s training to go on Azamara Quest, where she’ll have feature roles in four productions including her own headliner show.
Also training at the North Miami facility are aerialists including Stephanie Blumer, a classically trained dancer from Australia’s Snowy Mountains region who started dancing at age 5 and secured a full scholarship with Germany’s Hamburg Ballet prior to dancing at the New Zealand School of Dance.
The seaside job is an incredible opportunity, Blumer says, pointing to the line’s Broadway musicals and West End–caliber productions as well as her ability to learn new techniques and styles. Yet, dancing and aerial artistry at sea does differ from landbased shows, she says, citing the normal ship movement and, at times, high ocean swells. But she loves entertaining at sea and her next gig is on Navigator of the Seas.
In one of multiple soundproof vocal rooms, Anne Dittamo, vocal director, played the piano to accompany two male singers learning a new song arrangement. Nodding here and there, she stopped part-way through, asking, “Can we pick up again from ‘ life goes on?’” “Don’t think about the original,” she said. “This is the ‘new original.’” And they sang the tune again.