The Dirt: Lauren Adams

June 22, 2011

With her exquisite, Grace Kelly-esque features and impeccable technique, Lauren Adams oozes both sophistication and talent. Watching Adams at work, whether she’s dancing onstage or teaching students at a packed convention, is like watching your favorite movie: Even though you may have seen it a million times, it’s too intriguing to look away.

Adams’ passion for dance and her quirky contemporary choreography have made her one of the most adored instructors on the competition and convention circuit. She has a packed resumé, including stints with IV Dance Company and Jason Parsons’ Parsons Dance Project. Her work was showcased at the 2004 Jazz Dance World Congress and the 25th Anniversary Gala of the Jackson International Ballet Competition, and she has been a contributing choreographer for Broadway Underground, :pushing progress and the Fire Island Dance Festival. Adams, who lives in NYC, has taught at Broadway Dance Center, Steps on Broadway and The Juilliard School, and she’s a faculty member with New York City Dance Alliance. Read on for The Dirt from this clever choreographer.  —Alison Feller

Must-see TV show:
“Modern Family”

What is your biggest guilty pleasure?
Baked Treats: cookies, doughnuts & scones…oh my!

What is something people don’t know about you?
I was born exactly 100 years to the day after Pablo Picasso! (But I can’t draw to save my life.)

If you weren’t a choreographer what would you be?
A nurse.

Who would play you in a movie?
Reese Witherspoon

Who is your dance crush?
Mikhail Baryshnikov

Sea Monkeys?

If you happened to be in NYC in April, you may have seen something weird: 30 dancers—including Jakob Karr, Sabra Johnson and Ida Saki—dressed in shiny blue unitards, imitating sea monkeys.

The flash-mob–like project was the brainchild of Lauren Adams. “The idea came from my weird, crazy mind,” she says. “I made up a combination for young dancers at conventions and people went crazy for it. I kept picturing the combo being done by a bunch of my friends—dressed as sea monkeys.” Adams gathered a group of dancers (including “So You Think You Can Dance” alums, Juilliard students and friends from Steps on Broadway), called BalTogs to snag some unitards and hired a videographer to capture the event. Then, on April 20, the dancers converged in Central Park, where they spent three hours wandering and performing the routine.

“I wanted to do something to make people smile,” Adams says. “People just need to laugh.”