Dancer Yesenia Ayala Talks About Her Broadway Debut In "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory"

Dancer Yesenia Ayala first caught our eye in the off-Broadway production of Sweet Charity with Sutton Foster earlier this year. So, we were super excited when we found out she was making her Broadway debut in this spring’s sweetest new show Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. (Both productions were choreographed by Joshua Bergasse.)

Ayala recently took BroadwayWorld backstage and gave some insight into what it’s like to dance in the production—most importantly, what becoming an Oompa Loompa every night is like. To which she replied, “You know I wasn’t really sure what I was getting myself into when I signed on for this show! [laughing] Honestly, I don’t want to say too much about the Oompas because we want to keep them a delicious surprise. What I can say is it’s not how you would typically execute dance choreography. So for those sections, [choreographer] Josh Bergasse had Basil Twist to help translate his choreography to the methods specific to the physicality and mechanics of the Oompa Loompas.”

She also dished on her favorite part to play in the show: “It’s actually a lot of fun to be an ensemble member because you get to create the world in which the main characters can live and tell their story. From being a townsperson, to a Bavarian dancer, to a cheerleader and a reporter, we get to play such different characters and do so many styles of dance. My favorite number in the show is probably ‘It Must Be Believed to Be Seen’ which is the end of Act One. It’s the most typical big Broadway song and dance number.”

Head to BroadwayWorld.com
to hear more details about what making her Broadway debut has been like and to see more backstage pics. It’s #MotivationMonday dreams!