In this Showbiz U interview, host Tim Kashani talks with Broadway choreographer Michele Lynch about her unconventional journey into dance and choreography. Lynch recounts first being inspired by the musical Dancin' at age 16, despite never having taken a dance class, and deciding to become a choreographer. She enrolled at UC Irvine’s dance program, took intensive daily classes, and was urged by mentor Chet Walker to commit fully. Lynch discusses the myth that dancers must start in early childhood, noting that while ballet may require early training, her passion was always for choreography. After a period of doubt, she landed her first Broadway gig, describing the emotional impact of a brief three‑week run. She highlights the formative experience of working as an assistant choreographer, especially under Jerry Mitchell, which gave her backstage insight that cannot be taught in school. Lynch reflects on the value of both successful and unsuccessful productions, emphasizing that failures are powerful learning opportunities. When asked for advice to aspiring performers, she stresses self‑trust, avoiding self‑doubt, treating free time as a gift, and detaching from the fear of judgment. Throughout, she underscores the importance of perseverance, honest self‑assessment, and a balanced perspective on time and success.
Chapters
What do you get when you have a Broadway professional and a camera crew? Long story short, you get a lot of cool info when you get Showbiz U Luminaries. She may not have taken her first dance class till the age of 16, but that didn't stop Broadway choreographer Michelle Lynch from dancing straight to the top. Michelle recounts her journey from dance class to choreographing shows like The Coast of Utopia, Everyday Rapture, and Little Miss Sunshine. First of all, welcome.
Thank you.
To Showbiz U. You've known me the longest of any guests that we've talked about.
Excellent.
And let's talk about when you first got the bug for this, 'cause I was around when all of a sudden you said, hmm, I can actually do this.
It began with seeing a show that I think this is probably a common story for so many dancers, but I saw Dancin' when I was 16 and I had never taken a dance class, but I understood the language. It was like hearing a foreign language for the first time and understanding it with choreography and with dance. I was like, I know what he's saying with movement. And so I was just hooked and I came home and I said to my mom, I'm gonna be a choreographer. She goes, why don't you take a dance class first? So, and then I went to UC Irvine 'cause they had a really good dance department.
Now, had you taken dance before this?
I think I had taken like 2 classes in Pasadena And I thought, "Oh, I can do this." You know, ignorance is bliss. And it was actually Chet Walker who said to me, you know, "If you want it, do it, but don't do it half-ass. Go full on and do it." And so I took his advice and, you know—
And you took class at school and you drove yourself away.
I took class at school and then I would take like 5 a day. It was deeply— obsessive behavior.
A lot of people say, well, you have to start when you're in the womb if you're going to be a dancer.
Well, I think, I think for some people, yes. And I think certainly for something like ballet, you know, you need those years. But I think I always knew I wanted to choreograph.
So, well, I happen to be there in one of those times when you were quitting the business.
Oh, okay. So see, yeah, happens a lot.
And you had come to peace with maybe I won't ever dance on Broadway. And then it was in class, you got a call from your agent, and you said, "Eh, it's my agent. I'll get it later." Called her later, they said they're going on audition. "Eh, you know, I'm not going." And then you go, and what happens?
Was that when I got it?
Yeah.
Yeah, I do think there is a level of detachment that is important, because if you want it so badly— I see it now sitting on the other side— when people come in and want it so badly, there's not even room for us to to let us in on the other side. When you want it so badly, there's this energy shield, I think. And when you have this detachment and you're just sort of like, "Oh, whatever," it just allows people in and you want to get to know them more. And you're like, "Oh, who is this person who doesn't need me or need this job so much?
I want to know more of you." Yeah, and then you got your first Broadway show, and that was almost a relief and a validation at a standpoint, which kind of launched you into—
I think I'd wanted it, you know, since I was 16 so badly, and then when it finally came, I remember I got in, I was in it for a week, and we got our closing notice. So I had 3 weeks on Broadway.
Okay.
Tears were streaming down my face at the final show, but I loved every minute of it.
Another area that brought you back in was to work as an assistant choreographer.
Mm-hmm.
And can you talk a little bit about that journey and that experience?
That was a gift. That's an amazing experience. You know, I worked as an assistant out in LA when I lived in LA, and I assisted some choreographers out there. But the biggest learning experience I think I've had was assisting probably Jerry Mitchell and assisting him at the beginning of his career and then being there when he reached, you know, a higher level of success and being privy to that and because that's stuff you can't learn in school. You know, you can't buy that. You can't buy sitting in a Broadway house and watching what goes on and watching a brand new show go from start to finish. And I was fortunate to work on successful musicals as an assistant and watch their journey. That you just can't learn. You can't get that anywhere. Even on the other side as a dancer, you get parts of it, but you're not in the room. You're not in the trenches. You're not— they're going through everything. And then I've had this amazing experience of working as a choreographer on tons of new musicals that weren't very successful, and that's been a huge learning experience too, because you need that. That's almost— you learn almost more. And I also knew— I also know, like, where it needs to get to, you know. So that's been actually, as hard as the past, say, 10 years have been doing it on my own and being involved with a lot of things that haven't succeeded as far as I would have liked them to succeed, it's been a huge gift, you know. And so when I get a musical that does work I— you feel it and you know it.
And now flashing forward, you're the one that's sitting behind the table and you have all these teens and 20-somethings that are coming in with these amazing dreams. If you could give them a little bit of advice, what would be that advice?
The advice would be don't waste your time doubting yourself. And trust that you have chosen this and go for it. If I look back on my calendars of my life and I look back at the times that I had off, like a month here or 2 months here, or even a week, and those times I was like, oh, I don't have the money and I don't have this or I don't have a job and I have this whole day free, I would look back at now and go, oh my God, you had a month off in New York City? There's so much to do. I would have enjoyed that time. I would have gone to museums. I would have I just would have done so much more with my time instead of spending it worrying and stressing because rent always got paid. I always had food to eat. It somehow always worked out. Note to self. So I would have just— now I do look at time differently. When I have time off now, I look at it as the gift of time and I try and enjoy it because when you don't have it, you want it.
And can you think back to one of the first times you got that job? I'm now being paid as a choreographer. Everything I've wanted to do, somebody's giving me. How terrifying was that?
Terrifying. Because then, you know, it's so easy to judge. That's, I think, the easiest thing in the world to do is judge. And the hardest thing to do is, okay, put yourself— is to put yourself out there and know that you're going to be judged. And I know that I judge a lot less when I go see shows, and I'm much more forgiving because there's so much that goes into it. And, you know, it takes a lot of guts to put your ideas out there. And it is like standing naked, because people are looking at it and judging it. So it's terrifying. And I think I just care— now that I've been doing it for a while, I just care less what people think. And I think that's very freeing. That's probably just a good lesson in life. They're all life lessons, ultimately. Don't care what people think. Detach.
Any other pearls of wisdom you want to share as we're now coming to the end?
