Choreographer Still Dancing on ‘Suds’

Will success spoil Javier Velasco?

“Not at all, not at all,” said Velasco, in the wake of his whirlwind brush with fame as choreographer of “Suds.”

Velasco was tagged to choreograph the ‘60s-style rock musical for a workshop production at the San Diego Repertory Theatre. But it was destined for more. When “Suds’ ” three-week cycle at the Rep expired, the show gained a new lease on life as a subscription series production for the Old Globe, garnering rave reviews from local critics and the generally staid Globe-goers as well.

That catapulted the home-grown musical revue all the way to New York, and thrust its fledgling choreographer into the national spotlight.

Now, after choreographing the show with another cast for a Toronto run, Velasco is back in San Diego for the second coming of “Suds” at the Rep’s Lyceum Stage. This “Suds” explosion could be quite a head-turner for a 27-year-old choreographer whose credits were limited to college productions and apprenticeships before this project.

But, as Velasco says, “I’m a hard person to get excited about things. I wasn’t thinking about getting good reviews or whether the show would get good reviews. We were just some friends working together.”

When Velasco started his own dance training at a vocational high school in San Diego in 1980, he said had no serious designs on dance.

“I hated dancing with a passion ,” he said. “But, when I went for an audition, they told me everyone has to dance. The choreographer showed me the movements, and I realized I could do that. From that day, I decided I wanted to become a dancer.”

Soon afterward, he began playing supporting roles to respected dance makers, such as Jack Tygett at USIU and the Wards at Starlight, but “Suds” was his first solo assignment.

“Director (Will Roberson) was leery about using me, so he called me in and asked me what my choreography would be like,” said Velasco. “I told him, ‘I want the choreography to be clever. If you want the show to be funny, get someone else.’ He said, ‘Fine.’ But it turned out funny anyway.

“I like redefining the steps and doing them in an offbeat way,” Velasco said. “The choreography in ‘Suds’ has a lot to say about the quirkiness of the show. It poked fun at the period--in a loving way. I was the youngest person in the group, but from the first rehearsal, they put themselves in my hands. They trusted me.”

Despite his instant success as a choreographer, Velasco still is not optimistic about his future.

“I was trained into obsolescence,” he said. “I was trained not as a ballet or jazz dancer, but as a musical theater dancer. They don’t make those kind of musicals any more.

“Hopefully, my day will come again, and they’ll be looking for choreography with an individual stamp--with great dance sections and large dance ensembles,” he said. “I like teaching, and I’ve worked with modern dance and ballet companies. But that’s not really where my heart is. I’m still searching, because my heart is in musical comedy. I’m the standard bearer, trying to bring it all back.”