Why the world needs PartnerFusion

As a choreographer working on regional and stock musical theatre productions around the country, I kept encountering the same issue.

The PartnerFusion Story

At the start of each new production, I would meet casts full of talented young actors who were eager to put on a show. These performers had been chosen from hundreds, if not thousands, for their tremendous triple-threat skills and they trained at Musical Theatre BFA programs around the country. They had most of the skills needed to thrive with one glaring exception: most of them confessed to having little-to-no partner dance experience. Whether I needed to create a 1950s Cuban Salsa for Guys and Dolls, an early 1910s one-step for The Music Man, a Waltz for Beauty and the Beast, or a human tower for Bright Star, I was more or less tasked with teaching dance partnering from square one.

After a few years of experiencing the same scenario over and over, I decided to explore possible solutions. While pursuing my MFA, I created a partner dance survey to test my assumptions and sent it out to my professional network. I discovered that the majority of Musical Theatre BFA programs do not require partner dance class. I also learned that many of my colleagues felt fear and anxiety during partner work sessions, and some had sustained injuries while doing this work. I realized that there was a great need for innovative new training methods in this area.

Two women practicing a dance or acrobatic lift, with one woman bent forward and the other balancing on her back in a dance studio with a plain white wall.

PartnerFusion closes this gap.

Six people engaged in partnered dance practice, holding hands and crouching, in a studio with a white wall and black floor.

Training in Partner Dance for Musical Theatre is difficult because shows require that we jump from genre to genre. As mentioned above, in the last few years, I’ve created Salsas, Waltzes, Lindys, One Steps—the list goes on. I know that performers need a better understanding of this work, but I also know that performers aren’t going to start training in classical Pas De Duex, three different styles of ballroom dance, and contact Improvisation. So I created PartnerFusion.

PartnerFusion will advocate for more transparency, communication, and skill sharing amongst those of us in the industry building partner dances for the stage. I hope that this work will better prepare the next generation of performers to approach partner dancing with less anxiety and fear, and more confidence and capability.

Gold cursive text displaying the name "Aviral Asulen" on a white background.
Group of five people in a dance studio lifting a woman horizontally above their heads in a coordinated pose.
Five women in a fitness class using resistance bands in a studio, smiling and engaging with each other.
Two couples dancing together in a dance studio with a white wall background.