Meet Elizabeth Parkinson, now starring in Broadway's Number 1 Hit Musical, "Movin' Out."

Finis: How did you get started?

Liz: I took my first dance class when I was six years old, in St. Petersburg, Florida, and I hated it. It was half ballet, half acrobatics.

Finis: Why did you go?

Liz: My Mom sent me, you know, like Moms send all their little girls. When it got to the acrobatics, and I had to go backwards, it was really awful, and I would almost cry. So, I think I lasted for six lessons. And then I didn't take any dance again until I was thirteen. My sister was dating a ballet dancer, and he said to me, "Boy, Elizabeth, you sure have nice legs! I can't believe you're not taking dance lessons!"

Well, I was taking tennis lessons, and I swam, but I wasn't really heavily involved in anything. The ballet school was right next to my academic school, so I thought, you know what, why don't I just try it again? And, I immediately fell in love with dancing.

Finis: Where did you study?

Liz: At The Tampa Ballet Arts, which no longer exists. My teachers were Anzia Arsenault, and Carol Lee, and I started with two lessons a week, and then almost immediately, after about a month, I started taking every day, including Saturdays. And I loved it! At that time in my life, I loved not having to talk. I loved being able to go to class and escape into another world, listening to beautiful music.

And then, when I was around fourteen, I started on pointe. Because, you know, I was already "older" so I started trying to do little things on pointe. And there was a regional ballet company, The Tampa Ballet, where my first role was a gingerbread cookie . . .

Finis: Hmm. From gingerbread cookie to Broadway star. Not bad!

Liz: Ha! And then I did the Nutcracker — all the usual things, I was a boy, a rat — but I was never Clara because I was too tall. When I was 15, we went to SERBA (The South Eastern Regional Ballet Association) Festival, and that's where I first met Robert Joffrey. He picked me to be in the Master Class, and then invited me to come to his summer program in San Antonio, Texas.

Finis: Did you always have natural extension and strongly arched feet?

Liz: Extension, yes. But, I had to work my feet a lot, because they didn't always point. I went to about five of these summer workshops with Bob Joffrey, as well as The Regional Ballet Festivals. When I was 17, I went right into Joffrey II, with Sally Bliss and Maria Grandy as the Directors. This was 1982. I was there for two years, and then I got into the main company.

Finis: What was it like, being in The Joffrey Ballet?

Liz: It was wonderful. Bob Joffrey was still alive then, and we did a lot of Kylian, Ashton, Diaghilev, Taylor, and Arpino. I got to dance in so many wonderful pieces. And then, my dad died, followed by Mr. Joffrey the next year. It was a really heavy time for me.

After eight years there, I felt I was really in a rut. I really felt like I needed to go, and so I auditioned on the sly for Eliot (Feld) because that was a company I had admired for some time. I then danced with The Feld Ballet for two years, from 1990 to 1992. And I have to say, that, as difficult as it was, working with Eliot was probably a real turning point for me. He was really hard on me, and I think I needed that at the time. At The Joffrey, they so just accepted me, like you're OK the way you are. But with Eliot, it was like no, you need to be . . . you can be more athletic.

Except for one principal role, everything else I danced was corps de ballet, which was fine, because I got so strong. Although, it was a bit of an ego-downer for me, because at The Joffrey I had done principal parts and somehow I felt Eliot wanted to take me down a few notches. And he managed to, actually! (She laughs) But in retrospect, it was good for me, because I left there a much stronger dancer, mentally and physically.

I had been planning to stay a third year with Eliot, because I liked it. And when I went to speak with him, he said, "I'm very disappointed in your work, and I don't care about your beautiful legs, I just don't care."

I was like "Wow, OK, I have been really busting my butt, and now you're telling me you don't like my work. Why didn't you tell me during the year? You've been so nice to me. I shouldn't be here, if this is the way you feel." I quit.

The Joffrey wanted me to come back, because they were getting ready to do Billboards, Well, the funny thing is Eliot called me three weeks later, and said, "I don't know what I was thinking, I was wrong, I really miss you, please come back!"

And I said, "I can't, I have another job." So, life is funny! I went back to Joffrey and toured with Billboards, for two years. I left the Company again, for the second and last time, right before they moved to Chicago. My purpose in going back was just to get some closure on the whole situation. When I was doing Billboards it really helped me. I saved a lot of money, because we were touring so much. I just wanted to live in New York and study acting, and singing, and explore different kinds of dance.

Gary Chryst, a good friend of mine, was doing Broadway at the time, and he said, "Elizabeth, I think you will do really well. You should really investigate the Broadway scene. Go to The Broadway Dance Center and take Theatre Dance." And that's when I met Chet Walker, and that's how I got involved with The Fosse Project.

My first class with Chet, I wore a bright red leotard. No one told me you only wear all black when you do Fosse with Chet! And there I was, in this red, long-sleeved leotard, sticking out like a big red sore thumb!

Finis: (Laughter) You know, it was so funny, remembering you as this very serious ballerina doing Monotones, and then to see you in Chet's class, wearing heels and looking very loose and sexy. And in the finale of Fosse, when you did that fabulous dive across the stage and threw yourself onto the platform, I thought "Wow! Is that Liz?"

Liz: (She laughs) It's funny, because I think I had always wanted to do those kinds of things. When I was in high school, I'd cut out photos of Ann Reinking. I didn't even know who she was, except for what I'd read in the magazine. She was my idol. There was something about the Fosse dancers that attracted me. I think it was the elegance. If you had a balletic background, I thought you could excel at Fosse, as long as you had the energy and the ability to do it. It was something I always wanted.

When I was at Joffrey, I did this lyrical duet called Sea Shadow. I got a great review that said "Elizabeth Parkinson is earthy, and physical . . . "I was really excited, and I was really happy. And then, I was taken out of the part, because I wasn't considered ethereal enough.

Finis: Who else have you worked with?

Liz: Donald Byrd. Since he had a small company, whenever one of the dancers got injured, he'd ask me to come in and "save the day." And then, eventually, I worked for him full time for two years, before Fosse went into production. I really loved working with him. He gave me some new things to think about. I did The Harlem Nutcracker, which, in a way, is actually very much in the Fosse style.. Donald helped me with my performance quality. He taught me how "to be present" in the moment, and not to worry so much. You know, when you're in a big ballet company, your head is always full of worries. I was so neurotic, always questioning myself: "am I going to do it right? How many notes am I going to get?"

Finis: I know what you mean. When I was dancing with The Joffrey in Russia, Bob Joffrey would sit in the front row, studying us with binoculars, and giving notes to his assistant.

Liz: It makes you really nuts.

Finis: Yes, it makes you feel like you always have to be perfect. You can't take a chance and make a mistake.

Liz: Yes, I thought, how come I'm not happy? Performing should be fun, it should be so fulfilling, and it should be the greatest thing you can do with your life. And I really felt that when I danced with Donald. What really mattered to him, more than anything, was that you went on stage, and you were present, and you gave your full self . . .

Finis: How did it feel when you went into production with Fosse?

Liz: When we started Fosse officially, we had already had one workshop. And, when we started into production, I was really scared about it, because I didn't know what I was getting into. I'd signed an ensemble contract, so I didn't know what parts I was going to have. For all I knew, I would be the third girl on the left.

Finis: Did anyone have a Principal Contract?

Liz: No, they were all chorus contracts. Nobody knew what they were going to do. I mean, I think maybe some people did, but I didn't. And so, I was really putting a lot of trust into the universe, and just said OK, I'm going to do this because it's different, and let's see what happens. And, it turned out so well. Actually, I couldn't have been happier with the roles I was given . . . and, I met my husband, Scott Wise.

(Note: Scott Wise has appeared in 13 Broadway shows. He was awarded the 1989 Tony award for his performance in Jerome Robbins' Broadway and was nominated for Tony awards in 1996 and 1999 for his performances in State Fair and Fosse.)

Meeting my husband was probably the most important thing that happened to me in that whole show, which is interesting. He was so supportive, and he really taught me how to deal with difficult situations.

Finis: How did it feel when you opened on Broadway?

Liz: It was extremely exciting! There's nothing like dancing in a Broadway show. I mean really, there's nothing like it! It was my first time on Broadway, and there's nothing like the energy and the support that you get from the Broadway community. It's different from being in the ballet world.

Finis: How so?

Liz: It's more social. The people are more expressive. In ballet companies, you're not really allowed to speak so much. People are quieter, more subdued, a little more repressed. On Broadway, there's a little bit more freedom, and people are more outspoken. And, also, in the Broadway community, you come into more direct contact with different types of people like writers, and musicians, and lighting designers, and you actually get to mingle these people more than you do when you're in a ballet company.

Finis: You're dancing on a smaller stage in a smaller theater, how does that feel?

Liz: I love it. There's more of an emphasis on performance quality. You have to have dance quality, but really, if you're not a performer, nobody cares. (Liz laughs) You have to be a ham, you have to really want to be an actor. And you have to want to please the audience, to a certain extent, which is kind of a different state of mind that you have in a ballet company. It's a big responsibility! It's funny, because people used to come and see me in Fosse, and they'd say, "I didn't know that was you!"

Finis: Ha ha ha! That's what I said! What a change for a Joffrey girl!

Liz: It's funny! I was like — wow — I didn't realize how even my personality had changed through the years. Learning the finale, Sing, Sing, Sing was sort of a slow dream come true, because Ann Reinking taught me the part she had originated. That was really special.

Finis: I know a lot of dancers in the show were injured, due to the heavy physical demands and dancing on a raked stage. Were you?

Liz: I was never injured in Fosse. I've only had one injury in my career, and that was when I was working with Eliot Feld. I broke my fifth metatarsal. Fosse had a lot of knee surgeries.

Finis: Do you think your strong ballet training protected you?

Liz: Uh hmmm, I think so. Yep. And I always took class when I was in Fosse. It was hard, to keep that going, but I really tried. Maybe not every day, but at least once or twice a week.

Finis: A lot of performers don't take class once they get in a show . . .

Liz: I know. A lot of people don't — and it's dangerous! I always tell everyone, don't forget about ballet. But people don't want to hear it! But, really, really, ballet is the basis for all that strength and alignment you need, especially when you're doing something as kooky, as Fosse, or Twyla Tharp, where everything is off-balance and loosey-goosey. You need to have something to come back to.

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