Connections -- Haley's Musical Buddies & Associates

[Miguel]

Haley posted the July 4th photo to her Instagram. One of the people in the photos commented:

bobbynewberry
@haleyreinhart soooooooo fun last night we def need more hang time soon

Based on an Instagram post of the same picture by Allison Holker, he was one of the hosts: "thanks @bobbynewberry & @tj_paradise for hosting an amazing night!" TJ proclaims himself to be: "The BEST Realator in Los Angeles representing Sotheby's International Realty." That's their home.

Newberry is a choreographer. And he sings. I haven't found an official biography, but there are several out there for talent booking agencies. Apparently booking a choreographer is a thing.

As a young child growing up in an underprivileged household in Orange County, California, Newberry discovered his passion for music was more than just a hobby. A self-taught dancer, he spent countless hours dissecting and emulating the dance style and fundamentals of his inspirations, pop icons: Michael Jackson, Madonna, & Prince. Despite no formal dance training until age 11, Newberry entered and won numerous local talent shows as a dancer and received enough recognition to earn a scholarship at a dance/gymnastics studio. When not training in dance, he participated in singing groups and the school choir. After high school, Newberry was awarded a scholarship to the renowned EDGE Performing Arts Center in Hollywood, California, where he worked with famed choreographers, Brian Friedman who choreographed for Britney Spears and Gil Duldulao who choreographed for Janet Jackson, just to name a few. More than just a talented dancer, Newberry was inspired to find his own dance style, a combo of hip hop and stylized movement. His unique and relevant pop-oriented style of dance caught the industry's attention and Newberry was soon an in-demand choreographer. Says Newberry, "music is my life and why I move and dance. I'm on an amazing journey, get in!"

Newberry's creative genius as a choreographer led to an outstanding list of credits spanning live/stage, TV and music videos including the Pussycat Dolls, Eminem, Girlicious, Jessie & the Toyboys, Porcelain Black, Lil' Wayne, Taylor Dane, Eva Longoria for Bebe, Missy Elliot, Jody Watley, Aaron Kwok and television shows, X Factor, Dancing with the Stars, Conan O'Brien, David Letterman and America's Got Talent. Newberry also worked on Pussycat Dolls music video for "When I Grow Up", which won Best Dance Video at the 2008 VMAs.

Q&A with him from this year:

Windy City Times: Hi, Bobby. Tell our readers about your dance background, to start off.

Bobby Newberry: I grew up a poor kid on welfare. I watched Madonna on TV and just taught myself the choreography. I began entering myself in talent shows. People started noticing that I was good. I was singing and dancing my whole life, then got scholarships and moved to L.A. I then [made the transition] into choreography.

That is when I started doing choreography for Eminem. I worked with The Pussycat Dolls for years. I was the resident choreographer with X Factor on season one. You might be familiar with my work from The Pussycat Dolls' "When I Grow Up."



WCT: That video was such a hit.

Bobby Newberry: It was crazy. That was my dance stuff and I have been singing my entire life. For me I couldn't not sing if that makes sense. I couldn't only do dance. I felt like I wasn't doing what I was supposed to do fully.

WCT: So it was the next step for you...

Bobby Newberry: Exactly. I started it about a year and a half ago. I recorded with Melody Thornton from Pussycat Dolls. We did a cover of La Roux's "Bulletproof" with a really cool video. We shot in the desert at the salt flats.

It was everywhere—on Perez, all over the place. It was my beginning of doing this. I took a long time to record a lot of music. I decided to come out with the song "Sweat" because it is a full-out dance song. The choreography is crazy. There is a lot of dancing in it. It is like a Janet Jackson video.

WCT: Why didn't you choreograph it yourself?

Bobby Newberry: Because I had choreographed the last stuff I had done and—for me, as an artist—it is tricky to do both roles. To make sure I look okay as well as every dancer in the video, I had eight of them; I needed another pair of eyes. I couldn't be everywhere. I couldn't run back and forth doing everything. At a certain point you need to step into the role that you are doing. I needed to focus on what I needed to focus on.

WCT: The video is done now?

Bobby Newberry: Yes. It is premiering on Billboard in February.

WCT: How do you feel it turned out?

Bobby Newberry: So good. It was way better than I would ever expect. I worked with some amazing people. Part of the team was a guy that did Beyonce's last video. The editing is amazing. The choreography was great. Where we shot was super-cool. We were in the Mojave Desert and it was apocalyptic-looking. Everyone I have shown the video to so far really likes it. I am really happy with it.

For a jump-off from the EP, it is a good start. The reason I chose this song is because I have such a big dance following. I felt I should do a song that dancers would like because they will want to choreograph to it. Once they saw the video especially they would want to learn the choreography.

WCT: Talk about the EP.

Bobby Newberry: It will have five songs on it. There is a wide variety of songs from fun music you would listen to in your car to slow mid tempo, sexy, and more vocal songs. I can actually sing and have a good voice. "Sweat" doesn't showcase much of my vocal ability but it was more about the dance element for this one.

WCT: You worked with Jessie and the Toy Boys?

Bobby Newberry: I did, and she is going to be on the EP as well. I am a good friend of hers. She actually resigned under Virgin and is work with Ron Fair. She is very excited to have some new direction.

WCT: I interviewed her for the Britney Spears concert.

Bobby Newberry: I choreographed her show for Britney and was the creative director.

WCT: What a small world!

Bobby Newberry: It really is.

WCT: Can you do the shablam, where you drop to the floor?

Bobby Newberry: I can, but the thing is I don't like doing it. I used to do that when I did choreography five years ago. Now everybody does it. To me there is a way that you are supposed to do it where you tuck your leg under. You are supposed to go all the way back but not a drop. When some people do it, it looks like their knee will snap right out of the socket!

WCT: How much time a day do you spend dancing?

Bobby Newberry: It depends on what I have coming up. For the video we are rehearsing five hours a day leading up to the shoot. The shoot went all fucking day. We were dancing in combat boots in the dirt. That really added to the difficulty level!

The official music video only has about 2,600 views, which I supposed might be expected for a dancer turned singer (unless your name is JLo).



There is another video based on the song that has 8,000 more views. The beginning of the dance routine in it resembles a mating ritual, imo.