2/23/21: Someone sent me the first video below, and I cannot stop watching it, and only partly because I’m always a little obsessed with the song. The music is Earned It by The Weekend as choreographed by Sheryl Murakami. It is how I always imagined the song performed in the dance movie in my head. (You have one of those too, right?) Perfect choreography, perfect staging, they even spaced out the hair styles and colors just right. I’m all agog.

Murakami is one of the teachers at the well-known Broadway Dance Center, where pretty much all of New York has taken a class at some point. The choreographer is a Los Angeles native who trained in classical ballet, tap, jazz, hip-hop, and salsa. The woman is good at everything, and as a result, her choreography is a fascinating balance of styles.

Sheryl Murakami is really the current queen of the chair dance. Her gorgeous use of dancers’ bodies is very, very Fosse 2021, and I feel like it’s going to stick with me. During her dancing days, Murakami was of Lady Gaga’s former back up dancers, and appeared in the music video for “Just Dance.” She has also worked as choreographer for Avril Lavigne, Kat Graham, and Beyoncé.

You can watch more of Sheryl Murakami’s amazing choreography on her website and on YouTube, Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter.