Conversations with Creators: Bessie-Award Winning Choreographer Omari Wiles

“I’m here for the universe for whatever it has to offer me,” says Omari Wiles, Creative Director of Les Ballet Afrik dance company. Wiles is an African American West African and Vogue dancer best known as legendary Omari NiNa Oricci, founder of The House of Oricci since October 2019.

Wiles’ choreography has been featured with Janet Jackson, Beyoncé, John Legend, Jidenna and more. Wiles has been published in Dance Magazine "Top 25 to Watch", Korean Vogue, British Vogue in a spread featuring Naomi Campbell, The Observer, Dance Mogul Magazine, and The New York Times. Wiles also appeared with his house [the house of Nina Oricci] as a contestant on Legendary Season 2 on HBOMax. Wiles is now evolving his own style of dance with his company Les Ballet Afrik, blending African, Vogue, Modern, and House as one. He and his company have performed at the Joyce Theater, the Guggenheim, and the New York Metropolitan Museum.

 

You’ve choreographed for and worked with some of the world’s top music artists, you direct your own company Les Ballet Afrik, and you’re recreating a historical musical. Where did your interest in dance come from at its core?

The core root is my family. My mom and dad were both pioneers within the West African dance and drum communities and they are the reason why I fell in love with the art form. At a young age, I joined their dance company, The Maimouna Ketia School of African Dance. Growing up, being rooted in culture, community, theater and stage fueled my passion for dance and led me to make a career out of it. It was when I ventured out to be part of other dance communities that I fell in love with other styles, such as house dance and ballroom. I really wanted to be a part of it, grow with it, and help build it.

At what point did you realize you'd pursue your line of work? Were there multiple times you realized this is your calling?

Wow, there were so many important points. But the one that really stands out for me is when one day I was substituting a West African dance class at Peridance Center and a director walked in. He was directing a music video for John Legend at the time, and after observing my class, asked if I would come in as a dancer and movement consultant for the music video. That was my first time working on a larger scale professionally and it was really, really beautiful. The team’s words of encouragement and reassurance of my professionalism made me realize, I'm cut out for this. I can do this. There's room for me in this field. And that's when I started to take it much more seriously.

How does your culture inform your work today?

I am rooted in the African diaspora, and so is my work. A lot of my vocabulary and style, specifically with my dance company Les Ballet Afrik, is heavily based in Nigerian, South African, and Ghanian rhythms. African rhythms and movement continuously keep me inspired. African dance has also been the base for many other movement styles, influencing many street jazz vocabularies and components.

 

What does your choreographic process look like? How do you begin research at the beginning of your processes?

When it comes to the process, I think every choreographer has their own way of creating and telling stories. In the past, I've made choreography first and then tried to find music that matches the choreography. I started off creating 15-minute pieces. I was then offered opportunities, grants, and residencies to further my work and create a one-hour show. I put in the work to create a dynamic story which pulled on people’s heartstrings. I created a story that told a story, which flowed really well together. My work, New York is Burning, took a lot of piecing together with history, culture, and musicality. I also had to question myself: What do I want to say? What is the political statement? What are some topics I’ve recently talked about with some of my queer friends that I want to express? I looked into my journey and connection to African diaspora and the rebirth of myself through ballroom and queer culture. A lot of my work and process is finding which personal stories and topics I want to put out there.

What is it like in the room with your company dancers?

My dancers are so unique. We do something where I play music and allow them to freestyle. Or I’ll give them a phrase and allow them to play with that phrase. Sometimes that’s also what inspires me, and we create together. They are all phenomenal dancers, talents, and creators. I am the person who visualizes and directs the energy to channel the storytelling to be told the right way. It’s a collective process as the director.

Was New York Is Burning your longest evening length work?

Yes, New York is Burning is my longest piece running right now. My first opportunity to create work was given by Harlem Stage where I created my first repertoire which was called Sila Dijuba, which means ‘a path of hope.’ It was a story and tribute to my mom and dad and their history. The old saying ‘it takes a village to raise a child’ really stuck with me, and my parents’ teachings motivated me to truly be my authentic self. When I first created the work, it was around a 15-minute piece. The work then received further funding by Gibney Studios to become a one hour show and suddenly became ‘Sila Dijuba: The Crossroads.’ The opportunity gave me a chance to show the many different styles that crossed my path. I threw contemporary and ballet into it.

In relation to this work, is there anyone who inspired you?

There was a lot of influence from Ronald K. Brown, founder and Artistic Director of EVIDENCE Dance Company who has inspired me and kept me on the right path. He’s also a dear friend of my family and has supported my work and my company. He's one reason why I decided to push forward in this field, because he saw so much potential in me. Especially after I lost my father, he became a really strong father figure in my life. I owe him and them [‘my village’] the world for giving me strength as a Black gay man to keep going with my dreams, my goals and wanting to create a career.

As Co-Choreographer of the Off-Broadway production Cats: The Jellicle Ball, can you talk about your personal connection to the musical and ballroom culture?  

I was a Musical Theater major in high school, and that’s where I started to find community where I felt welcomed. In the ballroom and musical theater communities there’s a lot of drama and enthusiasm. There’s a lot of characters you get to play that made me feel comfortable being a black queer man. Many years later, I became a legend within the ballroom community. I am one of the cultivators and historians of its history and legacy. I'm happy to be a founding father of my own house, House of Oricci. It’s a responsibility and honor to be involved in the history of ballroom. Representation is so important. Being able to share the culture with the world and bring ballroom into new spaces and institutions is so important. When I got the opportunity with this show, I received a phone call from Bill, one of the Directors, about a reimagining of the musical Cats. At first, I didn’t think it was going to work. I had to sit down and rethink my experience of my first time watching Cats. I love the energy. I love the dancing. I love the singing. Again, I was a musical theater major; I sang and danced in high school, so it felt full circle. I get to bring two worlds that I love and am a part of together. I get to re-imagine an iconic musical. My ambition to make a ball out of Cats was motivated by giving each cat a voice and category of ballroom. We’re marrying these two worlds together into the story. It just made sense.

How does the storyline of Cats tie into Vogue ballroom culture?

These cats are literally risking their lives and trying to be Jellicle’s choice. And that’s what a Vogue ball is; we’re doing, fighting and competing to be legendary and to be icons. We are on the frontlines of activism and fighting for our community. It’s important for the role of Grizabella to be played by a trans woman, and it’s important for Black and brown bodies to be a part of this, reimagining the way that we tell the story. I'm really pleased that the world sees our version of Cats and says it makes sense. People are saying, ‘we get this. This feels good.’ It’s been amazing to see every review giving 10’s across the board, as we would say.

How was your experience collaborating with Co-Choreographer Arturo Lyons?

It’s been a beautiful journey co-choreographing with Arturo Lyons who’s another legendary icon to the ballroom community. We were both on Season Two of Legendary. He was part of the winning house, and I could not have seen myself doing the show with anyone else. Lyons pushes, motivates, and challenges me, which we do for each other. It’s the perfect connection and vibe working alongside him. I felt this show needed to have two choreographers from the ballroom world. Especially coming from the musical theater world, I felt I had enough knowledge to make each sequence fill up the theater and runway. As you can see, I keep it in the family. It’s a tight circle, but a very talented circle.

How did the choreographic process of Cats: The Jellicle Ball evolve from a concept to where it is today?

A lot of the beginning stage was sitting down in an office or in Bill’s (Director) apartment and working things out, trying to figure out how the stories and categories go together, like puzzle pieces. We had assistance from Josephine Kearns, the gender consultant and dramaturg, and Zhailon Levingston, the other Co-Director. We sat down and they picked my brain and decided what category works with each other. Each cat is an actor, so what makes sense? If we ramped up Rum Tum Tugger, what does he play? Who is the star Felice? What did they play? You know Bustopher Jones, who are they in this story? Every day was like this, which went on for years. The process took workshops, and more workshops; I think we had three to four workshops. Over the three years we started working in casting and training. Everyone we saw had something unique and special, but we had to find the right people we felt matched the story beyond vocals and physicality. We wanted genuine and authentic people, which makes this version of Cats special: no one is acting like they aren’t themselves. They’re themselves, only heightened in the characters they’re playing. They're pulling from real life experiences. Watching them tell their stories has been really beautiful.

How long was the actual casting process?

Two years. And the reason why is because we had many workshops. Within those workshops, we recast who would return for the second or third workshop, and we also had to bring people in for general auditions. We did about two runs of auditions. In the second year, there were challenges looking for the right cast. The show is vocals heavy, and we needed to make sure we had the right voices that can carry the show and the right dancers to keep the show alive and exciting.

There was a reel of the Cats: The Jellicle Ball cast dancing to the ‘Jellicle Cats’ chorus circling on the internet. Seeing Vogue dancers execute choreography to such classic Broadway music excited so many. What was your response as a choreographer to receiving so much enthusiasm and affirmation online?

It's been amazing, and I’m grateful. It’s the affirmation of, ‘Oh my god, we did it, we made it, people get it.’ Even seeing people recreate the dance on their TikTok is amazing and generational. We see new kids, elders, and die-hard Cats fans who are eating it up. There have been so many great responses we’ve gotten over the past month. The catwalk is the metaphor, and it just works. It’s beautiful. The moments of people’s genuine excitement make me feel like it’s a job well done.

What are you most excited for in the future?

I just got signed to an agency which is amazing, so I’m hoping to push forward in other fields. I would love to get into voiceover work, acting, and of course to continue choreographing in the musical theater and commercial world. I’m hoping this will catapult my dance company into a tour around the world or a residency at a major theater. There are endless opportunities that I can cease. This has opened a door, but I have to walk through it, and that’s going to take willpower, balance, and passion, which I have to constantly fuel. This opportunity has given me energy, insight, and experience to carry forward into my next projects. I’m looking forward to creating more and more opportunities for myself, and for the communities that I service to be seen.

Photo Credit: Photo 1 by Timothy Greenfield-Sanders, Photo 2 by Sigeru

 

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