Choreographer and ‘dance doctor’ Suzy Miller lends youth theaters a hand

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The best dance moves occasionally come to light when someone falls out of sync with the rest.

“I’m big on mistakes,” choreographer Suzy Miller told the Sun. “There’s no mistakes [really], only unexpected solos. … A lot of my stuff is: ‘You know what you did right there? Keep that.’”

This approach is especially helpful for young dancers, added Miller, who often works with high school students on musical productions at Pioneer Valley High School, Righetti High School, and other schools. 

She hopes these shows help students learn “not to be afraid of doing something wrong,” whether it’s dance-related or not. 

Miller has choreographed musicals and dance recitals for various companies—with performers of all ages—from scratch, but she also steps in mid-production as a “dance doctor,” she explained. 

“I still choreograph, but one of my favorite things to do is go in and doctor other people’s work, because it’s so easy and fun,” said Miller, whose primary job in those cases is to help generate dance moves based on a show’s specific story and characters.

“I was always known as a choreographer who helped dancers learn to dance from the inside out,” she said. “With [my] musical theater background, I understand how to tell stories and to find character. You have to know: What do they smell, see, hear, taste, feel?”

Miller helped flesh out a recent production of Newsies with movements that correlated with characters’ actions and emotions. She looked at the show’s historical basis—the poverty and other circumstances surrounding the newsboys strike of 1899—for inspiration, while integrating moves to represent frustration, oppression, angst, and courage.

Before walking into the rehearsal phase of high school productions like Newsies, held in March at Pioneer Valley, and Mean Girls, held in March at Righetti, students basically have their dance counts and basic shapes down by the time she gets involved.

“I get to breathe life into it,” Miller said. “I get to mess it up around the edges. It’s very fun. It’s the opposite of tedium.”

Originally from the East Coast, Miller said her career in choreography took her to Los Angeles, San Francisco, and other cities before she set her sights on the Central Coast almost three decades ago.

“This is the longest I’ve ever been anywhere, but it doesn’t feel like it,” the San Luis Obispo resident said. “Here I am 25 years later still thinking I’m new in town.”

While living in LA during the ’90s, Miller was once hired by an event planner to lead a special tango lesson at a house party, hosted by Leonard Nimoy, she said. 

“He showed me around and I got to see ‘the Spock room,’” Miller said. “There were Spock bobble-heads, Spock lunch boxes—you name it, he had it in a Spock version.”

William Shatner, Patrick Stewart, and Sandra Bullock were among the guests who attended the party, Miller said. Her eventual move to SLO came with another notable celebrity encounter. 

During the early 2000s, she worked on a local production of You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown with SLO County native Zac Efron.

“Zac was our Snoopy. He was so fabulous, … charming and funny,” she said. “My mom and dad were visiting from back East. They came to a rehearsal. Zac was like 13. My mom watched the whole rehearsal, … and then afterwards, she said, ‘That Snoopy is going places. You mark my words,’ she said.

“‘You tell that Snoopy to thank you in his acceptance speech.’”

Highlight

• The Santa Maria Recreation and Parks Department invites the public to enjoy swimming at the Paul Nelson Aquatic Center without an entry fee during its free and family-friendly recreational swim day, on April 26, from 12:30 to 3:30 p.m. Visit cityofsantamaria.org for more info. The Paul Nelson Aquatic Center is located at 600 S. McClelland St., Santa Maria.

Senior Staff Writer Caleb Wiseblood can be reached at cwiseblood@santamariasun.com.

This article appears in Apr 24 – May 4, 2025.