Choreographer Amari Marshall knows she’s a star. But, she assures me, there’s nothing like hearing Beyoncé — “the greatest artist of all time for our generation,” in her measure — say it, too. Marshall, who is also known by her stage name AmariMonster, has spent the last few years touring with Beyoncé as the dance captain and contributing choreographer on the Cowboy Carter World Tour, and co-dance captain on the Renaissance World Tour. “Her seeing me [as] a part of her actual vision on stage validated everything that I had been feeling,” Marshall says of the confidence boost that comes with a Beyoncé co-sign.
The 31-year-old has been trying to make her mark on the dance world since she was a child. She joined Systematic Dance Crew, a hip-hop dance team her parents founded in 2004, as a kid; by 18, she was participating in the Monsters of Hip Hop Show. But her big break came when she debuted with Beyoncé at Beychella in 2018. In the years since, her fierce, high-energy stage presence has made her a tour highlight for the BeyHive, who have come to see her as an ambassador for dance itself. Meanwhile, she’s become a trusted person to the entire Knowles-Carter clan. (Matriarch Tina Knowles once thanked her for being Blue Ivy Carter’s “Dance Stage Momma” in an Instagram post.) And it’s not just Queen Bey’s family knocking at her door. Marshall’s enviable list of clients and collaborators also includes Kehlani (for her “Next 2 You” video), British girl group Flo (on the Access All Areas tour), Janet Jackson (in the “Made for Now” music video), Rihanna (at the Super Bowl LVII Halftime Show and the Savage X Fenty fashion shows), Missy Elliott, and even the Chicago Bulls dancers, the Luvabulls.
Her latest project, The Imagining, is described as “a full-scale choreographic takeover” that will occur Dec. 12 and 13 at the Powerhouse Arts building, a former power plant turned art space in Brooklyn. The bash will close out the inaugural Powerhouse International Arts Festival by inviting everyone to leave it on the dance floor. Movement is her language, and she wants everyone to speak it.
Ahead of the event, we caught up with Marshall to talk about scaling up professionally, what’s killing nightlife, and being part of Beyoncé’s vision.
How is The Imagining at Powerhouse Arts different from your previous work? Did it bring about any new challenges?
Most people are so used to seeing me work with different artists like Beyoncé, Janet, Rihanna, Missy, Lizzo, the list goes on. I’ve been in the industry for 16 years, and ever since I was 18 I’ve been throwing house parties. Whether it was my birthday party, Halloween, any type of holiday, people know to always look out for an invite from me. Being able to now combine these [things], being able to include people like Jonte’, who I have been privileged to work beside during Renaissance, on a project like this, and having a budget and having a founder like David Binder that is super open to all types of ideas and all types of people, that’s why I was super inspired. I love how they say everything is very non-binary, and they’re open to all forms of art from all types of creatives. I knew this would definitely be the space for me. Being a Black woman that is leading this, it’s very rare to see someone like me in this position being able to produce events like this, in this day and age. I feel very honored to be in this position and be able to bring all my different communities together.
When Tyler, the Creator released his surprise dance album Don’t Tap the Glass this year, he said the inspiration behind it was that he noticed people were too scared to dance in public anymore for fear of becoming memes and being recorded, and he felt that was killing the human spirit. I don’t know if you’ve heard that quote, but does it resonate? Do you think we’re collectively in a dance rut?
That’s what’s been killing nightlife in general. You have all these great spaces that are providing great music, but nobody is ready, they’re all afraid to get up on the dance floor … Even for myself, I became a meme from dancing at a party called Everyday People here in New York, and the video went viral in a matter of seconds. Thankfully, I have thick skin and [am] used to being in the media, so I didn’t let that stop me. But I can imagine for someone that is not accustomed to that type of attention, that’s overwhelming and can make people seriously not want to outwardly show that they’re enjoying themselves.
[At] The Imagining, no wallflowers are allowed. Everybody’s supposed to be moving and grooving. This is the type of party where you can come by yourself and you’re going to make some friends by the end of the night.
Speaking of you going viral, I saw a video of you voguing at Open To All in Brooklyn earlier this year — one of your breasts falls out of your halter top, and you incorporate that into the choreo. So genius. What role does spontaneity play in your work?
Oh yes! A rule that we always say [is], when in doubt, freestyle it out, and fake it till you make it. Being a dancer and working with so many artists, things happen so much on stage and it’s our job to keep pushing forward. [I have] so much experience with that, sometimes forgetting choreography, sometimes I’ve had my wig fall off. There were some videos, like some fans caught it — my full heel had broke off right before we did “Girls” for Renaissance, and I did that whole section with no heel.
You work with many music icons with passionate fan bases, but while you were on the Renaissance tour you developed your own fan base of people excited just to see you. What is it like to have people recognizing you as an artist in your own right?
I’m shook. When Powerhouse told me in September, when they released the tickets, that already like 500 tickets were sold I was like, What? I knew people were very inspired by my story. I knew a lot of people saw themselves in me. But when you’re working with different artists, you sometimes just feel like those fans are there because they are their fans. I feel very humbled to know that people love me for me and want to support me because they believe in my vision and what I stand for.
This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.
