Choreographer with Aberdeen roots helps with community theater's 'Matilda' production

Kyle Aiden is using a  break in his schedule to not only visit with family, but help out his hometown community theater.

It's an opportunity that gives him experience working on a new show and, since he's in Aberdeen for an extended time, watch as the young people in the cast learn the choreography.

"Matilda" opens Tuesday and runs through June 12 at the Capitol Theatre.

A 2009 graduate of Central High School, Aiden has organized choreography for a multitude of shows in a 10-state region and has also worked internationally in Thailand on the choreography for music videos.

The son of Dorinda and Toby Stugelmayer, Aiden was selected as his stage name through a cooperative process with his mentor.

"It's kind of a right of passage," he said.

Traveling from one show to the next

Aiden lives in LaCrosse, Wis., and he travels as he sets choreography for theatrical performances as well as show choir contest pieces and even wedding dances.

"LaCrosse is seven hours from any of my groups," he said. "In January, February and March, I saw my apartment seven days and choreographed seven musicals."

That included "Little Shop of Horrors" at Central High School, which is the 11th musical he's helped with at Central. He also assists with choreography for the school's show choir.

As for some of the more unique shows he's assembled, a competitive dance piece comes to mind. In that performance, he said, he choreographed a live chess game in which the people on stage played different chess pieces.

"Everyone fought over the crown, and they didn't know who won the game until they took the stage," he said.

He's also done choreography for the same show in different towns -- like "High School Musical." Though it's the same plot (a basketball player who auditions for the high school musical), he said, the makeup of the cast is always a little different. For example, the cast could feature eight basketball players or 22, and the choreography has to work either way, Aiden said.

The complexity of the choreography is also based on the experience of those on stage.

"I will challenge you, but never so hard that you can't grow," he said.

Aiden spending spare time with Aberdeen Community Theatre cast

For most shows, Aiden said, he'll run through the choreography for the entire show in seven days, then return for a tech week before the show opens. But, for "Matilda", he's able to work with the cast for the duration of rehearsals. In early May, Aiden had been working with the cast of "Matilda" for about a week and a half. In that time, he said, he saw the initial seeds he planted with the choreography overview grow and blossom.

"It's been exciting to see that progression," he said.

Not only has his time in town been a chance to give back to the Aberdeen Community Theatre, Aiden said, but it's been a chance to work with people he looked up to when he was younger. And it's an opportunity to plan choreography for a show not many high schools would select. Much of Aiden's work is with schools and high school students.

Working on "Matilda" has been a new experience, but one song — "Revolting Children" — has sparked a bit of nostalgia. Aiden said that's a song he selected for a dance competition piece as a teen.

During the song, all of the youth in "Matilda" are on stage in a performance that wraps up the story about a young girl with a flare for magic. Those magical moments on stage have also taken a bit of creativity, he said.

"It's been a good collaboration working the choreography around the magic," he said.

"Matilda" is at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday through June 11, and there's a 2:30 p.m. matinee on June 12. Children's tickets are $14, and tickets for adults are $20. They are available online at aberdeencommunitytheatre.com/, by calling 605-225-2228 or at Riddle's Jewelry, 3811 Seventh Ave. S.E.

Arts have made a comeback since COVID-19

Working as a choreographer has come with its challenges, especially in 2020 when the COVID-19 pandemic meant school closures, remote learning and no in-person activities for students.

"I've never been so stressed when I went from working with 22 groups to four and a show choir," Aiden said. "I knew the arts would be the last to come back."

The loss of in-person work was scary he said, but he quickly set up a studio and started doing Zoom classes. That got him through the pandemic, but not without challenges like lagging internet connections that made it hard to run through choreography and determine if everyone was following along.

Now, he said, schools are back to live performances without mask requirements and attendance limits.

"I need the arts," he said. "I live and breath it. it's my escape."

Aiden said he enjoys going to theater productions he hasn't been involved with. But he also makes a point to attend productions he has helped with and watches as the cast maneuvers through the show and the parts they've struggled with. That gives him a chance to see the growth from the beginning of a show to the end.

"I have 5,000 children. They're all over the world, but they're mine," he said.

This article originally appeared on Aberdeen News: Kyle Aiden is choreographer Aberdeen Community Theatre show Matilda