To the audience of a Broadway show, what’s being presented onstage is crisp, harmonious, and expertly crafted. But in most cases, the production has had a yearslong journey to that polished final product—a journey that often winds through one or more other theaters.

Broadway choreography has long been an amalgam of different social dances and forms like jazz, tap, and ballet. But today’s shows are increasingly using movement makers from genres outside the musical theater world altogether, like experimental dance (David Neumann, Annie-B Parson, Raja Feather Kelly), commercial dance (Sonya Tayeh, JaQuel Knight, Keone and Mari Madrid), modern dance (Camille A. Brown), and physical theater (Steven Hoggett).

“La Cage aux Folles” took Broadway by storm 40 years ago last August—just as the AIDS pandemic reached the public’s consciousness. Here are some of the original Cagelles’ stories.

“In this industry, people often chase something because it’s the thing to do,” says Tilly Evans-Krueger, “but I chase authenticity, so I can book the jobs that will help me grow into the artist I truly want to be.” This approach has landed Evans-Krueger roles in a slew of standout Broadway, off-Broadway, and dance productions, including Moulin Rouge!, The Lucky Ones, and the premiere of Justin Peck and Jackie Sibblies Drury’s Illinoise at the Fisher Center at Bard. Earlier this year, she was the movement coordinator for the new off-Broadway play Jonah.

JaQuel Knight has squeezed so many genres of dance into the long-awaited revival of “The Wiz”—fresh off a pre-Broadway national tour, and opening at the Marquis Theatre in April—that he finds it easier to share the only style he didn’t include.

What happens when a theater-loving choreographer and a dance-loving director work together? The new Broadway musical “Lempicka.”

March’s performance calendar is action-packed, with perspective-shifting premieres from women choreographers, ambitious works touring to the U.S., a pair of Broadway musicals inspired by popular novels, and more.

From Broadway stages to international arenas, Mattie Love’s dancing is electrifying. She has an uncanny ability to move through choreography fluidly but with punchy accents and a raw, earthy quality. Although having such a distinctive style of moving might have intimidated her at first, it’s become her superpower, leading her into some of the most coveted gigs, including performing as Madonna’s doppelgänger in her Celebration Tour.