The kids are ready to rumble

In 1988, McKneely was cast in multiple roles in the production of Jerome Robbins' Broadway (a compilation of excerpts from 11 Broadway musicals that Robbins had directed or choreographed, including West Side Story). In 2000, McKneely, who had retired as a dancer and became a full-time choreographer, was asked to direct and reproduce the choreography for a production of West Side Story at La Scala Opera House, in Milan, Italy. Since then, he has directed various versions of the show in theaters across 16 countries, including China.

For about 25 years, McKneely has passed West Side Story on to new generations of dancers and audiences. For his students at Beijing Dance Academy, it was a great challenge.

"The musical has a very intense level of emotion. It's very dramatic, and it can be difficult for young people to express those emotions. As well as the love story, there is lots of grief, anger and hatred. To show that spectrum of emotion is very new for them," McKneely explains.

"I'm so passionate about the musical. As a dancer, I knew how it felt," he says.

Asked about his approach to teaching and guiding the students to connect with their emotions, McKneely says the only way is "by living and breathing it".

"I am always in character. They see me crying, yelling, fighting and being angry. I am always showing them how to do it. When you see someone else do it as a dancer, as an actor, you lose the fear," says McKneely, adding that his students fit the characters of West Side Story well, because it's a story about young people.

"During his classes, we are impressed and inspired by his passion and energy. Instead of sitting down and talking, he shows us how to act, how to dance or how to sing onstage. He helps us discover acting talent that we didn't know we had," says Yuan Shuai, 22, one of McKneely's students who plays the role of Tony, one of the show's main protagonists.