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When attending a musical, an audience member expects incredible singers, noteworthy actors and good dancers.

Legally Blonde, The Musical far surpasses these expectations with choreography that is amazing.

Five years before the curtain went up, the choreography was already beginning to form. In auditions, then in workshops, and finally in rehearsals, the choreographer and director Jerry Mitchell spent countless hours molding movements and their arrangements until he was finally satisfied with the spunky diversity of dance.

Choreographing for musicals means integrating dance into the actors’ character portrayals, thus maintaining fluidity in telling the show’s story.  Legally Blonde, The Musical achieves this objective.

Inside the smoothly placed pieces of music and dancing in the production, movements usually reflect the events in the plot.

The ever-flirty, overly bubbly attitudes of the main character, Elle Woods, and her posse of sorority sisters serve as inspiration for most steps.

Sexy hip movements and provocative shimmies turn traditional Broadway step-touches into a whirl of glamorous excitement.

True to the flamboyant characters, even walking is influenced with a jazz swagger. Other styles are also represented in a hip-hop influenced cheerleading scene, in a quick attempt at krumping by Elle and in hints at African dance by the ensemble.

Though at times the mix seems random, the spirit of the show stays alive because of the chaos of silly details such as the Irish step dancing in a fantasy of the hairdresser friend Paulette and the tap dancing of Elle herself.

In the end, however, the movement includes more than just a mix-up of traditional forms of dance.

Throughout the show it is clear that Mitchell took much care in perfecting the visual aspect of prop usage. The legal client, Brooke Wyndham, and her exercising team is one example of this usage in the incorporation of swinging jump ropes in organized patterns and movements.

Perhaps the most impressive aspect of the show’s dancing is the ability of the actress portraying Elle to master such diverse styles and have the stamina to do them all for such a long time.

An amazing singer, actress and surprisingly talented dancer, Becky Gulsvig played Elle in the June 25 matinée and maintained incredible energy.

The actress playing Elle “has to be a 10 singer, a 10 actress and a 10 dancer,” said Paul Canaan, a member of the ensemble. Gulsvig certainly met these qualifications.

By the end of the show, the cast had even the audience dancing in their seats.

Anjuli Branz is the co-editor in chief for the Marin Academy Voice in San Rafael, Calif.