In the early days of “Hamilton,” choreographer Andy Blankenbuehler realized he had a problem: The dancers were onstage through nearly all of the first act, so that they barely had time to catch their breath and recover.

He adjusted their work but held on to the idea of using movement to convey or highlight nearly every part of the hit Broadway show’s story—down to the bullet, personified by a slow-motion dancer, that kills Alexander Hamilton.

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