Heather Morris brings "Glee" to Buffalo

People at the Performing Arts Academy had a very gleeful night last night. Why you may ask? The dancers in attendance had the chance to take a hip hop class with Glee cast member Heather Morris. On Glee, Morris plays Brittany, a cheerleader in a high school glee club.

About 40 dancers showed up, including me and my two cousins. Her class was two hours in length. Morris began the class having the dancers form a circle and one by one say their name and something about themselves. In my opinion, this helped all of us get a little more comfortable around each other and it was a fun way to begin the class. I must admit, the fact I shared wasn't that I'm a dancer or anything along those lines, it was that "I'm a Gleek!"

After everyone spoke, we did a group warm up/stretch. Then Morris asked us, the dancers, what we wanted to do in class. She gave us two options, learn "Bust Your Windows" from Glee, or learn one of the dancers she performed while she worked with Beyonce. A majority of the class chose Beyonce, so we learned the dance to her song "Crazy In Love."

After we learned the combination, Morris split us into six groups. Once all the groups were done, we formed a freestyle circle, and later we all freestyled down two lines.

When the dancing came to an end, we had the opportunity to take pictures and get autographs. Once everyone was done, I interviewed Morris to learn more about Glee and her work with Beyonce.

What's it like to work with someone as popular as Beyonce?

I'll have to admit, it's nerve-wracking at first. It's definitely scary like when you're somebody that's just starting out and you're like "ah it's Beyonce." After a while you get used to it and you start to understand her and her life and it kind of prepares you for moments like this that I get to go through.

What's your favorite part about working on Glee?

My favorite part about working on Glee is that I get to do what I love all day, everyday. I get to do music, I get to dance, and I get to act. It's amazing, and everybody's awesome. It's the best cast in the whole world.

What's the hardest part about working on a musical television show?

The hardest part is probably exerting all that energy all day long for like 18 hours straight, that might be the hardest part. You have to sit and wait while they set up shots. It's not hard because you love it but it's also really tiring.

What is your schedule like?

It varies. Sometimes it will be like 5 am to 2 am but not often. Sometimes it will be like 12 pm to 2 pm. It just varies, it's different.

You did a performance to "Proud Mary" when you were in wheelchairs. What was that like?

That's a really good question! I haven't been asked that yet. That was so cool. First of all it hurt your arms and I felt bad for Kevin who's Artie who has to do it like everyday because [his character] is in a wheelchair. It was really cool though. It was funny! We were falling off our wheelchairs, everybody was pushing each other off. It was hysterical to work on that number.

Who is your favorite character, besides yours?

Oh thank you, it is. No I was talking about this earlier today and I of course want to say Sue. She's brilliant as a character. I also love Artie. He's one of my favorite characters ever because he's just so sweet so I like him a lot.

How did you get on Glee?

I kind of got to meet and interview with Ryan Murphy because I was doing "Single Ladies" at the time and it just so happened that they needed someone to teach the "Single Ladies" dance. I came in to teach it to the actors. The choreographer actually had come over and spoken to me and said well they're looking for a third cheerleader and come ready and dressed, you'll meet Ryan Murphy. So I came in, did it, and then a week later I got a call from my agency saying that I booked it. It was pretty awesome. I thought I was going to have to read. I was prepared to do a read or sing but nope, I just kind of had to dance and be pretty. That was it.

Overall, I enjoyed myself very much at Heather Morris' master class. The dancing was a lot of fun and high energy, and she was more than willing to take pictures, give autographs, and answer my questions. It was definitely a gleeful night.

Glee: Season 1, Vol. 1 - The Road to Secionals is now available on DVD. New episodes will start up again beginning Tuesday, April 13, at 9 pm on Fox.