From Toronto’s street dance scene to Broadway, Bobby ‘Pocket’ Horner is making a splash

Bobby “Pocket” Horner takes my call somewhere on the noisy streets of New York City.

It’s a rare moment of free time for Horner, who uses the pronouns they and them. They’re just a few weeks out from opening the Broadway run of “& Juliet,” the hotly anticipated Max Martin jukebox musical that asks what might have happened had Juliet not died in Shakespeare’s most famous play. “& Juliet” played to immense success in its out-of-town tryout here in Toronto and opens on Broadway on Nov. 17.

Horner, a longtime street dancer, plays Rumour in the high-energy, confetti-filled musical. A featured member of the show’s ensemble, Horner and their impressive dance chops are instantly recognizable onstage.

Now just getting settled in New York as a Broadway actor, Horner is eager for “& Juliet” to open.

“Moving here is probably one of the hardest things I’ve ever done,” the Ontario native said in our interview, midday traffic honking behind them.

“For as long as I can remember, I’ve wanted to live here … Now I’m here and we’re getting closer to opening every day. I can feel how much I belong in this place, which is really special to me. I don’t want to go back. Don’t tell my mom!” they joked.

Horner got their start as a dancer out of high school, soon finding immense success within Toronto’s street dance scene.

“I auditioned for a pre-professional program where I’d go downtown once a week, and train with different choreographers in the city and take different classes … I did a little bit of everything,” they said.

“Through that experience, I met my mentor who I’ve been training with for the past eight and a bit years. Then I auditioned for the street dance program he invited me to — I think I was 21 at the time.”

For Horner, the love affair with street dance was totally serendipitous, a surprising passion that would launch their career in show business.

“These very odd circumstances kind of fell into my lap,” said Horner, who was living in Newmarket at the time. “I’ve always been interested in it and loved it, but I didn’t really have the exposure or resources to find where to learn these styles.”

Street dance, for the uninformed, is a separate genre of dance from hip hop, according to Horner. Horner specializes in “popping” and “locking,” two sub-genres of street dance.

When Horner’s dance career took off, they began to address the fact that they had “absolutely no” acting experience — a wise choice, it turned out.

“I’ve always been interested in it, and I think I did a play when I was 12,” they said. “I just haven’t had much experience. It’s my dancing that’s generally gotten me in the door. And I’ve just so happened to be good enough to also get me into other doors.”

“& Juliet” was a perfect fit for Horner — they knew quickly it was the right project for them.

Horner and the show’s choreographer, Jennifer Weber, had worked together previously on the Disney flick “Zombies 2.” Weber remembered Horner when it came time to pick the North American cast of “& Juliet” and the rest is, well, history.

“It feels like the most aligned I’ve ever been, in my whole life, doing anything,” said Horner. “It’s so very special. It’s wild. The craziest. Makes no sense.”

“& Juliet” hasn’t changed much in the move from Toronto to Broadway, according to Horner. If anything, the project has only become more joyful for them.

“I think we’ve added a dance number. But outside of that, I think it’s pretty much the same. The way I feel about the show is unlike anything I’ve ever felt … given my lack of experience in this realm, I feel so at home and I’ve never been so happy.

“I think the thing I’m realizing is that there’s a lot of themes in the show I support with my whole heart and I’m just so glad that there’s space for these kinds of messages. I’m so honoured to be onstage with the people who are changing the game as we speak. I don’t have the right vocabulary to express the amount of love and gratitude I have around me.

“It’s just everything I’ve ever wanted to do,” continued Horner. “I’ve been preparing my whole life for this.”

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