Ryan Heffington. Jean-Baptiste Huong/Courtesy of the artist hide caption

Ryan Heffington.

"A Rational Conversation" is a column by writer Eric Ducker in which he gets on instant messenger or the phone with a special guest to examine a music-related subject that's entered the pop culture consciousness.

To help him wrap his head around music in 2014, Ducker chatted with Ryan Heffington. The Los Angeles-based choreographer and dancer was involved with two videos this year that turned out to be mega high profile phenomenons. He choreographed the video for Sia's "Chandelier," featuring an astounding performance by the then 11-year-old Maddie Ziegler, one of the stars of Lifetime's Dance Moms TV show, as well as the much debated video for Arcade's Fire "We Exist," featuring Andrew Garfield portraying a transgender woman. Other pieces that shouldn't be overlooked include the exquisite roller-skating work Heffington put together for "Gold" by Chet Faker and the showy interludes in Chromeo's "Old 45's." Heffington's work is often notable for the expressive performances that incorporate abstract modern dance movements into more mainstream forms. Here he and Ducker discuss what this year brought us and the types of performances they responded to.

What was your favorite music-related memory or experience of 2014?

There have been so many! One of them for sure was sitting at the Brite Spot after the MTV VMAs and getting a text from Sia telling me congrats. They announced Best Choreography via Twitter (glamorous) and she's how I found out.

What were some of the favorite shows or performances you went to?

Seeing FKA twigs at the Regent recently solidified my appreciation for her. Blood Orange at Coachella was incredible, and performing there [during the first week] with Arcade Fire was epic.

You were on stage with them?

We performed on this 10x10 raised platform in the middle of the audience in daisy dukes, flannels and heels for "We Exist." You can see it on the back screen in the video.

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A Rational Conversation: 2014 Through The Eyes Of A Choreographer