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Lady Gaga’s Choreographer, Richy Jackson, Shares Details on Her Highly Anticipated Coachella Performance (Exclusive)

Lady Gaga
Lady Gaga on February 12, 2017 in Los Angeles, California.Christopher Polk/Getty Images

Keeping Mother Monster shrouded in mystery! Us Weekly spoke to Lady Gaga’s choreographer, Richy Jackson, about Gaga’s highly anticipated upcoming Coachella performance, and though he was careful not to spill too much, here’s what he would share.

Currently, Jackson, Gaga, and their Coachella crew are deep “in full rehearsal days,” Jackson told Us. “It’s really like no sleep. We’re going to rehearse … literally until they say, ‘Ladies and gentlemen, Lady Gaga.’”

Gaga’s longtime dance guru wouldn’t say exactly how long the “John Wayne” singer would be onstage this Saturday, April 15, and again on Saturday, April 22, but did acknowledge that they are “slated for at least an hour and a half.”

Will fans attending weekend two of Coachella be able to expect the same show that the Grammy winner delivers weekend one? “You never know,” teased Jackson. “You never know what we’re going to do over here! We may keep it the same, we may change it!”

Jackson was equally tight-lipped on the overall look of the show, refusing to say whether the Coachella performance would pay deference to the festival’s desert setting, in the same way Gaga’s Super Bowl performance incorporated a football theme. But the choreographer would admit that “this performance is really going to be for Coachella. It’s going to be a ‘for Coachella moment’ and then when we get to the tour” — Gaga’s “Joanne” tour kicks off in Vancouver in August — “it’s going to be a whole new ballgame.”

Related: Lady Gaga's Craziest VMA Looks

As anyone familiar with the chameleon-like performer knows, Gaga is anything but predictable. And Jackson assures us: “I’ve made changes to pre-existing choreography, especially with her, since the beginning. I’m always recreating bodies of work, even on older material. Because I feel like you have to shift it. And for those who’ve never seen her it’s a new routine, but for those who have seen her, they get to see some new stuff as well.”

Related: Lady Gaga's Crazy Colorful Looks

Should Jackson throw any last-minute curveballs Gaga’s way, “She can learn really fast,” he revealed. “Her ability to pick up and deliver is good. She’s great. That’s definitely picked up a ton over the past ten years.”

Set in Indio, California, Coachella draws an estimated 99,000 guests to each day of the festival’s six day run, and many of this year’s attendees purchased tickets when Beyoncé was originally confirmed as the Saturday night headliner, well before the “Sandcastles” singer revealed she was pregnant. However, on Thursday, February 23, Coachella announced Beyoncé would no longer be performing on “the advice of her doctors,” sending many concertgoers into a frenzy. Less than a week later, Gaga tweeted an updated Coachella lineup poster and confirmed she’d be taking her “Telephone” duet partner’s place.

Related: Lady Gaga's Most Outrageous Stunts and Scandals

Jackson said he didn’t feel pressure to create a show specifically for those who came out for Queen B. Instead, he built a show for “the Coachella audience member. Whether you were there to see Beyoncé or any other act, it’s still the experience of Coachella. It attracts a certain kind of fan that wants to be out in the desert and experience art and music in a different way. It’s more thinking about the Coachella-goer.”

Taking place April 14-16 and 21-23, Coachella will host performances from more than 100 artists, including Kendrick Lamar, Lorde, Radiohead, DJ Khaled and Bon Iver.

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