 Gordy and the Motown staff, including vocal director Maurice King and choreographer Cholly Atkins, invested significant amounts of time and money into preparing the Supremes for their Copa debut.Tensions ran high at several points during the preparation stages.Florence Ballard was angered that her only solo number, "People", was dropped from the show while Ross herself complained about the group's staging and bristled under Gordy's criticisms of their performances.