We watch people prosper out of poor situation where they are the downtrodden ones to prosperity and achieve more than expected. How life starts taking its change is a mystery. However, most life changes are as a result of hard work and struggle to keep the pace with the ever changing circumstances. Some have dreams that they work for since they are young to the time they are grown and they later achieve them. One example of such man is bob fosse. While young he was very influential in the jazz music and at age of thirteen he had done notable things. He was outstanding and popular in his later age. How people described him moved me; “characterized by finger-snapping, tilted bowler hats, net stockings, splayed gloved fingers, turned-in knees …show more content…
and toes, and shoulder rolls”. Others described him as; “blond and slim, with a disarmingly boyish smile and the belief that everything interesting was about sex. And he had perfect timing, becoming one of Broadway’s outstanding choreographers in the mid-1950s, just as the power in the making of musicals had begun shifting from directors to dance masters. Then, too, the musical, and at times bawdy affair, was now turning openly erotic; this gave him the opportunity to experiment with taboo, creating the signature style that would make him famous.” Robert Louis Fosse was one of America’s finest and prominent dancer, choreographer, actor plus film director. He was born on 23rd day of June 1927 at Chicago, Illinois. He was the fifth born in a family of six; having three elder brothers and a sister. His younger sister was born ten years after Bob. His parents were Cyril and Sadie Fosse. Bob’s passion for dancing grew through his family whereby his parents were lovers of ballroom dancing. Therefore, they passed these skills to their children by teaching them the foxtrot, jitterbug among other social dances. Bob’s mother insisted that his elder sister Patricia should join dancing classes while the rest were allowed not to attend because it was uncommon. Bobby was eight years old at the moment. His sister took him with her to the dance lessons because she needed company. This served as a platform for him to realize his talent in dancing. Both of them enrolled at Chicago Academy for Theatre Arts. Bob served as an emcee during school functions and his theatrical features were exemplary. Occurrence of great depression in the United states led to his sister leaving the school due to financial constraint. However, the artistic director offered Bob chance to work as part of a duo in his new act so that he could secure his scholarship at the institution. Partaking in the play would help him also in making money to pay for theatre classes. His father Cyril embraced the ideology. Bobby and his partner Charles formed a dance duo known as Riff Brothers, under the guidance of Weaver; who took responsibility of a manager, agent and talent booker. Bob’s first performances happened at the recitals of the academy and they entailed comedy, tap, ballet and vaudeville styles on which they had been trained. Fosse was naturally talented as a performer and had a great personality which aided in strengthening their work relationship. When he joined high school, his dance moves were polished and he used to perform in night clubs where he got exposed to the sexual freedom in the environment. He did not fear dancing with girls and would dance before big crowds and this gave him the guts to be among the top performers in these styles of dance. This gave critics a point to argue about his immoral behavior. But the fact remained that he was talented. Upon completion, he applied to join the US Navy and succeeded it was like a requirement for youths to apply for this post and after two years one was free to move out of the army.. However, he served for two years because the world war two had come to a halt. He was considered to act in ‘Tough Situation,’ a film that focused on the naval and military bases. Later, he relocated to the city of New York. His marriages to dancers Mary Ann Niles as well as Joan McCracken did not work out smoothly. However, he later married Gwen Verdon who largely inspired him though her lead role in the damn Yankees video. Together, they were blessed with a daughter named Nicole. Important Steps in Fosse’s Career Fosse’s participation in stage dancing in the late 1940s gave him chances to appear on stage.
However, his quick appearance in the Kiss Me, Kate musical film of 1953 was his major breakthrough. His competence in exhibiting excellent dance moves was undaunted as evidenced in the song ‘From This Moment On’. Jerome Robbins and George Abbott, were the two major Broadway’s experts in the field but they were amazed by Bob’s performance. In the pajama game of 1954 brought Bob into the limelight since he had the chance to perform his emblem choreographic moves. At this instance, he had the opportunity of showcasing all the styles he had been taught while learning vaudeville. Moreover, it was the first work that made him win his initial tony award for having the best …show more content…
choreography. Damn yankees musical film assisted Bob in winning more awards. He created a name for himself nationwide in the field of choreography. Further, cabaret film of 1972 helped him win eiught academy awards. Important Influences Fredric Weaver was a significance influence in the life of Bob Fosse.
He noted his natural talent during the dance lessons at the Chicago Academy of Theatre Arts. Bob had an intense passion for dance such that he gave his all into the practice. He was of great character and his personality was admirable. At his young age, he had the capability of carrying out emcee duties. Additionally, Weaver gave Bob a scholarship in which he was supposed to act a certain role in a play then earnings got from it would be used to fund fosse’s dancing lessons. George Abbott directed the pajama game musical film that made Bob rise into the limelight of choreography. He was later added a Tony award for best choreography. Fosse’s act in Kiss Me, Kate made Abbott developed a desire to help him exploit his talent and realize is full potential. Thus, he gave him a stage performance where he proved his dance prowess and won the title honorably. Further, Fosse’ admired and adored the woks of Fred Astaire. His main subject of talk was dancing. In addition, he used to watch Astaire films in a repeated manner without getting. Paul Draper’s work in the dancing field thrilled Bob. Draper was one of the starters of dancing who invented a special ballet-tap style of dancing that was mostly performed to classical music. These two icons served as role models to Bob and guided each and every choice he made pertaining
dancing. Crisis Points One of the main challenges for Bob was being an underage dancing performer in the lowly established night clubs and parody theatres in the period that led to World War 2. Audiences in these places did not embrace them well as their main focus was on the strippers rather than their precise tap skills. They were regarded as interruptions for the nights. Therefore, no one paid attention to the entertainment aspect of their moves. This was a major demotivating
...’s work. Although dancing Taylor’s choreography, Grossman was allowed the freedom to experiment and this factor allowed him to develop as a performer. Grossman has admitted that he had some fear in dancing in Taylor’s Company; however he has further added that in doing so his fears were gradually diffused and he in fact reached “a sense of peace or calm”.
An example was through the performance when he had two people from the audience to join on the stage doing Corroboree dances.
“Petrichor” was choreographed by Kylene Stephens and set on five dancers. Each dancer in the piece had a
Starring in the film were big time nominee and winners in the world that included Elijah Kelley, Uzo Aduba, singer Common, writer/singer Mary J Blige and Ne-Yo, rapper Queen Latifah, and supporting actresses Amber Riley, Shanice Williams, Stephanie Mills, and Uzo Aduba. The main dancers were Amber Riley (Addaperle), Shanice Williams (Dorothy), Ne-Yo (Tin Man), and David Grier (Cowardly Lion). All the choreography and movements was created by the well known choreographer Fatima Robinson. Fatima Robinson’s choreography displayed many jazz turns and many of the movements consisted of the dancers did not give into gravity. The movements gave off a syncopated feeling and not a soft and flowy movement like other styles of dance. The costumes were very big and over the top that captured each and every transition that the dancers
Famous choreographer George Balanchine once said, “He is the most interesting, the most inventive, the most elegant dancer of our times” and noted dancer Rudolph Nureyev also said, “He was not just the best ballroom dancer, or tap dancer, he was simply the greatest, most imaginative, dancer of our time.” These famous dancers were referring to Fred Astaire, who has been known as one of the greatest dancers of all time. His light, artistic joyful style of dancing has impacted dance in an extremely unique way. Astaire used techniques in films as well as in dance that have shaped society. Astaire was mostly prominent throughout the 1930s during the Great Depression. Everywhere, Americans were looking for some joy in their lives, and Astaire was able to give them hope in a period of history that lacked optimism. Fred Astaire’s carefree dance movement style and techniques, specifically in the films Swing Time and The Gay Divorcee, help America through the Great Depression and signifies the importance of art in this time period.
... social dance. Many people in today’s society enjoy social; dancing. Chapter eleven dance concert, properly planning and establishing a dance concert is of the utmost importance. The partnership with the lighting designer usually takes priority over all other factors. One of the most important issues concerning customers has to do with mobility. The dancer must be able to move comfortably in the costume. The task of producing a dance concert is an overwhelming and tiring one. Chapter twelve dance in education and career in dance, many dance educators present the argument that teaching and learning dance as an art form is obviously absent from the American student education. There has always been and always will be people who have a love, desire, and passion to instruct and learn the art of dance, will ensure an important place for dance in higher education.
However, New York Public Schools offered ballroom dancing classes to low-income students of color, which allowed the arts to be included in their curriculum. Watching the film, I observed the positive reaction the children had to the dance classes. Overall, they were exposed to different cultures, made new friendships, became more confident, and aware of different career options such as professional dancers or singers (Agrelo, 2005).
During this time, the Bee Gees were gaining popularity, and a lot of their music is featured in Saturday Night Fever. Their music, combined with the dancing, influenced the way that dance began to change. There was the emergence of more disco style dance being incorporated into jazz dance. “The 1970s also saw the huge impact of John Travolta in Saturday Night Fever, which boosted the image of the male dancer…” (Nalett). Seeing a male actor starring in a dancing role in a feature film was a great encouragement for men to dance. They had a sense of security that it was “cool” and
Renowned choreographer Alonzo King is the Balanchine of a new style of dance, his style of dance, a style shying away from the expected and catapulting its audience into a state of wonderment. Alonzo King uses sharp lines intertwined with severe movements, all engaging a classical technique in order to create movements, unseen in the dance world. King’s impressive résumé includes having trained with a number of world-renowned ballet companies, and setting works on an even more substantial number of companies, along with establishing his own celebrated company: Alonzo King’s LINES Ballet in San Francisco, California. Alonzo King began dancing at a young age in Santa Barbara, California. He continued his training in New York at the Harkness School of Ballet, Alvin Ailey Dance School, and then the American Ballet Theatre School and School of American Ballet as a scholarship student.
As the first African-American to create a multicultural, international concert dance company, Alvin Ailey’s dance company has been dubbed the “cultural ambassador of the world” (Gorman 36). Through his Alvin Ailey Dance Company, he addressed the racism and injustice faced by ethnic minorities across the globe. Ailey clearly revolutionized African American participation in 20th century concert dance as well as revived interest in modern dance. As an extremely talented dancer and choreographer, Ailey’s success is attributed to his dedication and passion for expression through dance, but what is often overlooked is his resilience to the hardships he faced, the mentors he had, and the opportunities
While a student in the dance program at Detroit High School for the Fine and Performing A...
It allowed the audience to view the body of a dancer or person in ways never portrayed before onstage as well as using movement to show larger ideas of social change. Fosse took his movement in his work to a more fantasized state through his perfectionist techniques, whereas Robbins created a heightened realism in his movement. Fosse, inspired by vaudeville, incorporates derbies and gloves as an allusion to hiding from the society we currently live in. Robbins takes society as it is and tries to find solutions to society's problems in the given moment they take place in. Both use emotions as actions as a commonality to approach their work. The core of Robbin’s work is shown in the descriptions of the action in each ballet. One can picture exactly what the dancers are doing and what makes this action unique. Fosse did this by making every movement so intense in detail that the dancer was forced into the sharpness of Fosse’s choreography. Robbins made actions and emotional intentions, his main goal for his performers as he believed in the actions in storytelling above all else. Robbin’s training at Stella Adler allowed him to see the perspective of the actor’s intentions more clearly than that of Fosse and also gained inspiration of bold and expressive movements from the teachings of Martha Graham. Stella Adler taught that “growth as an actor and
Another scene that depicts the way some view of breakdancing and hip hop is when James has a party and he invites Ozone and Turbo, as well as Kelly. There are a lot of wealthy people there and when they see the two males from the trio, the looks on their faces turn into those of shock. Kelly’s former dance coach is also at this party, and when he finds out the grou...
The life of Danny Thomas before he found success would not be the ideal life that comes to mind. During the Great Depression,
Bob Fosse originally choreographed Bye Bye Blackbird in 1972. It was created with the purpose of Liza Minnelli performing the lead role on her TV special: “Liza with a Z”. The Music is by Ray Henderson and the lyrics are by Mort Dixon ("Fosse - the Musical."). Bye Bye Blackbird is a dance piece in which every dancer is required to sing. There is a lead role and sixteen dancers supporting the lead. Although it was originally created and purposed for Liza Minnelli, in this production the role of the lead was played by Ben Vereen, who sings and dances the entire time. As previously mentioned: the costumes were simplified in order to draw the attention to solely the choreography. For this performance, the dancers were dressed in tight fitting black