Bob Fosse Research Paper
Bob Fosse is a choreographer, dancer and director best known for Tony Award-winning musicals including Chicago and Cabaret.
Bob Fosse was born in Chicago, Illinois, on June 23, 1927. A trained dancer, Fosse achieved success as a choreographer and director of stage and screen musicals. Fosse took an early interest in dance, displaying unusual skill. His parents supported his interest, enrolling him in formal dance training. By his early teens, Fosse was dancing professionally in local nightclubs. It was here that he was first exposed to the themes of vaudeville and burlesque performance, where at the age of 15 he choreographed his first number in a night club. Fosse died of a heart attack in Washington, D.C., on September 23, 1987.
Early in
his dance career Fosse landed himself a few parts in the cast of a Broadway chorus. He then appeared briefly in 1953 in the MGM movie musical Kiss Me Kate. It was then that his work attracted the attention of Broadway director George Abbott and choreographer Jerome Robbins.
In 1954, Fosse choreographed the show, Pyjama Game, which was directed by George Abbott. Incorporated in the showed was Fosse’s signature style of complex moves and imagery drawn from vaudeville, instantly become popular. Pyjama Game awarded him his first Tony Award for Best Choreography.
A man with scoliosis, painful arthritis, pigeon footed, was going bald at the age of 17; hated his hands and aspired to be the next Fred Astaire. He was no physically built to be a dancer, but he used his imperfections to create one of the most iconic dance styles in the jazz genre. Unable to play many roles in movies because of the balding, he chose to use his imperfections to make perfections. He used his curved back to create a hunched shoulder, and his pigeon feet lead to the turned in or knocked knees. His movements were pedestrian and seen as clean because of their simplicity. He preferred the angels of the body with the odd shapes rather than the trend of long lines.
Bob Fosse was born in Chicago, Illinois, on June 23, 1927. A trained dancer, Fosse achieved success as a choreographer and director of stage and screen musicals. Fosse took an early interest in dance, displaying unusual skill. His parents supported his interest, enrolling him in formal dance training. By his early teens, Fosse was dancing professionally in local nightclubs. It was here that he was first exposed to the themes of vaudeville and burlesque performance, where at the age of 15 he choreographed his first number in a night club. Fosse died of a heart attack in Washington, D.C., on September 23, 1987.
Early in
his dance career Fosse landed himself a few parts in the cast of a Broadway chorus. He then appeared briefly in 1953 in the MGM movie musical Kiss Me Kate. It was then that his work attracted the attention of Broadway director George Abbott and choreographer Jerome Robbins.
In 1954, Fosse choreographed the show, Pyjama Game, which was directed by George Abbott. Incorporated in the showed was Fosse’s signature style of complex moves and imagery drawn from vaudeville, instantly become popular. Pyjama Game awarded him his first Tony Award for Best Choreography.
A man with scoliosis, painful arthritis, pigeon footed, was going bald at the age of 17; hated his hands and aspired to be the next Fred Astaire. He was no physically built to be a dancer, but he used his imperfections to create one of the most iconic dance styles in the jazz genre. Unable to play many roles in movies because of the balding, he chose to use his imperfections to make perfections. He used his curved back to create a hunched shoulder, and his pigeon feet lead to the turned in or knocked knees. His movements were pedestrian and seen as clean because of their simplicity. He preferred the angels of the body with the odd shapes rather than the trend of long lines.