Why Is Chicago Musical Originally Created By Bob Fosse

always been known for the risky and powerful movements which are often why dancers retire from the company. The dancer’s movements were often very intense and emotive, such as the “throws” across the stage in which the dancers would, almost violently, launch themselves across the stage in different forms (leaps, falls and flips to name a few). Another section where the movements were emotive is where the dancers were thrusting their hips in different positions to perhaps show sexuality in “self”.

There are many important contributors to the jazz genre that have changed the way it is performed today. Two of the most famous jazz choreographers are Bob Fosse and Katherine Dunham. They introduced unique techniques that are recognized in today’s theatrical jazz productions. Although, there are many contributors to modern jazz, Fosse and Dunham dominated the culture of the mid 1900s Broadway productions and left a lasting impact on producers and choreographers of and after their time.

In “Stripping the Emperor: The Africanist Presence in American Concert Dance”, Gottschild begins by introducing unique aspects of the Africanist aesthetic including how it embraces differences and instead of the tradition European idea of resolving conflict, Africanist aesthetic presents a question and demonstrates the beauty in accepting conflict. One way in which the Africanist aesthetic differs from European ballet is how they utilize polycentrism, having multiple centers of movement, and polyrhythm, when different body parts keep multiple rhythms. Other ways include the high-affect juxtaposition, changes in mood, movement, or tempo, to the drastically contrasting sharpness and intensity in the movements. Gottschild’s main point in

Fosse began his dancing career by getting opportunities to dance in Burlesque clubs. At a young age he was exposed to and had to deal with crass men treating women as sexual objects on stage. As his career advanced Fosse received fewer and fewer opportunities, he began to doubt his abilities and grew more and more depressed with each disappointment. Because of his lack of self-confidence he became a choreographer. Fosse created a unique style which audiences loved. He used his own insecurities as a dancer and turned them into strengths. Fosse’s style was rooted in jazz. He was devoted to minute details, precision, repetition, isolation and gestures. A signature of Fosse’s choreography was the turned in feet. Fosse created this signature because turnout was difficult for him. In addition to movement contributions, Fosse’s choreography also created dancers who could act. Fosse wanted his dancers to show what they were thinking and saying clearly through movement. Every detail had a purpose and said something. Fosse’s highly talented choreographic skills and style was craved by audiences. This popularity took Fosse into the realm of film and direction (biography.com). Within the article “Bending the Genre: The Stage and Screen Versions of Cabaret” by Randy Clark, the differences between the stage and screen version are shown. For my purposes, I am going to focus on the points discusses in the Fosse and the

Bob Fosse still lives as the most prominent figure in the field of jazz dance. Fosse was an artist, his dances were a direct reflection of him: provocative, creative, motivated, driven, tough, ruthless, and full of humor. His choreography was sexual, highly demanding of even the most trained and skilled dancers, full of humor and at other times bleak cynicism. Throughout his works, Fosse tackled the full spectrum of human emotions. As an artist, Fosse was known for his uncompromising modern style. It grew to be unmistakable with his sexually suggestive forward hip-thrusts; the vaudevillian humor of hunched shoulders and turned-in feet; and the mime-like articulation of hands. It was through this unique voice and innovative style that Fosse

Cole explored all spatial level in his choreography. Knee slides and floorwork were common, and it was normal for dancers to spring from the deepest plie into high, suspended leaps. He also abhorred the smiling, happy face seen in most jazz and tap dance of the time. Instead, he preferred a cool, almost cold look in the eyes. He danced with a piercing gaze, much like a newly caged tiger, that could prod and intimidate an audience.

     Shadows which can make an object seem larger than it really is and make something scarier than it really is are a major part of this musical. Originated either in Greece or China this now Indonesian form of puppetry is called the wayang kulit and uses flat puppets made of wood and animal hide against a muslin screen. In The Lion King, shadows are used to portray many animals or ones that seem frightening. This wonderful combination of puppets masks and real people makes this a most wonderful sight. There are certain themes that are portrayed such as listen, remember, and learn as they teach us to be part of “the Circle of Life,” remember who we are and where we came from,

Shadows which can make an object seem larger than it really is and make something scarier than it really is are a major part of this musical. Originated either in Greece or China this now Indonesian form of puppetry is called the wayang kulit and uses flat puppets made of wood and animal hide against a muslin screen. In The Lion King, shadows are used to portray many animals or ones that seem frightening. This wonderful combination of puppets masks and real people makes this a most wonderful sight. There are certain themes that are portrayed such as listen, remember, and learn as they teach us to be part of "the Circle of Life," remember who we are and where we came from, and learn from our mistakes.

Before one can understand why Bob Fosse has had such an indelible impact on the musical theatre community, one must understand the world that existed before he had stepped into the limelight. The American musical comedy gained international significance during World War I, distracting a run-down theatre-going public with light-hearted sentiments and popular songs “at the expense of a plot” (Acuban). Many shows were musical revues, series of sketches or songs with little to no connection between them, or sentimental operettas that were tailor-made for an audience to digest with ease. The appearance of Broadway’s Showboat in 1927 represented a brief respite from the comparatively frivolous productions of the previous decade, but the lighthearted

Ballet “Cry” simply showed to us real life of all African women. Every single American people know what kind of life they went through. Therefore it touched their heard. Alvin Ailey’s “Cry” presented wonderfully combined movements, technique and emotion. Ms. Donna Wood uses tragic face, a mask of sorrow. It is a face born to cry, but when she smiles it is with an innocent radiance, joyfulness that simple and lovely. She never tries consciously to please an audience. He was not only concentrating in movements and physical performance, but also using flowing white gown

Dance was not a new element in the theatre realm. It had been used for years as a way of interpretation of feelings of a character that the writer or director wanted the audience to feel visually. Through movement, expression of those feelings was portrayed and helped the audience to somewhat

It was during this time that man who later came to be known as the “Father of Theatrical Jazz Dance”, Jack Cole, was busy developing his technique. Jack Cole had studied modern, ballet, and ethnic dance, had been a student at Denishawn and had done choreographic work in the nightclub scene. In the 1940’s there was a serious demand for groups of trained dancers for film work and Jack Cole was the one who started developing these trained jazz dancers for the Hollywood movie musicals. Also, during this time Gene Kelly, began making his mark as a dancer in Hollywood musicals. His impact on jazz was his individual, energetic dance style that combined athletic, gymnastic qualities with jazz and tap.

The movements were very specific and showed the story of the dance. The partners used many movements that contained many body

The overall form that is used in the Chinese Lion Dance music is in the form of Rondo. Actually from the performances we can hear that the music in all the parts are different but there is only one part that we usually will remember. Every different parts represents different motion and meaning of the emotions of the lion and the actions that the lion is doing.

Around the turn of the nineteenth century, new musical forms such as ragtime and jazz saw development in urbanized areas particularly through the influence of the African-American community. These contemporary genres compelled the evolution of dance toward expression that was more “exuberant with exaggerated body movements” (Edmondson). By the 1920s, this led to the creation of the Charleston and the Lindy Hop, the direct predecessors to Swing. In particular, the Savoy Ballroom, opened in 1926 in New York, was central to this development because there “dancers soon incorporated tap and jazz steps into their dancing,” led by individuals such as Benny Goodman and Herbert White (Heikkila).