Jack cole famous works
- •
Jack Cole (choreographer)
American choreographer
Jack Cole (born John Ewing Richter; April 27, 1911 – February 17, 1974) was an American dancer, choreographer, and theatre director known as "the Father of TheatricalJazz Dance"[1] for his role in codifying African-American jazz dance styles, as influenced by the dance traditions of other cultures, for Broadway and Hollywood. Asked to describe his style he described it as "urban folk dance".[2]
His work as a dancer and choreographer began in the 1930s and lasted until the mid-1960s. Beginning in modern dance, he worked in nightclubs, on the Broadway stage, and in Hollywood films, ending his career as a teacher. He was an innovative choreographer for the camera and a hugely influential choreographer and teacher, training Gwen Verdon, Carol Haney, and Buzz Miller, among many others, and influencing later choreographers, such as Bob Fosse, Jerome Robbins, and Alvin Ailey, all of whom drew heavily from his innovations.[3]
Early life
Born as John Ewing Richter to a working-class fami
- •
Jack Cole: The 'scary' dancer who made Marilyn sparkle
Arts reporter, BBC News
He's been called the father of American jazz dancing. But Jack Cole was also the man who gave Marilyn Monroe her dance moves. Another Cole pupil, Chita Rivera - star of the original Broadway West Side Story - recalls him as a demanding choreographer but, more than 60 years on, says she'll never have cause for complaint.
Rivera is one of the few people still to have memories of dancing with Cole in his prime. She's been a Broadway star since 1957, when she created the role of Anita in West Side Story.
A year before that she'd appeared with Cole on TV on Sid Caesar's comedy show. They performed an extended and powerful version of the jazz standard the Beale Street Blues.
"Jack was extraordinary," Rivera says. "The style he created was like nothing else you'd seen. He could be exciting and scary and maybe you didn't always want to hang around with him - but I'm delighted we got to dance together at th
- •
Jack Gray (choreographer)
New Zealand choreographer, educator and artistic director (b. 1977)
Jack Gray is a New Zealand choreographer, researcher and teacher of contemporary Māori dance.
Background
Gray was born in 1977 in Te Atatu Peninsula, Auckland, New Zealand. He affiliates to the Māori iwiTe Rarawa, Ngāpuhi and Ngāti Porou.[1] He studied at Unitec completing the performing and screen arts bachelor's degree in 1998. Later in 2004 he did a diploma of computer graphic design at Natcoll Design Technology New Zealand.[1] He lives and works in Auckland.
Career
Gray founded Atamira Dance Company with Louise Potiki Bryant in 2000.[2] Gray also started his own dance company called Jack Gray Dance. Works created with this company include View From the Gods that was in the Tempo Dance Festival in 2006 and Tuawhenua which had a season at BATS Theatre in 2008 featuring dancers Shannon Mutu and Nancy Wijohn and a combination of electronic music with traditional Māori instruments performed by Charlotte90 and Alistair Fraser.&#
Copyright ©tubglen.pages.dev 2025