After a European tour circa 1950, Jack Cole dancer Paul Steffen — a member of Cole’s resident dance company at Columbia Pictures who performed in Cole’s Rita Hayworth pictures and more — settled in Italy for the rest of his life. There he made this work — a great youtube ‘find’ for this researcher.
The handsome Steffen shows up at 0:09.
Steffen also danced for Lester Horton. What this work brings to mind is that Steffen & Co. performed at the Lido nightclub in Paris. This is very Lido-esque.
More than a dollop of Italian futurism in here, as well as in the music. I wonder where Steffen got his concept? A similar “rope dance” performed by Cole and Gwen Verdon pictured here.
There is also the short piece from Les Girls with Gene Kelly where he and the female trio are using long ribbons to entwine each other. Cole choreographed that one, yes? To me the music and feel has a bit of science fiction vibe to it. When did the sci-fi trend happen in the 1950s?
It’s interesting exploring the place he lived in Italy, Calcata. At one time condemned by Mussolini, all the then residents were moved out and it was only saved from destruction by the war. It subsequently turned in to a sort of Hippieville, populated by random bohemians from all over the world. There are even a couple of videos on You Tube showing Steffen in his latter days, including this one of the mirrored cave in his basement. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XZtC-hkycI8
Steffen worked with Lester Horton in Los Angeles, who to my mind was not huge on props, but I may stand corrected. I see a lot of influence of Italian futurism in this choreography ….
Very cool. Wonder if there was a connection between Steffen and Alwin Nikolais?