Four years have passed since Mike Kaplan, an art director, marketing strategist, film producer and friend of arts·meme (FOAM), shared his hugely popular collection of dance movie posters at Jacob’s Pillow, GOTTA DANCE. Now, in certified Hollywood tradition, that exhibition has spawned a sequel. GOTTA DANCE TOO now hangs in the Pillow’s Blake’s Barn, displaying a fabulous, high-energy round of splendid and rare dance-movie posters.
Distinctive for its international breadth, Kaplan’s collection reminds us that dance is a universal language. Its diversity of styles and genres shows how the moving body has been used to market both musical and non-musical films.
Major dance and musical stars are represented, from Gene Kelly, Donald O’Connor, Al Jolson and Maurice Chevalier to Josephine Baker, Cyd Charisse, Rita Hayworth and Ginger Rogers.
An added bonus: John Wayne dances! So do Cary Grant, Olivia de Havilland, Anna May Wong, Laurence Olivier, Marlene Dietrich. Kaplan, in his collecting and curation, expands the definition of dance in the service of movie marketing to include any highly activated, enlivened body. So, choreographers, listen up! Listen to Hollywood: Dance sells!
GOTTA DANCE TOO | Jacob’s Pillow | thru Aug 26
Fabulous.. I want them all for my office!!