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It’s correct. The attention given, this past week, to the choreographer Jack Cole at the very moment of the debut of the Fosse/Verdon mini-series on FX. It’s correct because Verdon, a miraculous, one-off entertainer, was nearly a creation of Cole’s. And it’s correct because, basically: no Jack Cole, no Bob Fosse. Cole carved a space for a particular kind of movement on stage and screen that was so influential that other choreographers — Fosse primary among them — picked up the ball and ran with it immediately, eclipsing the innovator.
In a segment of “Witness History,” BBC arts reporter Vincent Dowd interviews Chita Rivera and myself to elucidate some of the dimensions of Cole’s innovation. Listen here.
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Dowd’s extended essay based on his radio segment is published here.
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Thank you, Steve! Debra
Excellent BBC Interview on Jack Cole.