Fantastic: new generation discovers Jack Cole, launches ‘homage’ nightclub act in his name 2

I could not be more delighted. In my upcoming biography of the dancer/choreographer Jack Cole, which is completed but awaits publication, I have written extensively about the three outlets in which Cole choreographed and performed: on the Broadway stage, on screens of Hollywood, and in nightclub stage shows. All three bear witness to his dance brilliance, but it has always been the nightclub act, so populist in its nature, where I have found deepest fascination — if only because swank nightclubs are a world disappeared. I believe it was in clubs that Jack Cole made his boldest experimentation and sketched choreography for later use on stage and screen.

Jack Cole’s nightclub career divides into two chapters. He first led a trio, dancing before two female dancers, from 1934-43. Then, from 1947-49, he toured with a troupe ranging between six to twelve, in nightclubs nationwide, famously in New York, Chicago, Miami and Los Angeles. He also played Las Vegas, including at Bugsy Siegel’s Flamingo resort. Everywhere, in the era, where dance in nightclubs was concerned, he ruled as King Cole.

This untold dance history will soon be shared in my book. But to whet the appetite, a troupe of young dancers (whom I expect are as obsessed by Jack Cole as myself) have been unearthing his sensual, flowing, elegant choreography and bringing it to action where it should be: in the intimacy and close proximity of nightclubs.

COLE JAZZ Directed/Choreographed by Cam Loeser; West African Choreography by Angel Kaba; Bharatanatyam Choreography by Ramita Ravi; Associate Choreographer Evy Vaughan; Videography by A Dangerous Mind (Andrew D. Manning) Editing by Conor Romero

Jack Cole Dancers | The Midnight Theater, New York City | June 10, opening, Mondays through June