Happy birthday to a champion of a dancer named Marge

Dance · Film
Hello New Yorkers! Looking for a way to turn a difficult anniversary into a positive occasion? A beautiful and worthy event will honor one of the Silver Screen’s great dancers and it also supports the Dance Films Association. It’s the DFA’s celebration of Marge Champion’s 93rd birthday with a Show Boat Cruise September 13, from ...

Robert Osborne asks: “Why did Jack Cole fade away?” 2

Dance · Film
A sample from “Choreography by Jack Cole” to be broadcast Monday September 10 (8 pm Eastern, 5pm Pacific) on Turner Classic Movies.

Dance Heritage Coalition unveils “Irreplaceable Dance Treasures” online

Dance
The Dance Heritage Coalition (DHC) has launched a tremendous new online exhibition, America’s Irreplaceable Dance Treasures: The First 100. Newly commissioned essays, bibliographies and research resources, and curated visual materials are included. Here’s but a brief sampling: Anna Schuman Halprin is one of the “founding mothers” of the American avant-garde in modern dance. Beginning with ...

Preview! Jack Cole honored on Turner Classic Movies September 10 4

Dance · Film
Read the story on the Turner Classic Movies website.

Keith Glassman & Dancers in the shadow of LAX

Dance
The West Los Angeles sky was grey, low-hanging, and pregnant with jets on airport take-offs and approaches. Into this weird netherworld Keith Glassman set loose a tribe of good movers in a ramp-and-rooftop dance exploration last Friday evening. The event was produced by former Merce Cunningham dancer Jim Self and “Pak” Trules. As airplanes trolled ...

Welcome to Los Angeles, Ido Tadmor

Dance
The renowned Israeli choreographer Ido Tadmor will visit Los Angeles next week for performances and workshops.

An actress & her dance coach

Dance · Film
Two utterly amazing human beings, beautiful people, professional collaborators, and personal friends. He wielded enormous influence on her screen persona and on her career. This photo represents, for me, a most delirious encounter between dance and film worlds; nothing from Astaire or Kelly however great, speaks [to me] as powerfully. Here we have Jack Cole, ...

The great Mitzi Gaynor recalls Jack Cole, courtesy of UCLA Film & Television Archive

Dance · Film
After a screening on Saturday August 4, 2012, of THE I DON’T CARE GIRL (Twentieth Century Fox, 1953), we enjoyed a fun panel discussion of the film. It all happened at the Billy Wilder Theater of the Hammer Museum under the auspices of UCLA Film & Television Archives, which had a rare print of the ...

Jack Cole’s 3 dance masterpieces from “The I Don’t Care Girl”

Dance · Film
We’re watching a rare 35mm print of the film tonight, courtesy of UCLA Film & Television Archive. Here’s what all the fuss is about, in order of appearance in the film: The Johnson Rag I Don’t Care Beale Street Blues

Bob Fosse’s “From This Moment On” from Kiss Me, Kate 1

Dance · Film
Thirty years as a dance critic focused on classical ballet and modern dance has led me to a new fascination: high-impact commercial dance of stage and screen. It fits my mood to see dancers hustle with high energy — and entertain. This number features Carol Haney, a Jack Cole dancer and rehearsal assistant to Gene ...