if he could see them now

-
Here's what had AK and I geeking out Friday night:


Who knew that white ladies in bell-bottoms were krumping waaay back in the day? "Bob Fosse was always at least 20 years ahead of his time," I said to Jamie as we were watching this video today.

"Yeah," she said, "but he probably stole those moves from a jazz club somewhere."

Dance is always references within references within references. And damn, the result looks good.

Comments

Claire said…
Awesome.

Also, I feel reassured for that brief window of time I was tempted to learn those moves because of this version.
January 5, 2009 at 9:22 PM
Tracy Lynn said…
They actually took the choreography for the Beyonce video from that Gwen Verdon version by Fosse. Because after I read this last night I had to go find out stuff about Verdon, Fosse, their daughter, Ann Reinking, etc. I'm nerdy like that.
January 6, 2009 at 8:20 AM
Peter Varvel said…
I LOVE those references! ('member the film "All That Jazz" and Paula Abdul's homage to that with the video for "Cold Hearted Snake?").
Go ON with your nerdy self, TL - Fosse's work is timeless!

I also love Fosse's work because he was not afraid to use aging dancers, the dreaded identity I have been living in for the past few years, LOL
January 6, 2009 at 11:29 AM
Cheryl said…
C: As I told AK, "When I was 17, I would have devoted my whole summer to trying to learn those moves."

TL: Great people, all. Ann Reinking was responsible for getting Chicago back on Broadway, right? I loved that revival.

PV: I like Bill T. Jones for the same reason--he uses dancers with a lot of different body types too.
January 6, 2009 at 12:12 PM
Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

soleil for a day

-
Image
1. cirque love Since starting gymnastics at age five—or at least since reading Geek Love in college—I’ve wanted to run away and join the circus. Actually, the problem was that I wanted to join the circus but I didn’t want to run away. How fortunate, then, that AK found out about Cirque School , where you can lea rn the trapeze arts without ever leaving L.A. She gave me a class for my birthday, which I finally redeemed last night (after reading up on it, I decided it sounded kind of hardcore, and that I needed to build up some flexibility and upper body strength before going—I’m not sure that happened, but a month passed, I was a little closer to reuniting with my left splits and I was itching to take the class). The classes are held at Absolution L.A. , a small West Hollywood studio walled with honey-colored wood and stocked with pilates machines, trapezes, a climbing wall, red vinyl chairs and other items of expensive-looking fu rn iture. It reminded me, I told AK later,
Read more

seasons of love

-
Image
Everything Cheryl does, she’s totally joking and completely serious.             --AK 2,628,000 minutes 2.6 million moments so dear 2,628,000 minutes How do you measure, measure five years? In new jobs , in boob jobs , in blog posts, in cups of coffee In coffee, more coffee, in coffee, and tea In 2,628,000 minutes How do you measure five extra years? How about love? How about love? How about love? Measure in love Seasons of love 2,628,000 minutes 2.6 million plans gone awry 2,628,000 minutes How do you measure public places I’ve cried ? In grants that I wrote, and novels on the side   Facebook rabbit holes are no source of pride It’s time to kiss Dashaboo Though he’s sticky with jam Let’s celebrate, remember five years Of making people deal with who I am Remember the love Remember the love Remember the love Measure in love Rent rent rent rent reeeeennnnnnt! In diapers, in houses In homies , in couples t
Read more

tops of 2023

-
Image
Recently one of my therapists (plural) told me I talk too much. Well, technically she said that while doing EMDR, she needed to interrupt my highly intellectualized storytelling more, so that we could prioritize reprocessing rather than letting me tip into re-experiencing trauma. And she said it very nicely. But a little part of me heard "You're too much for your therapist, and now you have failed," and of course that kind of thinking is why I'm in therapy. Today I listened to this episode of This American Life, in which Yousef (above, with his family), an incredibly determined, kind, and good-humored Palestinian man, talks about how his two-year-old son wants "a thousand kisses" before going to bed. He laughs and says he doesn't mind. In nearly the same breath, he says he regrets having kids, because what's the point of having children if you can't protect them? I wanted to jump through my car radio and hug him, or some other useless action, be
Read more