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I'm starting a new theme on great choreographers of Broadway and movie musicals. For the next few posts, I'll profile some of the greatest and most influential choreographers who have worked on both Broadway and in film musicals. Some of the choreographers I'll write about are Agnes de Mille, Michael Kidd, Onna White, Bob Fosse, and Jerome Robbins.
Agnes de Mille was born into a well-known and respected film industry family. Her uncle was the successful director, Cecil B. de Mille and her father was also a film director. De Mille started to study ballet as a child but she didn't seem to have a natural ability for classical ballet. On her own, she studied the acting of stars in her father's films and, by the age of 11, was cast in a film. [read more ...]
Although Michael Kidd was probably best known for his choreography of the film musical "Seven Brides for Seven Brothers," he had a very successful career as a Broadway choreographer both before and after the film. However, it was the gymnastic character of the dances in "Seven Brides for Seven Brothers" that influenced future movie choreograpy. [read more ...]
Onna White, choreographer of numerous Broadway musicals and the movie version of "Oliver!," introduced large street scene choreography to the big screen. She created lively dances that involved large numbers of dancers in natural environments. Her work on "Oliver!" in 1968 earned her a special Academy Award. [read more ...]