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Stage Name |
Birth Name |
Jack Cole |
John Ewing Richter |
Dancer and Choreographer, today is known as the
"Father of Theatrical Jazz Dance" by giving it a syncopated,
cool sense of power and gravity. Cole attended the Columbia University
in New York, but after seeing a great performance by the Denishawn
dance company soon left school to seek a dance career. Eventually
landing in Hollywood and choreographed many Musical Films he would
start evolving jazz dance
in his musicals to new heights with his unique style of dance,
he was not afraid to incorporate sensual movement, bumps and grinds
etc. into his choreography plus his use of emphasized isolations,
angled foot placements, quick directional changes, and long knee
slides.
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| Worked with such stars
as Gwen Verdon (assistant Choreographer to Cole,) Marilyn
Monroe, Gower and Marge
Champion, Rita
Hayworth, Tommy Tune, Rod
Alexander, Ann
Miller and Lauren Bacall and many, many others.
Jack Cole began as a modern dancer with Ruth
St. Denis and Ted
Shawn and later Charles Weidman and Doris Humphrey. Cole had
a back ground in East Indian dancing and styled much of his work
after another dancer named Bhaskar. He was also an avid devotee
of American Vernacular dances such as the Charleston and the American
Lindy hop. Many dance Choreographers watched, studied and or copied
Cole. He was an absolute inspiration to Jerome
Robbins, Bob
Fosse, Gwen
Verdon and many other well known dancers today. |
Birth Place |
Birth Date |
Spouse |
Offspring |
| New Brunswick, NJ |
4/27/1911 - 2/17/1974 |
n/a |
n/a |
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| Jack Cole Quote: " The trouble
with choreography is you have to get the person out of the way before
you can bring out the dancer." |
Dance Types |
Dance Partners |
Jack Cole Dancers |
| Ballet |
Alice Dudley |
Carol Haney |
| Ballroom |
Anna Austin |
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| Charleston |
Chita Rivera |
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| Flamenco |
Denishawn dance Company |
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| Jazz |
Florence Lessing (w/
Cole in Moon Over Miami) |
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| Ethnic (East
Indian Dance) |
Gwen
Verdon |
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| Lindy
Hop |
Jack Cole and Company |
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| Modern
Dance |
Jack Cole Dancers |
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| Swing |
Ron Field, Jim Hutchenson, Tom
Osteen |
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Night Clubs |
Theaters |
Stage |
| Chez Paree (1940s) |
44th St Theatre (1942) |
1933 - The Dream Of Sganarelle
(MOLIERE) |
| Harem Club |
46th St Theatre (1961) |
1934 - Thumbs Up (danced) |
| Rainbow Room |
Adelphi Theatre (1944) |
1942 - Keep 'Em Laughing (danced) |
| Savoy
Ballroom |
Alvin Theatre (1943) |
1943 - Something For The Boys (chor) |
| Slapsy Maxie's |
Imperial Theatre (1959) |
1944 - Allah Be Praised (chor) |
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St. James Theatre (1934) |
1947 - Bonanza Bound |
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Winter Garden Theatre (1950) |
1948 - Allah be Praised |
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Ziegfeld Theatre (1947) |
1948 - Magdalena |
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1950 - Alive and Kicking (JC Dancers) |
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1953 - Kismet |
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1959 - Jamaica |
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1958 - Carnival at Flanders |
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1961 - Donnybrook |
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1962 - A Funny Thing
Happened on the way to ... |
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1962 - Kean |
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1964 - Foxy |
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1965 - Man Of La Mancha |
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1966 - Chu Chem |
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1967 - Mata Hari |
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1969 - Bomarzo |
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Ziegfeld Follies |
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| NOTE: His style is known by many
as the "Cole Style" but Cole called it "urban folk
dance." |
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Ballrooms
