Namita Kapoor has performed under the direction of some of the biggest names in the world of American dance forms – Marguerite Derricks, Baayork Lee, Lynn Dally – with credits from Broadway to Bollywood, but now she is performing and directing a work for 12 dancers that looks back to the father of theatrical Jazz dance, Jack Cole. Hindu Swing illuminates the historical relationship between Indian and Western music and dance as they were ingeniously blended in the choreography of Cole, a nightclub dancer in the 1930s who went on to choreograph for Broadway and Hollywood. Among the starlets whose careers he helped advance are Rita Hayworth, Betty Grable, Jane Russell, Mitzi Gaynor and, most famously, Marilyn Monroe. Cole was a student of Ruth St. Denis and Ted Shawn who continued his dance education in the Indian style of Bharatanatyam. His gift for setting the movements of East Indian dance to the swing beat of jazz music, a style which eventually earned the moniker “Hindu swing,” has left an indelible mark on American dance. At the ODC theater on JUNE 6th @ 4pm, Kapoor will present the 30 minute workshop performance that pays homage to Cole and his legacy. In addition to Cole-inspired choreography by Kapoor, Hindu Swing showcases the work of several of Kapoor’s dance teachers, all of whom studied derivates of Cole technique: Lynn Brilhante, Ann Barrett-Eschabar and Bruce Biada, including a 12-piece jazz ensemble directed by Teddy Edwards of the Jazz Mafia and classical Indian percussionist Jim Santi Owen. Kapoor recently received generous support from the Phyllis C. Wattis Foundation to present the full length World Premiere of Hindu Swing in early 2016. Stay tuned for details. |
|
who WAS jack cole ?
Special Thanks to Dance Writer Debra Levine, for her extensive knowledge and research on Jack Cole. Her writings and research can be found on her blog here:
DEBRA LEVINE: ARTS MEME BLOG Other great Links: BOB BOROSS: DANCE HISTORIAN CINEMA NRITYA GHARANA: JACK COLE & INDIAN DANCE NAMITA KAPOOR'S JACK COLE YOU TUBE CHANNEL |
All photographs of Jack Cole link to the websites in which they were taken from. Fore more information on Cole also refer to these articles and information complied by dance writer Cassidy from Cinema Nritya Gharana:
Book and Article Sources:
Boross, Bob - Jack Cole as researched by Bob Boross (FULL TEXT)
Gottfried, Martin - All His Jazz: The Life and Death of Bob Fosse (SELECTED TEXT)
Hall, Fernau - Honoring Uday Shankar
Hill, Constance Vallis - From Bharata Natyam to Bop: Jack Cole's "Modern" Jazz Dance
Loney, Glenn Meredith - Unsung Genius The Passion of Dancer Choreographer Jack Cole
McLean, Adrienne L. - The Thousand Ways There Are to Move: Camp and Oriental Dance in the Hollywood Musicals of Jack Cole (SELECTED TEXT)
Renouf, Renee - La Meri: A Life in Ethnic Dance
Ries, Frank W. D. - Scholarship and Musical Theatre (Review of Unsung Genius above and Marilyn)
Ruyter, Nancy Lee - La Meri and the World of Dance (FULL TEXT)
Sherman, Jane - The Drama of Denishawn Dance
Steihl, Pamyla Alayne - The "Dansical": American Musical Theatre Reconfigured as a Choregrapher's Expression and Domain (FULL TEXT)
Edit: Additional Sources:
American Master Choreographer Jack Cole Feted at Jacob's Pillow (Huffington Post)
Jack Cole Made Marilyn Monroe Move (Los Angeles Times)
Jack Cole-tagged posts at artsmeme.com (check out these vintage costumed Cole pics)
http://www.walkerdance.org/WALKERDANCE/JackColeBio.html
http://www.queenstheatre.org/films-jack-cole
Book and Article Sources:
Boross, Bob - Jack Cole as researched by Bob Boross (FULL TEXT)
Gottfried, Martin - All His Jazz: The Life and Death of Bob Fosse (SELECTED TEXT)
Hall, Fernau - Honoring Uday Shankar
Hill, Constance Vallis - From Bharata Natyam to Bop: Jack Cole's "Modern" Jazz Dance
Loney, Glenn Meredith - Unsung Genius The Passion of Dancer Choreographer Jack Cole
McLean, Adrienne L. - The Thousand Ways There Are to Move: Camp and Oriental Dance in the Hollywood Musicals of Jack Cole (SELECTED TEXT)
Renouf, Renee - La Meri: A Life in Ethnic Dance
Ries, Frank W. D. - Scholarship and Musical Theatre (Review of Unsung Genius above and Marilyn)
Ruyter, Nancy Lee - La Meri and the World of Dance (FULL TEXT)
Sherman, Jane - The Drama of Denishawn Dance
Steihl, Pamyla Alayne - The "Dansical": American Musical Theatre Reconfigured as a Choregrapher's Expression and Domain (FULL TEXT)
Edit: Additional Sources:
American Master Choreographer Jack Cole Feted at Jacob's Pillow (Huffington Post)
Jack Cole Made Marilyn Monroe Move (Los Angeles Times)
Jack Cole-tagged posts at artsmeme.com (check out these vintage costumed Cole pics)
http://www.walkerdance.org/WALKERDANCE/JackColeBio.html
http://www.queenstheatre.org/films-jack-cole