Robert Alton
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Robert Alton
Robert Alton (2 January 1902 – 12 June 1957) was an American dancer and choreographer, a major figure in dance choreography of Broadway and Hollywood musicals from the 1930s through to the early 1950s. He is principally remembered today as the discoverer of Gene Kelly, for his collaborations with Fred Astaire, and for choreographic sequences he designed for Hollywood musicals such as ''The Harvey Girls'' (1946), ''Till the Clouds Roll By'' (1946), ''Show Boat'' (1951), and '' White Christmas'' (1954). Biography Born Robert Alton Hart in Bennington, Vermont, United States, Alton studied dance with Ralph McKernan in Springfield, Massachusetts and spent his summers in New York studying with Bert French and Mikhail Mordkin, formerly of the Bolshoi Ballet and Sergey Diaghilev's Ballets Russes. His Broadway stage dancing début was with Mordkin's company in ''Take It from Me'' (1919), followed by ''Greenwich Follies'' (1924) and ''Some Day'' (1925) which failed to make it to Broad ...
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Bennington, Vermont
Bennington is a New England town, town in Bennington County, Vermont, Bennington County, Vermont, United States. It is one of two shire towns (county seats) of the county, the other being Manchester (town), Vermont, Manchester. As of the 2020 United States Census, US Census, the population was 15,333. Bennington is the most populous town in southern Vermont, the List of towns in Vermont, second-largest town in Vermont (after Colchester, Vermont, Colchester) and the sixth-largest municipality in the state, including the cities of Burlington, Vermont, Burlington, Rutland (city), Vermont, Rutland, and South Burlington, Vermont, South Burlington. The town is home to the Bennington Battle Monument, which is the tallest human-made structure in the Vermont, state of Vermont. The town has a long history of manufacturing, primarily within wood processing. The town is also recognized nationally for its pottery, iron, and textiles. History First of the New Hampshire Grants, Bennington ...
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Ballets Russes
The Ballets Russes () was an itinerant ballet company begun in Paris that performed between 1909 and 1929 throughout Europe and on tours to North and South America. The company never performed in Russia, where the Revolution disrupted society. After its initial Paris season, the company had no formal ties there. Originally conceived by impresario Sergei Diaghilev, the Ballets Russes is widely regarded as the most influential ballet company of the 20th century, in part because it promoted ground-breaking artistic collaborations among young choreographers, composers, designers, and dancers, all at the forefront of their several fields. Diaghilev commissioned works from composers such as Igor Stravinsky, Claude Debussy, Sergei Prokofiev, Erik Satie, and Maurice Ravel, artists such as Vasily Kandinsky, Alexandre Benois, Pablo Picasso, and Henri Matisse, and costume designers Léon Bakst and Coco Chanel. The company's productions created a huge sensation, completely reinvigorat ...
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Sheree North
Sheree North (born Dawn Shirley Crang; January 17, 1932 – November 5, 2005) was an American actress, dancer, and singer, known for being one of 20th Century-Fox's intended successors to Marilyn Monroe. Early life North was born Dawn Shirley Crang in Los Angeles, California, on January 17, 1932, the daughter of June (née Shoard) and Richard Crang. Following her mother's remarriage to Edward Bethel, she was known as Dawn Shirley Bethel. She began dancing in USO shows during World War II at age 10. In 1948, she married Fred Bessire. She had her first child at age 17 in 1949, and continued dancing in clubs under the stage name Shirley Mae Bessire. (Already married at this age, her legal name at this time was Dawn Shirley Bessire.) Career Beginnings North made her film début as an uncredited extra in '' Excuse My Dust'' (1951). She was then spotted by a choreographer performing at the Macayo Club in Santa Monica, and was cast as a chorus girl in the film '' Here Come the Girls ...
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Don Crichton
Don, don or DON and variants may refer to: Places *County Donegal, Ireland, Chapman code DON *Don (river), a river in European Russia *Don River (other), several other rivers with the name *Don, Benin, a town in Benin *Don, Dang, a village and hill station in Dang district, Gujarat, India *Don, Nord, a ''commune'' of the Nord ''département'' in northern France *Don, Tasmania, a small village on the Don River, located just outside Devonport, Tasmania *Don, Trentino, a commune in Trentino, Italy *Don, West Virginia, a community in the United States *Don Republic, a temporary state in 1918–1920 *Don Jail, a jail in Toronto, Canada People Role or title *Don (honorific), a Spanish, Portuguese, and Italian title, given as a mark of respect *Don, a crime boss, especially in the Mafia , ''Don Konisshi'' (コニッシー) *Don, a resident assistant at universities in Canada and the U.S. *University don, in British and Irish universities, especially at Oxford, Cambridge, St And ...
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John Brascia
John F. Brascia (May 11, 1932 – February 19, 2013) was an American actor and dancer, best known for his dancing partnerships on film with Vera-Ellen in '' White Christmas'' (1954) and with Cyd Charisse and Liliane Montevecchi in ''Meet Me in Las Vegas'' (1956). Early life John Frank Brascia was born on May 11, 1932 in California, to Italian immigrants Gaetano Brascia and Caterina Napolitano. The Brascia clan including his Uncle Mike and Aunt Concetta Brascia moved from Brooklyn, New York, before John Frank was born. He had two siblings, Cecilia and Vincent. Brascia was a high-school basketball player beginning in his sophomore year at Colton High School as co-captain. At 5’11" he took the position of guard in his junior year; he was a starter for the Colton Yellowjackets. He played for Colton on the football squad as the starting quarterback in his junior and senior years. Career Film Brascia was a featured dancer with Vera-Ellen in '' White Christmas'' (1954) and with ...
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Ray Bolger
Raymond Wallace Bolger (January 10, 1904 – January 15, 1987) was an American actor, dancer, singer, vaudevillian and stage performer (particularly musical theatre) who started in the silent-film era. Bolger was a major Broadway performer in the 1930s and beyond. He is best known for his roles in '' The Wizard of Oz'' (1939) as the Scarecrow and in Walt Disney's holiday musical fantasy '' Babes in Toyland'' as the villainous Barnaby. Bolger was the host of '' The Ray Bolger Show'' on TV from 1953 to 1955, originally titled ''Where's Raymond?'' Early life Bolger was born at 598 Second St., South Boston, Massachusetts, into a Catholic family of Irish descent, the son of James Edward Bolger and Anne C. née Wallace. His father James was first-generation Irish, and was born in Fall River, Massachusetts; his mother "Annie" who had a large Irish family, was born in Bridgewater, Massachusetts. He grew up and attended school in the Codman Square section of Dorchester neighborhood ...
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John Murray Anderson
John Murray Anderson (September 20, 1886 – January 30, 1954) was a Canadian theatre director and producer, songwriter, actor, screenwriter, dancer and lighting designer, who made his career in the United States, primarily in New York City and Hollywood. He worked in almost every genre of show business, including vaudeville, Broadway, and film. He also directed plays in London. Early life and education John Murray Anderson was born in 1886 in St. John's, Newfoundland, the son of Hon. John Anderson and his wife. His brother was Hugh Abercrombie Anderson. Anderson received his early education at Bishop Feild College in St. John's. He was sent to Europe for additional studies at Edinburgh Academy in Scotland. He entered college at the University of Lausanne in Switzerland. Later, he also studied singing with Sir Charles Stanley and art with Sir Herbert Beerbohm Tree in London. Career After completing studies in Europe, Anderson moved to New York City, where he became an antique ...
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Stage Direction
In theatre, blocking is the precise staging of actors to facilitate the performance of a play, ballet, film or opera. Historically, the expectations of staging/blocking have changed substantially over time in Western theater. Prior to the movements toward "realism" that occurred in the 19th century, most staging used a "tableau" approach, in which a stage picture was established whenever characters entered or left the stage, ensuring that leading performers were always shown to their best advantage. In more recent times, while nothing has changed about showing leading performers to their best advantage, there have been changing cultural expectations that have made blocking/staging more complicated. There are also artistic reasons why blocking can be crucial. Through careful use of positioning on the stage, a director or performer can establish or change the significance of a scene. Different artistic principles can inform blocking, including minimalism and naturalism. Etymology Bo ...
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Me And Juliet
''Me and Juliet'' is a musical with music by Richard Rodgers, and lyrics and book by Oscar Hammerstein II. The sixth stage collaboration by Rodgers and Hammerstein, Rodgers & Hammerstein, it tells a story of romance backstage at a long-running musical: assistant stage manager Larry woos chorus girl Jeanie behind the back of her electrician boyfriend, Bob. ''Me and Juliet'' premiered in 1953 and was considered a modest success — it ran for much of a year on Broadway theatre, Broadway and had a limited run in Chicago (altogether nearly 500 performances), and returned a small profit to its backers. Rodgers had long wanted to write a musical comedy about the cast and crew backstage at a theatre. After Rodgers and Hammerstein had another hit with ''The King and I'' in 1951, Rodgers proposed the backstage project to his partner. Hammerstein was unenthusiastic, thinking the subject matter trivial, but agreed to do the project. The play required complex machinery, scenic design, designe ...
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Rodgers And Hammerstein
Rodgers and Hammerstein was a theater-writing team of composer Richard Rodgers (1902–1979) and lyricist-dramatist Oscar Hammerstein II (1895–1960), who together created a series of innovative and influential American musicals. Their popular Broadway productions in the 1940s and 1950s initiated what is considered the "golden age" of musical theater. Gordon, John Steele''Oklahoma'!'. Retrieved June 13, 2010 Five of their Broadway shows, ''Oklahoma!'', '' Carousel'', '' South Pacific'', ''The King and I'' and ''The Sound of Music'', were outstanding successes, as was the television broadcast of ''Cinderella'' (1957). Of the other four shows that the team produced on Broadway during their lifetimes, ''Flower Drum Song'' was well-received, and none was an outright flop. Most of their shows have received frequent revivals around the world, both professional and amateur. Among the many accolades their shows (and film versions) garnered were thirty-four Tony Awards, fifteen Academ ...
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Rodgers And Hart
Rodgers and Hart were an American songwriting partnership between composer Richard Rodgers (1902–1979) and the lyricist Lorenz Hart (1895–1943). They worked together on 28 stage musicals and more than 500 songs from 1919 until Hart's death in 1943.Rodgers and Hart Biography
Guide to Musical Theatre, accessed April 5, 2009


History

Richard Rodgers and Lorenz Hart were introduced in 1919; Rodgers was still in high school while Hart had already graduated from . Their first collaboration together was at Columbia, and resulted in the 1920

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Cole Porter
Cole Albert Porter (June 9, 1891 – October 15, 1964) was an American composer and songwriter. Many of his songs became standards noted for their witty, urbane lyrics, and many of his scores found success on Broadway and in film. Born to a wealthy family in Indiana, Porter defied his grandfather's wishes for him to practice law and took up music as a profession. Classically trained, he was drawn to musical theatre. After a slow start, he began to achieve success in the 1920s, and by the 1930s he was one of the major songwriters for the Broadway musical stage. Unlike many successful Broadway composers, Porter wrote the lyrics as well as the music for his songs. After a serious horseback riding accident in 1937, Porter was left disabled and in constant pain, but he continued to work. His shows of the early 1940s did not contain the lasting hits of his best work of the 1920s and 1930s, but in 1948 he made a triumphant comeback with his most successful musical, ''Kiss Me, Kate ...
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