Louis Falco (August 2, 1942 – March 26, 1993) was an American dancer and choreographer.

Life and career

Louis Falco was born in New York City of southern Italian immigrant parents. He began his study of dance in the 1950s at The Henry Street Playhouse with Murray Louis and Alwin Nikolais. He attended the

High School of Performing Arts The High School of Performing Arts (informally known as "PA") was a public alternative high school established in 1947 and located at 120 West 46th Street in the borough of Manhattan, New York City, from 1948 to 1984. In 1961, the school was ...

and as a student began performing with

Charles Weidman Charles Weidman (July 22, 1901 – July 15, 1975) was a renowned choreographer, modern dancer and teacher. He is well known as one of the pioneers of modern dance in America. He wanted to break free from the traditional movements of dance for ...

. In 1960 he began dancing professionally with

José Limón José Arcadio Limón (January 12, 1908 – December 2, 1972) was a dancer and choreographer from Mexico and who developed what is now known as 'Limón technique'. In the 1940s, he founded the José Limón Dance Company (now the Limón Dan ...

, and also appeared with

Flower Hujer Flower Hujer (September 30, 1907 – May 1, 1999) was an American dancer and modern dance choreographer. Life and career Flower Hujer was born in Hollywood. She studied ballet under Theodore Kosloff and began her dance career in ballet and films ...

Alvin Ailey Alvin Ailey Jr. (January 5, 1931 – December 1, 1989) was an American dancer, director, choreographer, and activist who founded the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater (AAADT). He created AAADT and its affiliated Alvin Ailey American Dance Center ...

and

Donald McKayle Donald McKayle (July 6, 1930 – April 6, 2018) was an American modern dancer, choreographer, teacher, director and writer best known for creating socially conscious concert works during the 1950s and '60s that focus on expressing the human cond ...

. He danced with the José Limón Dance Company from 1960–70 and danced opposite

Rudolf Nureyev Rudolf Khametovich Nureyev ( ; Tatar/ Bashkir: Рудольф Хәмит улы Нуриев; rus, Рудо́льф Хаме́тович Нуре́ев, p=rʊˈdolʲf xɐˈmʲetəvʲɪtɕ nʊˈrʲejɪf; 17 March 19386 January 1993) was a Soviet ...

in Limon's ''The Moor's Pavane'' on Broadway from 1974-75. His farewell performance was with Luciana Savignano at

La Scala La Scala (, , ; abbreviation in Italian of the official name ) is a famous opera house in Milan, Italy. The theatre was inaugurated on 3 August 1778 and was originally known as the ' (New Royal-Ducal Theatre alla Scala). The premiere performan ...

Opera House in

Milan Milan ( , , Lombard: ; it, Milano ) is a city in northern Italy, capital of Lombardy, and the second-most populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of about 1.4 million, while its metropolitan city ...

in ''The Eagle's Nest''. Falco was considered an extraordinarily gifted dancer and charismatic performer. Falco made his debut as a choreographer in 1967. He was one of the first choreographers to experiment with rock bands and other innovations on stage, and he was noted for works created for his Louis Falco Dance Company and for his choreography of the 1980 motion picture '' Fame''. After the explosive success of the film, he began a career in commercial choreography including music videos for a number of

MTV MTV (Originally an initialism of Music Television) is an American cable channel that launched on August 1, 1981. Based in New York City, it serves as the flagship property of the MTV Entertainment Group, part of Paramount Media Networks, a di ...

artists. The Falco Company's last performance in New York City was for the inauguration of the

Joyce Theater The Joyce Theater (“The Joyce") is a 472-seat dance performance venue located in the Chelsea neighborhood of New York City. The building opened in 1941 as the Elgin Theater, a movie house, and was gut-renovated and reconfigured in 1981-82 to re ...

in 1982. Falco completed choreography for several films and commissioned dance works, some of which were never performed in the United States. In 1986, he was recognized for a series of award winning television commercials. He died from AIDS in 1993.

Works

Selected works include: *''Escargot'' *''The Sleepers'' *''Caviar'' *''Journal'' *''Argot'' *''Huescape'' *''Timewright'' *''Caviar'' *''The Eagle's Nest'' *''Nights In A Spanish Garden'' *''Tutti-frutti'' *''Cooking French'' *''Jack-In-The-Box'' *''Reunion in Portugal'' *''Journal'' *''Eclipse'' *''Caterpillar'' *''The Lobster Quadrille'' *''The Gamete Garden'' Selected music videos: *''Kiss'' for

Prince A prince is a male ruler (ranked below a king, grand prince, and grand duke) or a male member of a monarch's or former monarch's family. ''Prince'' is also a title of nobility (often highest), often hereditary, in some European states. ...

*''Why Can't I Have You'' for

The Cars The Cars were an American rock band formed in Boston in 1976. Emerging from the new wave scene in the late 1970s, they consisted of Ric Ocasek ( rhythm guitar), Benjamin Orr ( bass guitar), Elliot Easton ( lead guitar), Greg Hawkes ( keyboar ...

*''Country Boy'' for Ricky Scaggs

References

External links

*
Official site
{{DEFAULTSORT:Falco, Louis 1942 births 1993 deaths American choreographers Artists from New York City American male ballet dancers Ballet choreographers AIDS-related deaths in New York (state) American people of Italian descent 20th-century American ballet dancers