How Did Bob Fosse Contribute To Dance

Nichele Rascoe

Jazz Dance Midterm (Bob Fosse Contribution to Broadway)

Robert Louis Fosse, better known as Bob Fosse, became Broadway’s leading choreographer and director during the late 1960’s into the 1970’s. Fosse grew up surrounded by theatre and dance. At a young age, he toured throughout Chicago theaters and naval bases as a dancer. In later, years Bob Fosse went into acting. Yet, his acting career was cut short due to his premature balding, causing him to turn to choreography. Fosse’s choreographic style was known to be sexually suggestive, considering he grew up in Cabaret nightclubs. Bob Fosse’s signature style became popular and he began choreographing musicals such as, Pajama Games, Damn Yankees, Sweet Charity, Pippin, Chicago

The Pajama Game Musical made its first debut in 1954 and create a name for Fosse overnight. The Pajama game is about the boss of a pajama factory hires a superintendent to help refuse a seven and a half cent raise to his workers. The superintendent attracts worker “Babe” Williams, who strongly believes in the wage increase. The workers all come together to fight for the increase and the superintendent has to decide whether to fire “Babe” Williams. Throughout the Musical, Fosse featured his signature choreographic style. The movements were sexually suggestive due to hip thrust. Fosse portrayed a Vaudeville burlesque-like comedy in the Pajama Game dances, with the usage of hunched shoulders, turned in feet, and double takes. He also used hand isolations similar to that of a mimes, in an effort, to show emotions without needed words. Fosse had many of the dancers perform in black costumes with white gloves, due to his Charlie Chaplin

Sweet Charity debuted in 1969, the plot is about a woman who long for love, but she has bad luck finding a decent man. She finally meets the man of her dreams and he refuses to marry her due to her profession. During rehearsal for Sweet Charity, Fosse directed the female dance to be alluring by facing their chin downward and teasing the audience with their eyes. The most famous musical number in Sweet Charity was “Big Spender”. The piece was inspired by burlesque movements. The dancers performed sexualized movements, stances and poses. Jazz Dance: A History of the Roots and Branches, states, “… most audiences would call ‘Big Spender’ and dance, it included no traditional dance steps.” Fosse changed the way dances are perceived. Another popular musical number in Sweet Charity is “Rich Man’s Frug”. A History of the Roots and Branches, explains “…the piece explores the popularity of social dances in the 1960’s… bodies lean and tilt in contrast to arching arms and angular legs that symbolize a bleak