{"id":164112,"date":"2023-11-10T09:52:25","date_gmt":"2023-11-10T14:52:25","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.sheilaomalley.com\/?p=164112"},"modified":"2023-11-09T08:04:26","modified_gmt":"2023-11-09T13:04:26","slug":"r-i-p-ann-reinking","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.sheilaomalley.com\/?p=164112","title":{"rendered":"“The hope is that in rediscovering Chicago<\/i>, audiences will rediscover what theater was. It was sophisticated, complicated, adult.” — Ann Reinking"},"content":{"rendered":"

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It’s her birthday today. When she died last year, the outpouring of tributes and appreciation was truly heart-warming to see. Here’s what I wrote. <\/p>\n

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Ann Reinking’s talent was like her performance persona: larger than life, epic in scope, intimidating. <\/p>\n

She was a muse who – crucially – didn’t resent being a muse. She owned it. She was one of the few, the mighty, the Amazonian, who understood Bob Fosse’s style implicitly and could carry it: others included Fosse’s wife Gwen Verdon, Shirley MacLaine, Liza Minnelli. But in many ways, Reinking saw her muse-status as a huge responsibility, particularly after Bob Fosse died. She was one of the torch-bearers of his style, his choreography. She made it part of her life’s work to pass on her knowledge. <\/p>\n

“People forget that the same man who did Star 80<\/em> and All That Jazz<\/em> also did ‘Pardon Me Miss But I’ve Never Been Kissed.'” — Ann Reinking<\/big><\/p>\n

Not only did she teach\/direct his style, she was eloquent on the IDEAS behind it. If you didn’t understand his ideas and his conceptual understanding of the world – and sex – then his choreography would be closed to you. It’s not enough to do a little pelvic thrust. You have to know what’s BEHIND the pelvic thrust, his particular flaws and interests and inspirations.<\/p>\n

“Fosse would say that it’s important to trust silence. He very much liked the use of the tacit, or silent, count, where nothing is happening. He also liked percussion. His is a world of angular movement and mystery, quiet, semi-taciturn and percussive.” — Ann Reinking<\/big><\/p>\n

In her career post-Fosse, she was there, as a reminder, a coach, a choreographer, a scholar really … to pass on her knowledge to younger generations. <\/p>\n

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\nTo be a dancer means being obedient to the choreography and also obedient to the generally punishing demands of being a dancer. But Fosse was something else (I wrote a lot about this in his “birthday post”<\/a>): the demands he made on his dancers were not just physical, but psychological. <\/p>\n

His choreography is not fluid. In fact, it’s ANTI-fluid. It involves atomization, dissociation, aggression, with so many strong feelings, yes, but ALL of them have to be repressed. Repression is key. Fosse’s choreography is ANTI-catharsis, and his work is like a cork in the bottle holding back a tidal wave. <\/p>\n

“Bob’s work gleaned from hoofing, from vaudeville, from ballet.” — Ann Reinking<\/big><\/p>\n

My friend Meghan Murphy, a brilliant performer in her own right<\/a>, said this in the comments thread of my post on Facebook, and I thought it was interesting to get a dancer’s perspective: <\/p>\n

I\u2019ve had the privilege of being in many Fosse shows in my life and the greatest\/hardest challenge is what my director at the time (who worked with Fosse himself) called \u201cthe pressure cooker.\u201d If the move is too big or too free, you blow it too early. The smaller the isolation, the nastier it is. It\u2019s the tension that makes it so damn HOT. <\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Amazing! And I love how she calls it “nasty”. That’s it, exactly. <\/p>\n

Not every dancer could get into his twisted headspace. Empty Fosse moves are not Fosse moves. For Reinking it was natural. <\/p>\n

“There’s a lot of heart to Bob’s work that doesn’t always get recognized because of all of the sensuality, dark statements and wit of his work.” — Ann Reinking<\/big><\/p>\n

But it was not just the dancing that made her so great. Or her LEGS, as awesome as they were. It was about the look in her eyes. The look is not “come hither” and it’s not “stay back”. It’s BOTH, simultaneously. Mixed messages are totally Fosse, and she projects both like a klieglight. <\/p>\n

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\nYou can see why Bob Fosse was in awe. Why he watched her, thinking, “Yes … yes … that’s JUST what I meant to say.”<\/p>\n

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\nAnd then there’s this scene, from All That Jazz<\/i>. It is that rarity: a perfect scene. Which does not lessen its impact, no matter how many times I have seen it, and I have probably seen it 300 times. <\/p>\n

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