Michael bennett choreographer biography of barack

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Had he lived, today would mark Michael Bennett's 80th birthday. When you consider that at eighty, Mike Nichols won his 7th Tony Award for directing, it lends an even more somber note of what we were robbed by Bennett's death. The possibilities of what he might have contributed to the theatre over the past three decades is endless. Bennett's Broadway credits, from chorus dancer to director, span less than thirty years.

But the the multi-faceted stylings of his choreography for Follies , that he co-directed with Harold Prince, and two shows he directed himself — A Chorus Line and Dreamgirls — featured new levels of stagecraft and storytelling devices that dazzled critics and theatregoers alike. These three shows alone put him in the top ranks of those who contributed invaluably to the 20th century American musical.

His death was a blow not only because of it coming at such a young age, but for how it effected those who unequivocally loved his work. It puts to mind what was said between Billy Wilder and William Wyler upon leaving the funeral of their friend, the esteemed writer-director Ernst Lubitsch.

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It was devastating. He had provided me with so many memorable days and nights in the theatre that I felt like I had lost someone close to me. His work was so much a part of the thrill I associate with what being in a theatre is all about. From the moment he made his Broadway debut as a startlingly young choreographer, he made people stand up and pay notice.

Born Michael Bennett DiFiglia on April 8, , he grew up in Buffalo, New York, where he studied dance as a teenager and choreographed his high school musicals. He even managed to squeeze in time in Los Angeles, appearing on the TV dance series Hullabaloo, which is where he met the dancer who would become his muse and for a brief moment his wife , the peerless Donna McKechnie.

The song also featured Margo Sappington, who would later choreograph the nude revue Oh!