2nd Year - Eugene “Luigi” Louis Faccito
Eugene “Luigi” Louis Faccito
1925-2015
“Never Stop Moving” is Luigi’s mantra. Luigi is sometimes referred to as "Father Jazz". Not to be confused with “The Father of Jazz Dance; Jack Cole”. Luigi is known for his teachings much more so than his resume as a performer or choreographer. He found he loved teaching more than the anxieties and whorl of auditions in the professional performance arena. He became a mentor, a therapist of sorts to his students, a truly inspiring teacher. His students called him “Papa Rose”, after the character in the classic Broadway musical “Mama Rose” in the musical Gypsy. Mama Rose pushed her children to go farther and higher; to reach for the top. Such is the way Luigi pushed his students; a true “Papa Rose”.
Dance historians have defined his style as classic jazz, sophisticated, elegant, and smooth. The exercise routine he created for his own rehabilitation after a devastating car accident became one of the world's first complete technique for learning jazz dance. Luigi's talents and perseverance have given him the opportunity to work in every part of show business, from burlesque to Hollywood musicals, and from Broadway and television. He received the professional nickname "Luigi" from Gene Kelly, the famous star of Singin’ in the Rain.
In the Beginning
Born Eugene Louis Faccuito in Steubenville, Ohio, in (March 20, 1925–April 7, 2015) Luigi was the eighth of eleven children born to immigrant Italian parents. With his brother Tony, acting as his first teacher and coach, Luigi grew up winning talent shows with his singing, dancing and contortionist acts, (limber acrobatic tricks). The prize money helped with the family finances. By his teens, he was headlining variety shows, singing with Big Bands and working as a novelty emcee in vaudeville theatres around America.
In 1943, at the age of eighteen (18), Luigi was drafted into the Navy during World War II where he served in the Pacific Theatre (including New Guinea and the Philippines) until the end of the war in 1946. Luigi returned home to Ohio where at age twenty-one (21) he enrolled in college to become a lawyer. Again his brother Tony urged him to go to Hollywood to pursue a movie musical career instead.
He moved to Hollywood in 1946. And started to study ballet with the famous instructor Madame Bronislova Nijinska (Vaslov Nijinsky’s sister). However, he soon realised he wanted a more diverse dance education. So he switched to Falcon Studios, where he began studying with director Edith Jane, as well as Michel Fokine and Eugene Loring, great instructors of the MGM Golden Era. (pictured left behind the Falcon Studios in a photo taken by Edith Jane circa 1947)
The car crash that changed his life
Within two months of living in Los Angeles, tragedy struck in a near fatal car accident on a rainy December evening. Doctors held little hope he would recover from a basal skull fracture and paralysis down right side of his body and the left side of his face. He slipped into a coma and stayed unconsciousness for weeks in a Los Angeles hospital. He eventually awoke to be told by doctors, "you'll never walk again." His answer; “I don’t want to walk, I want to dance”.
One year after his accident, Luigi made it back into the studio, where he developed other exercises that helped his post-injury body. Mr. Faccuito told The Montreal Gazette in 1994. “I was learning where the muscles begin and end and how to control the body. I didn’t want people to see my injured face, so I did things to make my body look good.”
On his own, Luigi started creating stretching exercises into a daily routine that helped him discover what had to be done to control his body. He learned to "always put the body in the right position," to "feel from the inside out." His belief is "keep doing things right, they'll get better right. Keep doing things wrong, they'll feel right-wrong”. He regained enough strength and equilibrium to start dance classes again in Hollywood. But he would always be troubled by the permanently crossed eyes, blurred vision and facial paralysis.
Back in the studio
His first performance back after the accident was a showcase at the Falcon Studios, where he was training. Luigi, seen by a talent scout, was asked to audition for MGM's On the Town, starring Gene Kelly and Frank Sinatra. Miraculously, as he was still working out his paralysis, he got the job and started an 8 year dance career in over 40 films, such as: An American in Paris, Annie Get Your Gun, and Singin' in the Rain.
During the long waiting periods on film sets, Luigi did his own exercises to make sure his body remained limber and would not ruin "a take." Soon dancers were following him, 10 or 20 at a time. Robert Alton, a famous choreographer of the time (1906-1957) encouraged Luigi by saying, "You've got a great style, you should teach it”. So Luigi started a teaching a jazz class in Los Angeles in 1951 in a rented studio space where he continued to teach until his move to New York.
By 1956, Luigi headed to NYC to perform in the Broadway musical Happy Hunting with the legendary Ethel Merman. He went on to dance and assist choreographers Alex Romero, Onna White and Lee Scott on three more Broadway shows. He would eventually do a dozen Broadway shows before dedicating himself to teaching. Luigi taught at a famous dance studio in Manhattan for a few months and was subsequently inspired to open his school in New York that year. Because his technique allowed each student to align his or her body individually, classes attracted actors and singers learning to dance, along with avid dance veterans. “I opened around the time that West Side Story first came to Broadway, and suddenly performers had to act, sing and dance all at once,” Luigi says. “There were no separate choruses anymore.”
Luigi Technique
Until the 1940s jazz dance technique was still in its infancy. Luigi was dubbed “the father of American jazz dancing,” is widely credited with being one of the first dancers to codify its method and systematise its teaching. Jack Cole is also given this recognition. Jack Cole’s integration of the East Indian Bhatra Natyam is still pivotal to todays’ jazz styles. Luigi’s approach to the genre created a movement style known for its elegance, liquidity and keen musicality. It emphasises strength, balance, alignment and bodily freedom. Luigi’s technique starts with a concept—about moving from the inside-out instead of the outside-in. It’s about using what’s strong within you to help what’s
Luigi discovered something when he created his own rehabilitation regiment. During the three months Luigi spent in his hospital bed, he practised a set of angular port de bras created by Micho Ito, a Japanese eurythmic dancer. Luigi adjusted the placement of Ito’s arm movements (which were originally designed as exercises for musical conductors), putting them farther in front of his body, as in ballet, to create stability. From there, the nexus of Luigi’s own technique emerged. Eventually Luigi worked the technique into 24 arm motions he called L’urythmics. Much more involved that the standardised five placements from traditional ballet. It also created a standardised jazz arm placement that helped synchronise the movement. You learn that there is only a certain passageway to transition from movement to movement without creating an awkward movement. Once it’s in your body, you can easily figure out choreography. It makes the lines correct, so that all positions fall into place”.
Back in the studio again his work at the barré was going well. But once he was dancing centre; his disabilities robbed him of balance and coordination. Then it struck him; “if I can’t dance without a barré, I’ll take the barré with me!” He was able to keep himself upright and poised by pushing down on an imaginary barré; thus, pushing down to go up. Pushing down with your arms on the space around you, lifting up from the crown of your head is the underlying focus of the Luigi technique. When you elevé, you aren’t simply using your calves, you are lifting up from your head and pushing down on the space, pushing on the imaginary “barré”.
weak.
He developed a series of dance exercises as rehabilitation, and they became the basis for his technique. "A good teacher knows how to prevent injuries," Luigi says. He stresses the importance of using the body properly, telling students repeatedly to "Take your time - feel what you're doing." He also says, "If you keep doing things right long enough, they'll get better right. But, if you keep doing things wrong long enough, they'll feel right – wrong”.
Luigi’s technique emphasised elegant lyricism and is strongly influenced by ballet. . The technique emphasises “the line of the body with arms lifted, chest high, head thrown back”. His philosophy became to “feel from the inside out” and to constantly “put the body in the right position.
Luigi’s Jazz Centre - the First World Jazz Centre 1956, Luigi opened his school in Manhattan New York, where he has taught many famous dancers, including Liza Minnelli, Ann Reinking, Alvin Ailey and John Travolta. Broadway directors would send their stars to Luigi who were struggling with the choreography for the show. Luigi would coach them to better tackle the demands of the movement. But first and foremost, Luigi was a teacher. One of the most valuable aspects of Luigi’s technique is its adaptability to all types of students. You can be at a beginner level and you can advance instantly; it’s like an introduction to jazz. For an advanced dancer there’s always something to work on—you can polish your style coordination, but not necessarily strengthen.
“Luigi’s technique provides a good basis and a springboard for other styles and techniques,” says Broadway veteran Tomé Cousin. “You’ve got the foundation of opposition and working from your back. That can be applied to any other style of choreography. He became the preferred teacher for dancers that were injured. His technique was based on proper placement and good muscle development”.
His Legacy
The world has recognised Luigi’s artistry by bestowing upon him many major awards and by inviting him to give master classes all over the world. He has served on the faculty for Harkness Ballet School, High School for the Performing Arts, New York, Metropolitan Opera House, Joffrey Ballet and others. His method is taught today but by his students in schools and colleges all over the world. In 2010 he had a stroke which restricted his ability to demonstrate but he still continued to teach up until his death. “Never stop moving,” is his motto, “Teaching keeps me engaged and active,” he would say. “I want to keep it going, keep myself going, keep the work going.” He is the perfect example of his mantra: “Never Stop Moving!” A credo he lived by until the end.
Sources:
• Fox, M,; Eugene Louis Faccuito, Creator of Jazz Dance Style, Dies at 90, New York Times: Apr 11, 2015
• Bartlett, Joshua, Luigi, www.dancestudiolife.com, December 1, 2012
• Luigi the Man, www.luigijazz.com, Biography
• Boross, Bob, Comments on Jazz, June 13, 2015, pp, 22, 61, 73
• Roach, Francis J. Luigi, www.offjazz.com
• Kamen, Marina, Broadway World Interviews: The TONY Awards 2015 Recognize LUIGI – June 9, 2015, www.broadwayworld.com
• Kay, Lauren, Luigi’s Legacy, December 1, 2009, Dance Spirit Magazine
The blog of 400 words to answer the two questions mentioned earlier is due by Friday 6th March at 8.30am.
In the Beginning
Born Eugene Louis Faccuito in Steubenville, Ohio, in (March 20, 1925–April 7, 2015) Luigi was the eighth of eleven children born to immigrant Italian parents. With his brother Tony, acting as his first teacher and coach, Luigi grew up winning talent shows with his singing, dancing and contortionist acts, (limber acrobatic tricks). The prize money helped with the family finances. By his teens, he was headlining variety shows, singing with Big Bands and working as a novelty emcee in vaudeville theatres around America.
In 1943, at the age of eighteen (18), Luigi was drafted into the Navy during World War II where he served in the Pacific Theatre (including New Guinea and the Philippines) until the end of the war in 1946. Luigi returned home to Ohio where at age twenty-one (21) he enrolled in college to become a lawyer. Again his brother Tony urged him to go to Hollywood to pursue a movie musical career instead.
He moved to Hollywood in 1946. And started to study ballet with the famous instructor Madame Bronislova Nijinska (Vaslov Nijinsky’s sister). However, he soon realised he wanted a more diverse dance education. So he switched to Falcon Studios, where he began studying with director Edith Jane, as well as Michel Fokine and Eugene Loring, great instructors of the MGM Golden Era. (pictured left behind the Falcon Studios in a photo taken by Edith Jane circa 1947)
The car crash that changed his life
Within two months of living in Los Angeles, tragedy struck in a near fatal car accident on a rainy December evening. Doctors held little hope he would recover from a basal skull fracture and paralysis down right side of his body and the left side of his face. He slipped into a coma and stayed unconsciousness for weeks in a Los Angeles hospital. He eventually awoke to be told by doctors, "you'll never walk again." His answer; “I don’t want to walk, I want to dance”.
One year after his accident, Luigi made it back into the studio, where he developed other exercises that helped his post-injury body. Mr. Faccuito told The Montreal Gazette in 1994. “I was learning where the muscles begin and end and how to control the body. I didn’t want people to see my injured face, so I did things to make my body look good.”
On his own, Luigi started creating stretching exercises into a daily routine that helped him discover what had to be done to control his body. He learned to "always put the body in the right position," to "feel from the inside out." His belief is "keep doing things right, they'll get better right. Keep doing things wrong, they'll feel right-wrong”. He regained enough strength and equilibrium to start dance classes again in Hollywood. But he would always be troubled by the permanently crossed eyes, blurred vision and facial paralysis.
Back in the studio
His first performance back after the accident was a showcase at the Falcon Studios, where he was training. Luigi, seen by a talent scout, was asked to audition for MGM's On the Town, starring Gene Kelly and Frank Sinatra. Miraculously, as he was still working out his paralysis, he got the job and started an 8 year dance career in over 40 films, such as: An American in Paris, Annie Get Your Gun, and Singin' in the Rain.
During the long waiting periods on film sets, Luigi did his own exercises to make sure his body remained limber and would not ruin "a take." Soon dancers were following him, 10 or 20 at a time. Robert Alton, a famous choreographer of the time (1906-1957) encouraged Luigi by saying, "You've got a great style, you should teach it”. So Luigi started a teaching a jazz class in Los Angeles in 1951 in a rented studio space where he continued to teach until his move to New York.
By 1956, Luigi headed to NYC to perform in the Broadway musical Happy Hunting with the legendary Ethel Merman. He went on to dance and assist choreographers Alex Romero, Onna White and Lee Scott on three more Broadway shows. He would eventually do a dozen Broadway shows before dedicating himself to teaching. Luigi taught at a famous dance studio in Manhattan for a few months and was subsequently inspired to open his school in New York that year. Because his technique allowed each student to align his or her body individually, classes attracted actors and singers learning to dance, along with avid dance veterans. “I opened around the time that West Side Story first came to Broadway, and suddenly performers had to act, sing and dance all at once,” Luigi says. “There were no separate choruses anymore.”
Luigi Technique
Until the 1940s jazz dance technique was still in its infancy. Luigi was dubbed “the father of American jazz dancing,” is widely credited with being one of the first dancers to codify its method and systematise its teaching. Jack Cole is also given this recognition. Jack Cole’s integration of the East Indian Bhatra Natyam is still pivotal to todays’ jazz styles. Luigi’s approach to the genre created a movement style known for its elegance, liquidity and keen musicality. It emphasises strength, balance, alignment and bodily freedom. Luigi’s technique starts with a concept—about moving from the inside-out instead of the outside-in. It’s about using what’s strong within you to help what’s
Luigi discovered something when he created his own rehabilitation regiment. During the three months Luigi spent in his hospital bed, he practised a set of angular port de bras created by Micho Ito, a Japanese eurythmic dancer. Luigi adjusted the placement of Ito’s arm movements (which were originally designed as exercises for musical conductors), putting them farther in front of his body, as in ballet, to create stability. From there, the nexus of Luigi’s own technique emerged. Eventually Luigi worked the technique into 24 arm motions he called L’urythmics. Much more involved that the standardised five placements from traditional ballet. It also created a standardised jazz arm placement that helped synchronise the movement. You learn that there is only a certain passageway to transition from movement to movement without creating an awkward movement. Once it’s in your body, you can easily figure out choreography. It makes the lines correct, so that all positions fall into place”.
Back in the studio again his work at the barré was going well. But once he was dancing centre; his disabilities robbed him of balance and coordination. Then it struck him; “if I can’t dance without a barré, I’ll take the barré with me!” He was able to keep himself upright and poised by pushing down on an imaginary barré; thus, pushing down to go up. Pushing down with your arms on the space around you, lifting up from the crown of your head is the underlying focus of the Luigi technique. When you elevé, you aren’t simply using your calves, you are lifting up from your head and pushing down on the space, pushing on the imaginary “barré”.
He developed a series of dance exercises as rehabilitation, and they became the basis for his technique. "A good teacher knows how to prevent injuries," Luigi says. He stresses the importance of using the body properly, telling students repeatedly to "Take your time - feel what you're doing." He also says, "If you keep doing things right long enough, they'll get better right. But, if you keep doing things wrong long enough, they'll feel right – wrong”.
Luigi’s technique emphasised elegant lyricism and is strongly influenced by ballet. . The technique emphasises “the line of the body with arms lifted, chest high, head thrown back”. His philosophy became to “feel from the inside out” and to constantly “put the body in the right position.
Luigi’s Jazz Centre - the First World Jazz Centre 1956, Luigi opened his school in Manhattan New York, where he has taught many famous dancers, including Liza Minnelli, Ann Reinking, Alvin Ailey and John Travolta. Broadway directors would send their stars to Luigi who were struggling with the choreography for the show. Luigi would coach them to better tackle the demands of the movement. But first and foremost, Luigi was a teacher. One of the most valuable aspects of Luigi’s technique is its adaptability to all types of students. You can be at a beginner level and you can advance instantly; it’s like an introduction to jazz. For an advanced dancer there’s always something to work on—you can polish your style coordination, but not necessarily strengthen.
“Luigi’s technique provides a good basis and a springboard for other styles and techniques,” says Broadway veteran Tomé Cousin. “You’ve got the foundation of opposition and working from your back. That can be applied to any other style of choreography. He became the preferred teacher for dancers that were injured. His technique was based on proper placement and good muscle development”.
His Legacy
The world has recognised Luigi’s artistry by bestowing upon him many major awards and by inviting him to give master classes all over the world. He has served on the faculty for Harkness Ballet School, High School for the Performing Arts, New York, Metropolitan Opera House, Joffrey Ballet and others. His method is taught today but by his students in schools and colleges all over the world. In 2010 he had a stroke which restricted his ability to demonstrate but he still continued to teach up until his death. “Never stop moving,” is his motto, “Teaching keeps me engaged and active,” he would say. “I want to keep it going, keep myself going, keep the work going.” He is the perfect example of his mantra: “Never Stop Moving!” A credo he lived by until the end.
Sources:
• Fox, M,; Eugene Louis Faccuito, Creator of Jazz Dance Style, Dies at 90, New York Times: Apr 11, 2015
• Bartlett, Joshua, Luigi, www.dancestudiolife.com, December 1, 2012
• Luigi the Man, www.luigijazz.com, Biography
• Boross, Bob, Comments on Jazz, June 13, 2015, pp, 22, 61, 73
• Roach, Francis J. Luigi, www.offjazz.com
• Kamen, Marina, Broadway World Interviews: The TONY Awards 2015 Recognize LUIGI – June 9, 2015, www.broadwayworld.com
• Kay, Lauren, Luigi’s Legacy, December 1, 2009, Dance Spirit Magazine
Answer
the below 2 Questions in 400 words:
1.
What are three qualities that make 'Louigi's' choreography unique?
2.
How do you think these qualities are reflected in your
Timbaland - apologize Routine?
The blog of 400 words to answer the two questions mentioned earlier is due by Friday 6th March at 8.30am.
Please send your
published blog link to the email address here.
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