Portrait of a Choreographer (2007 Video) User Reviews

Some Praise For Fosse

[gavin6942 · 6/10 · 5 September 2014]

A nice, short look at the work of Bob Fosse, from his friends and former dancers, including the wonderful Liza Minnelli.

We hear that Fosse "creates no fear" on set, which brings the best out of his dancers. By this, what is meant is not that he does not add fear, but that any fear is removed. A hard task indeed! He is said to bring sensuality, sexuality and danger to the dance...

What was unfortunate is that this documentary focuses more on style, less on biography. That is all fine and good, but it really says nothing about who Fosse was. One expects his friends to say nice things, but what of the man himself? He is certainly a fascinating, complex figure...

Nice portrait of Fosse

[Woodyanders · 8/10 · 24 August 2017]

This 23-minute documentary provides some nice insights into Bob Fosse and his influence on dance. Sandahl Bergman reveals that Fosse removed the element of fear from dancing and thus encouraged people to do their best by doing this, which in turn made him a better choreographer as well. Liza Minnelli praises Fosse for having his own distinctive point of view and admits that she still misses her friend. Moreover, we learn that Fosse was an original who made everyone in step (he was more concerned with the story behind the step than the step itself), Fosse would go up to dancers and tell them himself if they made the cut or not, the personality of the characters are revealed through their dance scenes in "All That Jazz," Fosse never cut for the sake of cutting, and one of Fosse's key innovations was taking costumes off of dancers. In addition, Ann Reinking gets special kudos for inspiring Fosse and really getting his style while the "Take Off With Us" set piece is appropriately praised as a total celebration of the human form. Worth a watch for Fosse fans.