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Eugene Louis “Luigi” Faccuito is an American jazz dancer, choreographer, teacher and innovator who is best known for creating a jazz exercise technique. The Luigi Warm Up Technique is an influential training program that promotes body alignment, balance, core strength, and “feeling from the inside.’’ It is also used for rehabilitation. This method became the world’s first standard technique for teaching jazz and musical theater dance.
Luigi developed the technique, which consists of a series of ballet-based exercises, for his own rehabilitation after suffering paralyzing injuries in a car accident at the age of twenty one. Determined to dance again, he first learned to regain control of his body by what he uses as a cornerstone of his technique – namely, to “lengthen and stretch the body without strain,’’ and “put the good side into the bad side.’’ He then focused on a way “to stabilize himself – as if he were pressing down on an invisible (dance) barre.” His efforts paid off because he went on to have a successful dance career, and became a world renowned jazz teacher.
Talent and perseverance enabled Luigi to work in every facet of show business, before and after the accident. His jobs have included working in big bands with Ted Lewis; Hollywood films with Gene Kelly, Fred Astaire, Doris Day and Cyd Charisse; burlesque with Lili St. Cyr; television with Red Skelton and Les Brown; on Broadway with Ethel Merman and George Goebel -- and for over five decades, he and his students have spread his technique globally.
Since the second half of the twentieth century, Luigi’s method has influenced generations of Who’s-Who in show business, along with a myriad of ‘dancers’ from all walks of life.
This pioneer coined the phrase “5, 6, 7, 8,” which is now used universally at the start of dance routines. His motto, “never stop moving,” has moved past dance parlance into the mainstream.
Born Eugene Louis Faccuito At home, March 20-21, 1925 Steubenville, Ohio
Occupation Dancer, Choreographer, Teacher, Innovator, Singer
Contents
• Early life and career • New life, innovation and career • New York City and career • Some of his many highlights • 2000 and beyond • Honor and Awards • Filmography • Stage productions • External Links
Early life and career
Born in Steubenville, Ohio, Luigi is the eighth of eleven children of immigrant Italian parents, Nicola and Antoinette (Savoia) Faccuito. After his father died when he was five years old, Luigi’s older brother Tony coached him to sing, dance and use his contortionist skills so that he could enter local talent contests to win prize money for the family. He was “a natural” performer and won many events.
By the age of ten, Luigi had an agent who got him a job with entertainer Ted Lewis as the “shadow” in Lewis’ famous number, Me and My Shadow. Lewis admired the boy’s talents and asked if he could adopt him, but Luigi’s Italian mother loudly turned him down. The young boy continued on in talent competitions where he succeeded to even win the prestigious Major Bowes’ Amateur Hour in nearby Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
At age thirteen, Luigi replaced the lead singer in the Bernie Davis Orchestra, a local twelve-man band that performed at weddings, school dances, and special events throughout the tri-state area of Ohio, Pennsylvania and West Virginia; the previous singer was Luigi’s neighbor, Dean Martin. He stayed on with the band for close to five years.
When he was eighteen years old, Luigi was drafted into the U.S. Navy during World War II. He served in the Pacific Theater – New Guinea and the Philippines - until the war’s end. After returning home at age twenty-one, he enrolled in college to become a lawyer, but his brother Tony pushed him to study in Hollywood under the G. I. Bill of Rights to pursue a film career. Luigi moved to California, enrolled in his first ballet classes with Bronislava Nijinska, and studied other theatrical forms at Falcon Studios in Hollywood.
Three months later, in 1946, tragedy struck in the form of a horrific car crash that left Luigi paralyzed on the right side of his body and left side of his face, and with crossed eyes and double vision. After awakening months later from a coma, he was told by doctors that he would never walk again. He said to himself, “I don’t want to walk; I’m going to dance.”
New life, innovation and career
Conventional therapy at that time did not help Luigi much. To regain control of his body, he started to experiment and design his own stretches. After nine months of self therapy, he returned to Falcon Studios where he trained daily in classes taught by Edith Jane, Ralph Faulkner, Adolph Bolm, Sam Mintz and guest artist Michio Ito. At other studios, he learned from Michel Panaieff, Eugene Loring, Carmelita Maracci, Edward Caton, Sally Whalen, and Louis DePron. All the while, Luigi continued to develop his own warm ups and dance combinations that showed him off to the best of his ability.
In 1948, Luigi was hired to choreograph Horace Heidt’s Bandwagon tour, where he worked with talents such as Ken Berry and Dominic Frontiere. A few months later, back in Los Angeles, the three became housemates. It was then that Luigi, with Frontiere’s help, coined “5, 6, 7, 8” as a lead-in for when to start dancing. He started to use the phrase around other dancers.
In 1949, a talent scout discovered Luigi in a benefit show and brought him to Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (M-G-M) Studios to audition for On the Town. Gene Kelly was impressed by Luigi’s dancing and gave him the job despite his facial paralysis and crossed eyes. This job led to a long friendship, during which Kelly became Luigi’s mentor and used him in his other films, such as Singin’ In The Rain. Kelly was responsible for giving him the nickname, “Luigi.”
Luigi went on to work in other films for top choreographers during the Golden Age of Musicals - Robert “Bob” Alton, Hermes Pan, Eugene Loring and Michael Kidd, to name a few. On the sets, Luigi warmed up using his own stretches and strengthening exercises, and soon found other performers following him. “Alton encouraged (Luigi) to take up teaching his evolving style,” so he began a late afternoon class at Rainbow Studios in 1951. Performers such as Francois and Giselle Szony, Jacques d’Amboise, Vera-Ellen, George Chakiris, Carol Haney and Julie Newmar trained with him in those and subsequent classes. Between films, Luigi also performed in professional musicals at the Greek Theatre and with the Moro Landis Dancers, mostly at The Sahara Hotel in Las Vegas, Nevada.
While Luigi was working with Nita Bieber in an East Indian dance act promoted by M-G-M, Bieber’s agent offered to represent him if he formed his own act. He did, and in his troupe, The Gene Louis Dancers, Luigi worked with many talented partners, including Mary Menzies, Sylvia Lewis, Roberta Lawn, and Betty Uittie. One woman in his chorus of dancers was discovered by Alton, who gave her a starring role on Broadway, she was actress Sheree North.
His troupes performed in nightclubs, from Earl Carroll’s in Hollywood to the Chez Paree in Chicago; on television on the Colgate Comedy Hour; and in the first 3-D musical film short with Nat “King’’ Cole.
After seeing his nightclub work Joan Crawford went backstage one night to praise Luigi. Entertainer Diosa Costello and burlesque star Lili St. Cyr hired him to choreograph their own acts.
New York City and career
In 1956, choreographer Alex Romero brought Luigi to New York City to perform on Broadway with Ethel Merman and Fernando Lamas in Happy Hunting. The show brought Luigi to the attention of east coast dancers, and choreographer June Taylor, who invited him to teach at her school. A few months later, to better suit his schedule, he began teaching his own classes. At that time, he attracted many young students who were looking for a job in show business. These included dancers and performers such as David Winters, Alvin Ailey, Valerie Harper, Lee Remick, Patrick Adiarte, Sheila Forbes and Donna McKechnie.
Luigi continued to perform into the early 1960’s, and assisted choreographers Onna White and Lee Scott in three more Broadway shows, Happy Town, Whoop-Up and Let It Ride. He also choreographed professional stock musicals, including Can-Can and Brigadoon with Patrice Munsel, Robert Alda and Betty White.
In 1961, Luigi was one of the first teachers hired for Dance Caravan, a yearly summer dance convention troupe. This job brought his teachings and his new technique book - with his philosophy and recorded music for class - to dancers in major cities across America. He remained with the organization and became one of the long standing teachers until its closing in 2009. In addition to his classes in New York City, dance conventions helped turn Luigi’s work into the foundation for jazz dance classes in academic institutions and studios across the United States.
Luigi rapidly found himself in demand for a wide range of projects, including teaching, choreographing, staging, and touring. He accepted an invitation from Germany to teach at an international workshop which boosted his reputation across Europe. He staged numbers for Gretchen Wyler, Brascia and Tybee, and Sugar Ray Robinson for American television’s Ed Sullivan Show. He got many of his student’s jobs in the industry, including Elliott Gould, Kelly Bishop, Walter Painter, Stuart Damon, Ron Rifkin, David Hartman, Zack Matalon and Goldie Hawn. Some of his assistants, such as Don Sky, Billie Mahoney, Rhett Dennis, Lynn Simonson and Hama, went off to different locations to teach his work. He was invited to work in many more European countries including, England, Italy and France; began teaching master classes at the Radio City Music Hall for the performers; and joined the faculty of the Harkness Ballet School.
It was during the 1960’s that Luigi decided to dedicate himself to sharing his work and to concentrate on teaching. The politics and hassles of choreographing productions often left him frustrated. When teaching, he felt that he found his calling in life. It was also during this time that students lovingly started to call him ‘’Papa Rose’’ because, like the Mama character in Gypsy, he urged them on in every way.
Some of the many highlights
• In 1967, Luigi choreographed a short film, Exorcism, which won the Cine-Golden Eagle Award in the United States and the Irish Film Festival Award.
• In 1972, Luigi taught in Cape Town, South Africa, where he was the first dance teacher to allow both whites and blacks to participate together in classes and then, during a public lecture at the Nico Milan Opera House, to perform together onstage to demonstrate his work.
• In 1974, he formed Luigi’s Jazz Dance Company, which toured internationally for two years. The company folded because he could not get government funding for the art form of jazz dance. Yet, his pieces from that era are performed in venues around the world.
• After returning from teaching in Tokyo, Japan, in 1978, Luigi started to teach a second method that he devised. This work concentrates on a set of arm positions which go beyond ballet’s basic five arm positions. These twenty four additional arm placements give jazz dance more patterns, with a unified appearance. He named these arms positions Lurythmics.
• In 1981, Gene Kelly asked Luigi to assist him on a Broadway show that he was to direct and choreograph. The show, called Satchmo, was based on the life of Louis Armstrong. The project never went into production because of financial difficulties, yet Luigi was happy to be asked.
• In 1982, Donald Saddler brought Valentina Koslova to Luigi to be coached for her Broadway debut in the revival of On Your Toes. The show featured George Balanchine’s Slaughter on Tenth Avenue, which Luigi worked with Koslova on.
• In 1982, Luigi’s technique book was translated into Japanese. Also, the biggest Japanese dance supply company, Chacott, started to market Luigi endorsed jazz shoes then a complete line of apparel called Luigi Brand Dancewear to the public.
• In 1987, Luigi’s warm up book was translated into Italian.
• In 1992, Luigi intensively trained the Hungarian Sports and Rhythmic Gymnastics Team in Budapest, Hungary, for two weeks. Many of the team members went on to compete in the Olympics.
In addition to teaching at Dance Masters of America and Dance Educators of America’s conventions, Luigi has served as guest faculty for the High School of Performing Arts, City University of New York, Sarah Lawrence College, Renato Greco’s Stages in Rome and Amalfi, Italy, New York University, The Metropolitan Opera, Joffrey Ballet Summer School, Dennis Wayne’s Dancers Workshop in Italy, Broadway Theater Project, Studio Maestro Summer Workshop, Jacob’s Pillow, and the Youth Dance Festival.
2000 and beyond
Since 2000, Luigi has choreographed and staged numbers for many benefit events including Michael Zaslow’s benefits for A.L.S. (Lou Gehrig’s disease) on Broadway, the Dance Library of Israel, the New York Jazz Choreography Project, Dancers Over 40 benefits for Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS, the TranscenDance Group dance company, and the Ailey/Fordham Bachelor of Fine Arts Senior Solo Concert.
Currently, Luigi continues to teach and inspire theater and film luminaries such as Robert “Bobby” Morse, Tony Roberts, Liza Minnelli, Ben Vereen, Michelle Pawk, Sarah Hyland, Charlotte d’Amboise, Christine Baranski, John Travolta, and Susan Stroman, to name a few. He has drawn to his classes dancers from modern dance and ballet, including Twyla Tharp, Margo Sappington, Janie Parker, Joseph Duell and Maria Calegari; the latter two were sent to him by George Balanchine. He and the teachers that he trained also work with world-class athletes, skaters, and Olympic medalists.
Luigi, his protégé Francis J. Roach, and his staff continue to conduct daily classes at Luigi’s Jazz Centre at Studio Maestro in New York City.
Honor and Awards
Luigi has been honored by dance organizations around the globe. For over fifty years, he has been featured in dance and health articles in many languages. In addition, Luigi has been commended for his life’s work by three U.S. Presidents – Reagan, Bush and Clinton. He received the “Fred Astaire Award’’ from Broadway’s Theatre Development Fund, a proclamation for “Luigi Day in New York City’’ from Mayor Ed Koch, was the Grand Marshall of the Dance Parade down Broadway in 2008, and an Ohio governor awarded him the “Man of the Year Award,” in his hometown.
FILMOGRAPHY
Features:
• Yes Sir, That’s My Baby (1948)
Universal Studios, choreographed by Louis De Pron
• On The Town (1948)
MGM, choreographed by Gene Kelly
• Toast of New Orleans (1948)
MGM, choreographed by Eugene Loring
• Jerry Gray and the Band of Today (1948)
Universal, choreographed by Nita Bieber
• Let’s Dance (1949)
Paramount Pictures, choreographed by Hermes Pan
• Annie Get Your Gun - with Judy Garland (1949)
MGM, choreographed by Robert Alton
• Annie Get Your Gun – with Betty Hutton (1949)
MGM, choreographed by Robert Alton
• An American in Paris (1950)
MGM, choreographed by Gene Kelly
• Singin’ In The Rain (1950)
MGM, choreographed by Gene Kelly
• Rainbow Round My Shoulder (1951)
Columbia Pictures, choreographed by Lee Scott
• Five Thousand Fingers of Dr. T (1951)
Columbia Pictures, choreographed by Eugene Loring
• All Ashore (1952)
Columbia Pictures, choreographed by Lee Scott
• Call Me Madame (1952)
Twentieth Century Fox, choreographed by Robert Alton
• The Band Wagon (1952)
MGM, choreographed by Michael Kidd
• Nat King Cole and Russ Morgan (1953)
Universal Studios, musical ‘’3-D’’ short – “Gene Louis Dancers”
• Calamity Jane (1953)
Warner Bros., choreographed by LeRoy Prinz
• White Christmas (1955)
Paramount Pictures, choreographed by Robert Alton
• Cha-Cha-Cha-Boom (1956)
Columbia Pictures, choreographed by Fred Sears
• Invitation To The Dance (1956)
MGM, choreographed by Gene Kelly
• Bela Lugosi Meets the Brooklyn Gorilla (1956)
Desilu Studios, choreographed by Lee Scott
• Ten Commandments (1956)
Paramount Pictures, choreographed by LeRoy Prinz
• Exorcism (1967) Jerry Kaufman Productions, choreographed by Eugene “Luigi” Louis
Extra work in films such as:
• Scaramouche • Stalag 17, • Summer Stock, dubbing sounds for the ‘’Get Happy’’ number • and many others
Stage productions:
• Anything Goes, 1948, performer, the Greek Theatre, Los Angeles, CA. • New Moon, 1949, performer, the Greek Theatre, Los Angeles, CA. • Girl Crazy, 1949, performer, the Greek Theatre, Los Angeles, CA. • Annie Get Your Gun, 1951, performer, the Greek Theatre, Los Angeles, CA. • Look, That’s Life, 1952, assistant choreographer to Nick Castle, Las Palmas Theater, Los Angeles, CA. • Happy Hunting, 1956, performer, Broadway, New York, NY • Whoop-Up, 1958, assistant choreographer, performer, Broadway, New York, N.Y. • The Happy Time, 1959, assistant choreographer, performer, Broadway, New York, NY • Carousel, 1960, performer, choreographer, Equity Library Theater, New York, N.Y. • Can-Can, 1960, choreographer, Charlotte Summer Theater, Charlotte, North Carolina • Brigadoon,1960, choreographer, performer, Charlotte Summer Theater, Charlotte, North Carolina • Let it Ride, 1961, assistant choreographer, performer, Broadway, New York, N.Y.
EXTERNAL LINKS:
• Luigi’s Jazz Centre, New York, NY (www.luigijazzcentre.com) • Luigi Jazz Centre, Facebook, www.facebook.com • Luigi’s Jazz Warm Up: An Introduction to Jazz Style & Technique (Paperback) http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=luigi+jazz+warmup&x=11&y=18 • Luigi Jazz Video by MMAC-NYC Dailymotion - Luigi ~ Jazz Dance Legend - a Arts video
Apr 16, 2008 ... Luigi is a sensational jazz dance legend and innovator of the world's first jazzdance technique. Luigi currently teaches at Studio Maestro ...www.dailymotion.com › home › arts › videos - Cached - Similar