10.06.2019

Famous

Frug dance, an evergreen cult

Bob Fosse's (1927-1987) style seems to be timeless: isolated movements, use of hats, gloves and accessories, and ingenious snappy choreography. These are the elements that have made his choreographies so influential today. But do you know where Fosse himself draws his inspiration from?

"You go to your closet and you select , I don't know that lumpy blue sweater, for instance because you are trying to tell the world that you take yourself too seriously to care about what you put on your back. But what you don't know is that that sweater is not just blue, its not turquoise. It's not lapis. Its actually cerulean. And you're also blithely unaware of the fact that in 2002, Oscar de la Renta did a collection of cerulean gowns. And then i think it was Yves Saint Laurent - wasn't it who showed cerulean military jackets?And then cerulean quickly showed up in the collections of eight different designers. And then it, uh, filtered down through the department stores and then trickled on down into some tragic Casual Corner where you, no doubt, fished it out of some clearance bin." Thus, in the movie The Devil wears Prada, Amanda Priestly, played by a sensational Meryl Streep, hushed Andy Sachs, the young graduate who had presented herself to the influential and tyrannical director of the fashion magazine Runway (i.e. Anna Wintour).

The concept, though valid, seems to be exalted by the plot of the movie, which boldly deals with the controversies in contemporary world of fashion and luxury. Yet we are all really fashion victims and a few days ago it happened to us too: intOndo had fallen victim to the so-called emotional marketing. We were unconsciously overwhelmed by a trend that has remained in vogue since the 1960s: the Frug dance.

It all started with our passion for revival and retro style: we re passionate about Beyoncé's musicals which potrey the popular singer's highly captivating style of dance. In particular, the video of the song "Get me Bodied" caught our attention for its references to the '60s and for the setting, almost metaphysical, between Doric columns, Roman statues and hot braziers. But do you know where this video draws its inspiration from? From the Broadway musical and movie Sweet Charity, directed by Bob Fosse (1927-1987) for the first time in New York in 1966. The Musical is based on the screenplay by Federico Fellini with obvious references to his dramatic movie The nights of Cabiria. The show is guided by Fosse's highly theatrical direction and by his original physical vocabulary that is revealed in the scene of "The Rich Man's Frug", a dance from which Beyoncé draws unlimited inspirations.

It is not in fact the first time that the singer "quotes" Fosse's choreographies: also her famous song "Single Lady", made famous by the three-way ballet staged by Beyoncé with two other dancers, got direct source from the dance trio directed by Bob Fosse in Mexican Breakfast, a clip aired in the United States in 1969 during the program "The Ed Sullivan Show" and played by Fosse's wife and muse, Gwen Verdon (1925-2000).

Fosse's style seems to be timeless: isolated movements, use of hats, gloves and accessories and ingenious snappy choreography. These are the elements that have made his choreographies so influential today. But do you know where Fosse himself draws his inspiration from? Easy, from the Frug dance, a dance born in the '60s and that, in turn, is clamorously inspired by an animal dance...the "Chicken dance".

"The Rich Man's Frug" therefore draws its footsteps directly from the moves of the chicken, the most awkward animal that exists. It draws the from a childish and burlesque repertoire, where uncoordinated movements are mastered! Therefor, as Amanda says in the quotation of the "Devil Wears Prada", there is a reason for everything: in fact Fosse, for his famous scenes, drew inspiration from the physical imperfections of his dancers. These became the sources for unusual and irreplicable dance moves.

That's all we have to say then: we too would like that our furniture, with its small imperfections, will be the source of infinite creativity for your homes and you decor style.