A Dance Critique of "Rich Man's Frug"

Analysis of "Rich Man's Frug"

This essay analyzes the dance, "Rich Man's Frug." The dance is adopted from Sweet Charity, a 1969 American musical comedy-drama film directed and choreographed by Bob Fosse. The ability of the performance to march the background music and the well-calculated moves make the dance worth examining.

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The Choreography and Execution of "Rich Man's Frug" in Sweet Charity

About 20 dancers dance. The male dancers are wearing black suits with white shirts and black bowties while the female dancers are wearing short black dresses and shiny weaves. The stage on which the dance is performed has Roman statues. The dance is divided into three sections, namely, Aloof, Heavyweight and Big Finish.

In "Aloof" is led by a female dancer. She enters the stage with her pelvis facing pushed forward such that she is almost bending backward, escorted by two male dancers who lead with their chests thrust forward, holding a cigarette. The rest of the dancers remain frozen. The actions in the section consist of innovative movement. The two male dancers following the female lead do not express any reaction in their faces and their highly organized stylized leg, and arm movement reveals their boredom. The dancers have their nose upturned, creating an impression of elitism and unattainability. Most energy in the scene goes towards attaining stillness. The most common movement in the scene is a wave of hands behind the back. All the dancers' hands move in a sequence. The lighting in the scene is low such that those outside the direct light appear like shadows.

In the second scene, Heavyweight, the frequent movement in the scene is punching of the wrist. The low lighting is also utilized in the scene. The actions in the scene are characterized by emphasized punching, chest, and head popping in a circle. The dance successfully executed accurately, and small movements organized perfectly with the music. The "Big Finish" scene begins with a red background. The low lighting is able to portray the dancers as shadows. Their actions are well captured this way. Unlike the other scenes where dancers are silent in their performance, here they let loose and even shout. Their action alternate between controlled group movement and irregular solo showmanship. Their face expression is lively.

I find this work by Bob Fosse of quality and successful. "The Rich Man's Frug" exemplifies some of the qualities of Bob Fosses works. Some of the qualities include isolated movements, theatricalization, and pelvis-forward walks. Bob Fosses developed a technique with the ability to communicate, meaning the mood and atmosphere of a scene. Moreover, the intense repetition that characterized his dances brought out the best in the dancers.

Winkler observed that Bob Fosse was himself a dancer which can be attributed as his inspiration (113). His works imitated styles that did not demand the athletism of other choreographers. He, however, demanded precision movements. The success associated with his works can be traced to the intense rehearse since he took his dancers through. Winkler noted that dancers were expected to perform flat out and were not allowed to "grade" their work nor complain of having to repeat the steps again and again (114). The repetition ensured the dancers worked together, and their bodies were conditioned to remember actions. This is an essential lesson for upcoming choreographers.

Works Cited

FredsChannelOne. BOB FOSSE Choreography - " The Rich Man's Frug ". 2013, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mcrZIK3gqbU. Accessed 8 Sept 2019.

Winkler, Kevin. Big Deal: Bob Fosse and Dance in the American Musical. Oxford University Press, 2018.