Printer Friendly
The Free Library
19,607,059 articles and books
Member login
User name  
Password 
 
Join us Forgot password?

Chita Rivera.


Broadway legend Chita Rivera Chita Rivera (born Dolores Conchita Figueroa del Rivero on January 23, 1933 in Washington, D.C.) is a Tony Award-winning Broadway musical actress dancer, and singer best known for her musical theater roles.  is such a vortex of energy onstage that it's hard to look away when she is dancing, singing, or just standing there. Her biographical musical, Chita Rivera: The Dancer's Life, which ran for 72 performances on Broadway last year, takes the audience on her journey from aspiring ballerina to Broadway diva. The show, directed and choreographed by Graciela Daniele Graciela Daniele (born December 8, 1939) is a dancer, choreographer, and theatre director.

Born in Buenos Aires, Daniele began her dance training at the age of seven at Teatro Colon, Argentina's equivalent of Moscow's Bolshoi Theatre.
, hit the road in December for a national tour. Wendy Perron Per´ron

n. 1. (Arch.) An out-of-door flight of steps, as in a garden, leading to a terrace or to an upper story; - usually applied to mediævel or later structures of some architectural pretensions.
 chatted with her in January.

You're performing up to 15 shows a week. How do you keep your energy up?

Prayer! I've got a lot of energy anyhow. I'm stimulated by what I do and the people I work with. I'm also in good shape, and I eat the right stuff.

I love the family scene where you're dancing on the table as a child. Has your family seen the show, and what's their reaction?

Oh you can bet they've come to see the show. Well, they cry a lot--especially my older brother Julio and my sister Lola. Armando does not cry, and Carmine carmine /car·mine/ (kahr´min) a red coloring matter used as a histologic stain.

indigo carmine  indigotindisulfonate sodium.


car·mine
n.
, my darling older sister, just smiles through everything.

You talk about choreographers This is a list of choreographers A
  • Paula Abdul
  • Alvin Ailey
  • Richard Alston
  • Robert Alton
  • Gerald Arpino
  • Frederick Ashton
  • Fred Astaire
  • Lea Anderson
B
  • Jean Babilée
  • George Balanchine
 we rarely hear about, like Jack Cole Jack Cole may refer to:
  • Jack Cole (artist) (1918–1958)
  • Jack Cole (choreographer) (1911–1974)
  • Jack Cole (businessman), founder of the Coles (bookstore) chain
  • Jack A. Cole, retired detective and executive director of LEAP
, Michael Kidd, and Peter Gennaro Peter Gennaro (November 23, 1919 - September 28, 2000) was a Tony Award-winning American dancer and choreographer.

Born in Metairie, Louisiana, Gennaro made his Broadway debut in the ensemble of Make Mine Manhattan in 1948.
, in addition to Jerome Robbins Noun 1. Jerome Robbins - United States choreographer who brought human emotion to classical ballet and spirited reality to Broadway musicals (1918-1998)
Robbins
 and Bob Fosse. What is the reaction when you talk about your mentors?

A lot of students come to the shows. You hear the applause the minute you mention the choreographers. Sometimes we talk to the kids after the show, and then they get to know more about these brilliant choreographers.

You mention in the musical about your leg and a car accident. Tell me about that.

There are 16 pins in my leg. They're beautifully put in there. I don't feel those screws at all. When you're atrophied, you can either stay atrophied for the rest of your life For The Rest Of Your Life is a British game show on ITV, hosted by Nicky Campbell. It is produced by Initial, a company of Endemol. Format
Round One
, or even 15 years later you can get some feeling where you didn't have it before. But I just said to my daughter this morning, "You know the back of my ankle, and the back of my calf, I can feel something I've never felt before."

Have you had any mishaps during the show?

We were having the show signed for the deaf and it's beautiful to watch. But I need to be really careful to not be distracted. The signer did something different that caught my eye--and I went up [forgot a line]. I've been lucky and I never go up. I went up, and I had to ask the prompter, "What is it?"

Do you have advice for younger dancers?

Success is not going to happen on TV overnight. You really have to keep studying and take care of yourself. Your ballet training is the most important training to have a good foundation for any kind of dancing. And be curious about different styles, so that you become a well-rounded dancer.

What if a dancer wants to be like you, a triple threat?

I never said I wanted to be a triple threat. I just auditioned for shows and they hired me and they asked me if I could sing and I didn't say no. You just go ahead and you do it. Nowadays, kids sing. I mean dancers really sing today. But you have to be patient and not try to push the button, and get to wherever you're going naturally. Just be patient-don't rush it.

For a complete tour schedule, see www.ChitaRivera.com.
COPYRIGHT 2007 Dance Magazine, Inc.
No portion of this article can be reproduced without the express written permission from the copyright holder.
Copyright 2007, Gale Group. All rights reserved. Gale Group is a Thomson Corporation Company.

 Reader Opinion

Title:

Comment:



 

Article Details
Printer friendly Cite/link Email Feedback
Title Annotation:QUICK Q&A
Author:Perron, Wendy
Publication:Dance Magazine
Article Type:Interview
Date:Apr 1, 2007
Words:575
Previous Article:Rodin's royal impression.
Next Article:A continental journey.



Related Articles
CHITA PROVES HER METTLE.
Gregory Mitchell (1952-2004).
Chita Rivera: The Dancer's Life.
Catch him if you can: Terrence McNally speeds into the fifth decade of his illustrious career with new works premiering in New York, San Diego, and...
Broadway bound.
On Broadway: what becomes a legend most? Chita Rivera's new show revisits her struggles and triumphs.
Chita Rivera.
Doris Jones (1913-2006).

Terms of use | Copyright © 2012 Farlex, Inc. | Feedback | For webmasters | Submit articles