With his early training as a performer earned in the storied halls of late-vaudeville, Bob Fosse formed the heart of his work as a choreographer with allusions to and inspiration from the artists and performances of that earlier age. What makes Fosse's body of work exceptional in American dance is his daring use of techniques and movements not only from other dance forms and traditions but his gimlet-eyed attention to the clarity of shapes moving through space. Along with careful attention to the work of the dancer, Fosse built his innovative productions with a similar concern for costumes and lighting so that his became a carefully focused world, selecting and isolating elements for an audience's attention as dancers isolate their hips or shoulders in executing his technique. When most people think of Bob Fosse, the immediate images are bowler hats and white gloves. To dancers and their teachers, there is far more to comprehend in this technique than has-until now-been demonstrated or taught in a book. According to Ben Vereen, one of Fosse's great dancers, "This book is an example and expression of the intricate moves of the Fosse technique". Debra McWaters knows well the lineage in which this book is placed, with seventeen years of close work with Ann Reinking on Broadway shows and their touring companies, her work as an assistant to Gwen Verdon on Fosse, and as the choreographer for Ben Vereen. These three bright lights in the Fosse cosmos-Reinking, Verdon, and Vereen-are among the direct inheritors of Fosse's way of dancing, choreographing, and teaching.

With hundreds of photographs and verbal imagery passed on by Fosse himself, The Fosse Style provides facts about one of America's greatest choreographer's signature movements. Dancers and fans of Fosse's popular and award-winning shows-Cabaret, Chicago, The Pajama Game and many more-will find this book an illuminating addition to their collections. Book jacket.