Ruth Leon recommends… Greatest Dances Ever Filmed file – ​Rich Man’s Frug – Sweet Charity

Greatest Dances Ever Filmed file:  ​Rich Man’s Frug – Sweet Charity ​
The Frug was an obscure and briefly popular social dance which was all the rage for about 5 minutes in the 60s.  It evolved from another dance of the era, the Chicken which featured lateral body movements, and was used primarily as a change of pace step while doing the Twist.

What makes it worth our time is what the great choreographer Bob Fosse did with it for the movie of Sweet Charity (1969). This is The Rich Man’s Frug, a wildly energetic dance number comprising three “movements” (“The Aloof”, “The Heavyweight” and “The Big Finish“) that showcases director Bob Fosse’s    distinctive choreographic style, particularly his creative use of unusual poses, gestures, and arm movements.

Dance scholars, when they examine the evolution of Fosse’s choreographic style, believe this version of the Frug signifies Fosse’s maturing theatricality, departing regimentation towards visual dissonance, where every dancer could perform their own moves.

Except, of course, that The Rich Man’s Frug is about as regimented as a dance gets.

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