Jack Cole (choreographer)

Jack Cole (April 27, 1911 in New Brunswick, New Jersey – February 17, 1974 in Los Angeles, California) was an American dancer, choreographer, and theatre director known as "the Father of Theatrical Jazz Dance".

Cole was born John Ewing Richter in New Brunswick, New Jersey. Early on he was sent away to boarding school by his parents who divorced and discontinued contact with him.. He decided to pursue dance with the Denishawn Dance Company led by Ruth St. Denis and Ted Shawn who was particularly fond of Cole. He made his first professional appearance in August 1930, and although he had previously studied ballet, Cole was entranced by the Asian influences Denishawn utilized in its choreography and costuming. Cole also performed with another pair of pioneering modernists, Doris Humphrey and Charles Weidman, but eventually left the modern dance world for commercial dance career in nightclubs, performing with Alice Dudley, Anna Austin and Florence Lessing.

No other American dance artist had a similar career trajectory, starting at the roots of modern dance, becoming a commercial dancer in nightclubs across the nation starting at The Embassy Club and headlining at the Rainbow Room by May 1938. He ended his career as a desired coach to Hollywood stars and a highly innovative choreographer for the camera.

Cole was a performer in Broadway musicals, starting with The Dream of Sganarelle in 1933. His first Broadway credit as a choreographer was Something for the Boys in 1943. Cole is credited with choreographing and/or directing the stage musicals Alive and Kicking, Magdalena, Carnival in Flanders, Zenda, Foxy, Kismet, A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum, Kean, Donnybrook!, Jamaica, and Man of La Mancha.

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