Fred Benjamin
Fred Benjamin
| Fred Benjamin | |
|---|---|
| Born | Frederick Charles Benjamin September 8, 1944 Boston, Massachusetts, U.S. |
| 💀Died | December 14, 2013 (aged 69) Manhattan, New York, U.S.December 14, 2013 (aged 69) |
| 💼 Occupation | Choreographer, dancer, instructor |
| 📆 Years active | 1960s-2013 |
Fred Benjamin (September 8, 1944-December 14, 2013) was an African American dancer, instructor, and choreographer in jazz dance.
Biography
Early Years
Frederick Charles Benjamin was born in Boston, Massachusetts on September 8th, 1944.[1] He became interested in dance when his mother would take him along with her to his sister’s dance lessons, and was put into classes to stay out of trouble. He started dancing at four years old at the Elma Lewis School of Fine Arts in Roxbury, MA.[2]
Elma Lewis, head of the school and a dance educator in the black community, was one of the first to receive the McArthur Fellows Grant in 1981, also known as the “Genius Grant” from the McArthur Foundation.[3] Through this grant, she financed Fred’s ballet lessons in 1962 when he moved to New York. Lewis also introduced Fred Benjamin to Talley Beatty who would become Fred’s mentor.[4]
Career
When Fred Benjamin moved to New York, after meeting Talley Beatty he joined his company, the Talley Beatty Company, and danced with him for three years, from 1963-1966. He left when the company closed due to a lack of funding.[5] He then moved on to performing with the June Taylor dancers on Broadway, in the musicals “Hello, Dolly!” that starred Pearl Bailey and worked with Michael Bennett in “Promises, Promises.”[6] [7]
In 1968, while still performing on Broadway, he created his own company, the Fred Benjamin Dance Company. The company lasted for 20 years with very little funding.[8] With this company, he performed along the east coast and Caribbean until 1990.[9] The company's first performance was at the Clark Center for the Performing Arts. Each year the company performed at the center for free in exchange for being able to rehearse there.[10] He would later teach at this center that would become the starting ground for many black dancers and choreographers.[11] With his company Fred would perform on the show “Soul to Soul” and be asked to choreograph for other companies, such as the Alvin Ailey Repertory Ensemble for “Ice Fire,” and the Impulse Dance Company for “After the Rain.”[12][13] In an interview, he mentions how he was young, in his 20s, and couldn’t stop and wouldn't say no to any opportunities he was given. Benjamin said he also enjoyed choreographing because he could say what he wanted to with his movement without any interference from others.[14] He then stopped performing as much with his company and continued to just choreograph and started to teach and would continue to do so until his death on December 14, 2013.
Some works he choreographed for are “Soon,” a rock musical on off-Broadway, and “Travels Just Outside the House” which was based on Fred’s personal experience in the emergency room after being stabbed by thieves in his apartment building.[15][16] The piece was inspired by being given sedatives as he was put to sleep. Other pieces include “Parallel Lines” and “Our Thing,” which both reflected the influence of Talley Beatty’s dance style on Benjamin. “Parallel Lines” consisted of groups of dancers moving in straight lines with changes in dynamic ranging from forceful to spirited.[17][18] Another piece of his is “LeftOver Wine” which was a collection of sections from other works that Benjamin choreographed.[19] Other choreographic works of his include “One in Doubt,” “Ceremony,” and “New Warriors.” “New Warriors” was another piece that paid tribute to Talley Beatty in the final act of the dance, which was called “Beattyville.” The piece consisted of four sections, each different in tone, costume, and style. The first section was a celebration of Fred’s choreography, involving symmetry, precision, and softness in movement. The second section involved women dancing quietly, the third section had all-male dancers twirling about, and the fourth section consisted of flexible jazz aerobics and rap tunes.
Fred Benjamin started to teach more later in his life and impacted many students with his training. Some of the dancers in his company as well as his students would go on to dance on Broadway, start their own companies, or become part of major dance companies.[20] He is an internationally known teacher who like many other black choreographers became a part of the creative wave in the 1970s. Places he taught in the United States are SUNY Purchase in New York, Clark Center for the Performing Arts, Connecticut College, Ohio State University, Jacob’s Pillow in Massachusetts, The American Dance Festival, and Duke University. As well as internationally the Vlaamse Dasacademie, Bruges, Belgium, and IAC Studio in Tokyo, Japan. Benjamin was the faculty advisor and Chair of the Jazz Department for the Alvin Ailey American Dance Center, and a faculty member at Steps on Broadway.[21] He began teaching at Steps on Broadway in 1985 and continued to do so when he became ill and would verbally give instructions.[22] Fred also performed and taught at Clark Center for the Performing Arts until it closed in the 1980s. The center was organized by Alvin Ailey and others that gave opportunities to black dancers and choreographers to create their work.[23][24] Benjamin also can be credited with introducing many youths to dance through the annual DanceMobile hosted by the Harlem Cultural Council.[25]
Style
Fred Benjamin’s style was influenced by Talley Beatty, although many compared his movement to Alvin Ailey.[26] Beatty’s style was a blend of jazz and ballet, with quick and jubilant choreography, with movement that involved leg extensions and back arches to the full range of motion of the dancer. Talley was influenced by his dance education from Martha Graham and Katherine Dunham, which he then incorporated into his dancing.[27] Fred Benjamin took from Talley’s influences creating movement that was also a ballet-jazz genre and added to Beatty’s contemporary style. Benjamin had a more energized style and integrated ballet technique.[28] His classes consisted of a short intensive warm-up, teaching choreography that was a combination of modern, jazz, with ballet underneath. His goal in his teaching style was to have the dancers learn the choreography quickly and add the performance quality to it.[29]
References
- ↑ [1], additional text.
- ↑ [2], additional text.
- ↑ [3], additional text.
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- ↑ [27], additional text.
- ↑ [28], additional text.
- ↑ [29], additional text.
[1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8] [9] [10] [11] [12] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZYqZ3MWY_5o https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3kI1x5eOgSo https://www.playbill.com/person/fred-benjamin-vault-0000004447
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- ↑ African American Registry. "Fred Benjamin, a True Stage Presence". AAREG. AAREG. Retrieved 29 November 2020.
- ↑ Amsterdam News. "Dance Icon Fred Benjamin Dies at 69". Amsterdam News. New York Amsterdam News: The new Black view. Retrieved 29 November 2020.
- ↑ Anderson, Jack. "DANCE: FRED BENJAMIN OFFERS 'PARALLEL LINES'". The New York Times. The New York Times. Retrieved 29 November 2020.
- ↑ Kisselgoff, Anna. "Fred Benjamin, Exacting and Inventive Teacher of Jazz Dance, Dies at 69". The New York Times. The New York Times. Retrieved 29 November 2020.
- ↑ Lewis-Ferguson, Julinda. "Free to Dance: Biographies". Thirteen. Thirteen: Media with Impact. Retrieved 29 November 2020.
- ↑ Playwrights Horizons. "Fred Benjamin". Playwrights Horizons. Playwrights Horizons. Retrieved 29 November 2020.
- ↑ Clark Center NYC. "Fred Benjamin - A Great Journey". YouTube. Clark Center NYC. Retrieved 29 November 2020.
- ↑ Clark Center NYC. "To Preserve a Legacy". clarkcenternyc.org. Clark Center NYC.
- ↑ Clark Center NYC. "Fred Benjamin Starts His Dance Company". YouTube. Clark Center NYC. Retrieved 29 November 2020.
- ↑ Steps on Broadway. "Faculty Bio: Fred Benjamin(1944-2013): Steps on Broadway: Jazz". Steps on Broadway. Steps on Broadway. Retrieved 29 November 2020.
- ↑ Miller, Allison. "Free to Dance: Biographies". Thirteen. Thirteen: Media with Impact. Retrieved 29 November 2020.
- ↑ Levine, Eleanor (May 25- May 31, 2000). "Scintillating Dance at Symphony Space". New York Amsterdam News. New York Amsterdam News. Check date values in:
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