Chorus line

A chorus line is a large group of dancers who together perform synchronized routines, usually in musical theatre. Sometimes, singing is also performed.

Chorus line dancers in Broadway musicals and revues have been referred to by slang terms such as ''ponies'', ''gypsies'' and ''twirlies''. A chorus girl or chorine is a performer in a chorus line (i.e. the chorus of a theatrical production), in contrast to terms such as ''chorist'' or ''chorister'' (a member of a choir).

While synchronized dancing indicative of a chorus line (often composed of chorus girls) was vogue during the first half of the 20th century, modern theatre uses the terms " ensemble" or " chorus" to indicate all supporting players in a stage production. These supporting players often also play minor characters, move set pieces, and support the production in other unique ways.

History

In the mid-1800s, chorus lines of cartwheeling, synchronized dancing can-can girls began sprouting up throughout Paris with even edgier, more erotic cabarets found in venues like the Moulin Rouge, Le Lido, and the Folies Bergẻre. By the late 1860s, the scandalous trend found its way to the United States with a more conservative trend of chorus lines hitting England, including Tiller Girls and Gaiety Girls. Chorus lines throughout Western Europe and the United States largely owned the stages of the early twentieth century.

Chorus lines hit vogue in the 1920s and 30s, as the life and possibilities of a chorus girl became sensationalized in fiction, newspapers, and film, capturing the imaginations of young girls seeking independence, adventure, and a happily ever after. Real-life examples of the Cinderella narrative included Lilian Russel and Billie Dove, both of whom began their careers as chorus girls and married into wealth.

For girls hoping to make a career out of performing, the chorus line was a common place of entry. Big names of the day like Paulette Goddard, Barbara Stanwyck, and Billie Dove are just some of the stars who began successful performing careers by joining a chorus line.

One of the most popular productions of the time was the Ziegfeld Follies, operating out of New York City, which was well-known for hiring only the most striking women for the chorus line. Florence Ziegfeld Jr. received the reputation of being able to objectively define and select exceptionally beautiful women. Ziegfeld's standards, then, soon became the ideal, and publications and news articles circulated with headlines like, "How I pick my Beauties" and "Picking out pretty girls for the stage".

Decades later, chorus lines of a more erotic flavor found huge success on America's west coast in Las Vegas, before declining again in the face of competition from burlesque and strip clubs.

Some popular chorus lines found their way onto the golden screen. One group in particular was Samuel Goldwyn's dancers, the Goldwyn Girls. Popping up in numerous MGM productions, the famous Goldwyn Girls included stars who went on to find great success on-screen like Lucille Ball, Betty Grable, Virginia Mayo, and Jane Wyman.

To this day, some live performance venues keep the traditional chorus line alive with groups like The Rockettes, but more frequently the term "chorus line" in modern terms is used to differentiate supporting singers and dancers of any gender in a musical or musical revue from the lead actors or performers.

Famous chorus lines

* Gaiety Girls (started in England during the 1890s)
*The Rockettes (U.S. act founded in 1925)
*Tiller Girls (international act starting in the 1890s)
* Ziegfeld girls

Famous performers

Performers who started out dancing in chorus lines include:

*Louise Alexander
* June Allyson
* Carroll Baker
* Josephine BakerCantu, Maya.
American Cinderellas on the Broadway Musical Stage: Imagining the Working Girl from Irene to Gypsy
', p. 49 (Palgrave Macmillan 2015).
*Lucille Ball
*Tallulah Bankhead
* Patricia Barry
*Constance Bennett
* Joan Blondell
* Karin Booth
* Betty Boothroyd
* Anise Boyer
* Louise Brooks
* Virginia Bruce
* Ruth Chatterton
* June Clyde
* Imogene Coca
*Ellen Corby
* Jeanne Crain
*Joan CrawfordCantu, Maya.
American Cinderellas on the Broadway Musical Stage: Imagining the Working Girl from Irene to Gypsy
', p. 18 (Palgrave Macmillan 2015).
* Marion Davies
*Bette Davis
* Yvonne De Carlo
* Frances Dee
* Myrna Dell
*Marlene Dietrich
* Caren Marsh Doll
* Ruth Donnelly
* Constance Dowling
* Doris Dowling
* Ja'Net DuBois
* Alice Faye
* Rhonda Fleming
*Paulette Goddard
* Betty Grable
* June Haver
*June Havoc
*Rita Hayworth
* Patricia Heaton
*Audrey Hepburn
* Miriam Hopkins
*Lena Horne
* Adele Jergens
* Dorothy Jordan
* Ruby Keeler
* Phyllis Kennedy
* Evelyn Keyes
* Dorothy Lamour
* Ruta Lee
*Myrna Loy
* Jeanette MacDonald
* Dorothy Mackaill
* Shirley MacLaine
*Dorothy Malone
* Marsha Mason
* Jessie Matthews
* Virginia Mayo
* Vera Miles
* Ann Miller
* Eve Miller
* Florence Mills
*Mistinguett
*Marilyn Monroe
* Dorothy Morris
* Nita Naldi
* Evelyn Nesbit
* Julie Newmar
* Sheree North
* Aida Pierce
* Jean Porter
* Marie Prevost
* Marjorie Reynolds
*Ginger Rogers
* Jean Rogers
*Ruth Roman
* Joan Shawlee
* Ann Sheridan
*Ada "Bricktop" Smith
*Barbara Stanwyck
* Inger Stevens
* Amzie Strickland
* Nita Talbot
* Tyra Vaughn
* Gwen Verdon
* Marie Windsor
* Toby Wing"Glorifying the American Girl: Adapting an Icon", Cynthia J. Miller; "The Adaptation of History: Essays on Ways of Telling the Past" edited by Laurence Raw, Defne Ersin Tutan; McFarland, 2012; page 33
* Shelley Winters
*Jane Wyman

See also

* Can-can
* Friedrichstadt-Palast
* Showgirl
* Corps de ballet

References

External links

*

Musical theatre
Dance in the United States

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