Louis Falco (August 2, 1942 – March 26, 1993) was an American dancer and choreographer.

Life and career

Louis Falco was born in New York City of southern Italian immigrant parents. He began his study of dance in the 1950s at The Henry Street Playhouse with Murray Louis and Alwin Nikolais. He attended the

High School of Performing Arts The High School of Performing Arts (informally known as "PA") was a public alternative high school established in 1947 and located at 120 West 46th Street in the borough of Manhattan, New York City, from 1948 to 1984. In 1961, the school was ...

and as a student began performing with Charles Weidman. In 1960 he began dancing professionally with

José Limón José Arcadio Limón (January 12, 1908 – December 2, 1972) was a dancer and choreographer from Mexico and who developed what is now known as 'Limón technique'. In the 1940s, he founded the José Limón Dance Company (now the Limón Dan ...

, and also appeared with Flower Hujer,

Alvin Ailey Alvin Ailey Jr. (January 5, 1931 – December 1, 1989) was an American dancer, director, choreographer, and activist who founded the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater (AAADT). He created AAADT and its affiliated Alvin Ailey American Dance Cent ...

and Donald McKayle. He danced with the José Limón Dance Company from 1960–70, often partnering Sarah Stackhouse. He danced opposite

Rudolf Nureyev Rudolf Khametovich Nureyev (17 March 19386 January 1993) was a Soviet-born ballet dancer and choreographer. Nureyev is widely regarded as the preeminent male ballet dancer of his generation as well as one of the greatest ballet dancers of all ...

in Limon's ''The Moor's Pavane'' on Broadway from 1974-75. His farewell performance was with

Luciana Savignano Luciana Savignano (born 30 November 1943) is an Italian ballet dancer. Life and career Luciana Savignano was born in Milan and trained at the Ballet School of La Scala and at the Bolshoi Theatre in Moscow. In 1968 she was chosen by Mario Pistoni ...

La Scala La Scala (, , ; officially , ) is a historic opera house in Milan, Milan, Italy. The theatre was inaugurated on 3 August 1778 and was originally known as (, which previously was Santa Maria della Scala, Milan, a church). The premiere performa ...

Opera House in

Milan Milan ( , , ; ) is a city in northern Italy, regional capital of Lombardy, the largest city in Italy by urban area and the List of cities in Italy, second-most-populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of nea ...

in ''The Eagle's Nest''. Falco was considered an extraordinarily gifted dancer and charismatic performer. Falco made his debut as a choreographer in 1967. He was awarded

Guggenheim Fellowship Guggenheim Fellowships are Grant (money), grants that have been awarded annually since by the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation, endowed by the late Simon Guggenheim, Simon and Olga Hirsh Guggenheim. These awards are bestowed upon indiv ...

in Choreography in 1970. He was one of the first choreographers to experiment with rock bands and other innovations on stage, and he was noted for works created for his Louis Falco Dance Company and for his choreography of the 1980 motion picture '' Fame''. After the explosive success of the film, he began a career in commercial choreography including music videos for a number of

MTV MTV (an initialism of Music Television) is an American cable television television channel, channel and the flagship property of the MTV Entertainment Group sub-division of the Paramount Media Networks division of Paramount Global. Launched on ...

artists. The Falco Company's last performance in New York City was for the inauguration of the

Joyce Theater The Joyce Theatre Foundation is a leading presenter of dance in New York City and nationally. It is runs, in part, from the Joyce Theater, a 472-seat dance performance venue located in the Chelsea, Manhattan, Chelsea neighborhood of Manhattan in ...

in 1982. Falco completed choreography for several films and commissioned dance works, some of which were never performed in the United States. In 1986, he was recognized for a series of award winning television commercials. He died from AIDS in 1993.

Works

Selected works include: *''Escargot'' *''The Sleepers'' *''Caviar'' *''Journal'' *''Argot'' *''Huescape'' *''Timewright'' *''Caviar'' *''The Eagle's Nest'' *''Nights In A Spanish Garden'' *''Tutti-frutti'' *''Cooking French'' *''Jack-In-The-Box'' *''Reunion in Portugal'' *''Journal'' *''Eclipse'' *''Caterpillar'' *''The Lobster Quadrille'' *''The Gamete Garden'' Selected music videos: *''Kiss'' for

Prince A prince is a male ruler (ranked below a king, grand prince, and grand duke) or a male member of a monarch's or former monarch's family. ''Prince'' is also a title of nobility (often highest), often hereditary, in some European states. The ...

*''Why Can't I Have You'' for

The Cars The Cars were an American Rock music, rock band formed in Boston in 1976. Emerging from the New wave music, new wave Subculture, scene in the late 1970s, they consisted of Ric Ocasek (rhythm guitar), Benjamin Orr (bass guitar), Elliot Easton (l ...

*''Country Boy'' for

Ricky Skaggs Rickie Lee Skaggs (born July 18, 1954), known professionally as Ricky Skaggs, is an American neotraditional country and bluegrass singer, musician, producer, and composer. He primarily plays mandolin; however, he also plays fiddle, guitar, ma ...

References

External links

*
Official site
{{DEFAULTSORT:Falco, Louis 1942 births 1993 deaths Artists from New York City American male ballet dancers American ballet choreographers AIDS-related deaths in New York (state) American people of Italian descent 20th-century American ballet dancers