Maria Pogee (born 7 April 1942), sometimes credited as Maria Pohji, is an Argentine-American dancer who performed on stage, television and film in the 1950s, 60s and 70s.
Gazzarri Dancers website. Accessed 5 September 2015. She is also a choreographer, dance teacher and actress. She appeared in the movie ''Wacky Taxi'' (1972).

Education

Pogee received her education in the performing art in

Buenos Aires Buenos Aires ( or ; ), officially the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires ( es, link=no, Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires), is the Capital city, capital and primate city of Argentina. The city is located on the western shore of the Río de la Plata ...

at the

Teatro Colon Teatro may refer to: * Theatre * Teatro (band) Teatro, Italian for "theatre", is a vocal group signed to the Sony BMG music label. The members of Teatro are Jeremiah James, Andrew Alexander, Simon Bailey and Stephen Rahman-Hughes. Band member ...

Career

In 1950, Pogee appeared on television variety shows with the "Lobato" dancers. The group toured in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., federal district, five ma ...

and Pogee left in 1961 to pursue other employment opportunities. She performed with

Juliet Prowse Juliet Anne Prowse (September 25, 1936 – September 14, 1996) was a dancer and actress whose four-decade career included stage, television and film. She was raised in South Africa, where her family emigrated after World War II. Known for her ...

Sammy Davis Jr Samuel George Davis Jr. (December 8, 1925 – May 16, 1990) was an American singer, dancer, actor, comedian, film producer and television director. At age three, Davis began his career in vaudeville with his father Sammy Davis Sr. and the ...

., and

Shirley MacLaine Shirley MacLaine (born Shirley MacLean Beaty, April 24, 1934) is an American actress, author, and former dancer. Known for her portrayals of quirky, strong-willed and eccentric women, MacLaine has received numerous accolades over her seven-dec ...

. From October 1965 to February 1966, Pogee was a "Hollywood a go go" dancer. In 1960, Pogee worked at "Moulin Rouge", a night club, restaurant and showroom in

Hollywood Hollywood usually refers to: * Hollywood, Los Angeles, a neighborhood in California * Hollywood, a metonym for the cinema of the United States Hollywood may also refer to: Places United States * Hollywood District (disambiguation) * Hollywoo ...

. The show was produced by Frank Sennes Sr, the Las Vegas showman. The dance group was scheduled to open at the

El Rancho Vegas El Rancho Vegas was a hotel and casino at the north end of the Las Vegas Strip in Winchester, Nevada. It opened in 1941, as the first resort on the Strip, known then as part of Highway 91. It was located at what is now the southwest corner of La ...

Las Vegas Las Vegas (; Spanish language, Spanish for "The Meadows"), often known simply as Vegas, is the List of United States cities by population, 25th-most populous city in the United States, the most populous city in the U.S. state, state of Neva ...

but their starting was prevented by a fire at the hotel. Pogee played "Tiger Lily" in the 1979

Broadway Broadway may refer to: Theatre * Broadway Theatre (disambiguation) * Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S. ** Broadway (Manhattan), the street **Broadway Theatre (53rd Stree ...

production of ''Peter Pan'' starring

Sandy Duncan Sandra Kay Duncan (born February 20, 1946) is an American actress, comedian, dancer and singer. She is known for her performances in the Broadway revival of '' Peter Pan'' and in the sitcom '' The Hogan Family''. Duncan has been nominated for ...

. In 1983, Pogee choreographed ''Stars!'', a theatrical production in

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring count ...

which was produced by

Anthony Farmer Anthony Farmer (born 1657Jerome Bertram‘Farmer, Anthony (b. 1657)’ ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'', Oxford University Press, 2004, accessed 7 September 2008) was an Englishman nominated by King James II to the office of President o ...

. in Sun City,

Bophuthatswana Bophuthatswana (, meaning "gathering of the Tswana people"), officially the Republic of Bophuthatswana ( tn, Riphaboliki ya Bophuthatswana; af, Republiek van Bophuthatswana), was a Bantustan (also known as "Homeland"; an area set aside for me ...

. In 1998, Pogee choreographed ''The Mystery of Edwing Drood'', a musical at

University of Nevada, Las Vegas The University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV) is a public land-grant research university in Paradise, Nevada. The campus is about east of the Las Vegas Strip. It was formerly part of the University of Nevada from 1957 to 1969. It includes th ...

. Anthony Del Valle wrote in ''Las Vegas CityLife Review Journal'', "Quietly, magically, she not only does what the script demands with maximum grace and minimum fuss but makes one want to see more." In 2009, Pogee represented

Argentina Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the second-largest country in South America after Brazil, t ...

as an international judge on four episodes of the reality television show ''

Superstars of Dance ''Superstars of Dance'' was an American reality television show, first broadcast on January 4, 2009, on NBC. The show featured dance routines from eight countries from six continents. It was hosted by Michael Flatley, co-creator of '' Riverdan ...

'' on the

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American English-language commercial broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a division of Comcast, its headquarters ...

Network. Pogee has taught at Backstage Dance Studio and jazz workshops at the Liberace Center for professional dancers in

Las Vegas Valley The Las Vegas Valley is a major metropolitan area in the southern part of the U.S. state of Nevada, and the second largest in the Southwestern United States. The state's largest urban agglomeration, the Las Vegas Metropolitan Statistical Area i ...

.Duke, F. Pete Barbutti guests on NBC-TV, park jazz. Las Vegas Review Journal, 26 May 1976 p14.

References

External links

''Once Upon a Brothers Grimm.''
Television 1977. Pogee played the part of the cat in the "Bremen Town Musicians" segment. Accessed 5 September 2015. {{DEFAULTSORT:Pogee, Maria 1942 births Living people Argentine emigrants to the United States American female dancers American dancers American film actresses American musical theatre actresses 21st-century American women