17 replies to this topic

[BalletFlaMom]

NOT ballet, I know, but an amazing dancer nonetheless.  He has died at 57.

http://entertainment...spx?news=130808

[Alexandra]

Thank you for posting that -- I heard it on the news just now.  I hadn't known that Hines was ill, so it came as a shock to me.  He was a terrific dancer -- a graceful dancer, and a graceful man.

[Dale]

I think he was a true artist.  He was always looking deeper into his dance, without breaking form.   He was wonderful in Cotton Club and his Dance in America special.

[carbro]

And an incredibly generous artist.  He seemed to feel a genuine sense of responsibility to fellow artists and to his audiences.  He used his celebrity to showcase younger dancers to whom he played mentor and role model.  He also understood that appreciation of dance must be cultivated, and he took many opportunities to instruct his audiences in different aspects of his art.  And he never, never failed to acknowledge the courage of the earlier generation of black tap dancers who never gained the recognition they deserved but blazed the path that allowed him to gain popular and commercial success.

A class act all the way!  He leaves big shoes to be filled.

[PK]

I was so saddened and surprised to learn of his death.He was very visable in the NJ Arts and involved with kids and dance.I'd like to think of him up in heaven with those other great dancers.

[PK]

I was so saddened and surprised to learn of his death.He was very visable in the NJ Arts and involved with kids and dance.I'd like to think of him up in heaven with those other great dancers.

[Farrell Fan]

I was lucky enough to have seen his Tony-Award performance in "Jelly's Last Jam." He was a wonderful actor as well as great dancer. His portrayal of the complicated, tortured Jelly-Roll Morton was unforgettable.

[novamom]

I heard of his death yesterday.  What a sad day.  I was not aware that he was even sick.  I loved his performance in "White Nights" especially.

[Justdoit]

I've definitely been a fan since he and his brother and father were the act, "Hines, Hines And Dad."  I've long admired his smooth dancing style, similiar to Astaire's.   He was a first-rate actor as well.  His movie "White Nights," was memorable to me for both the dancing and the acting.  I learned to tap as an adult, partially inspired by him.  He will be long remembered and missed.

[dirac]

I didn't know he was ill, either.  Very sad news.  A favorite performer of mine, in any field, and a great ambassador for dance.

He guested with San Francisco Ballet during the Smuin era, some time in the seventies, if memory serves.

[Amy Reusch]

<< He guested with San Francisco Ballet during the Smuin era, some time in the seventies, if memory serves.>>  (software not working for me tonight, excuse the quote formatting)

How interesting!  Do you remember what pieces they put him in? (does this belong in Ballet History?)

[dirac]

Amy, I'm afraid I don't know -- I didn't see him, alas. I hope someone who did chips in.  I imagine Smuin didn't put him in Swan Lake.   The two worked together on several occasions -- Smuin did Hines' revue, "Sophisticated Ladies."

[catlady]

I am curious and rather dismayed that there has been no appreciation for Gregory Hines in the Washington Post. I had to search the obits page to find anything about his passing and my husband who is admittedly not a dance fan but who liked Gregory Hines alot said he wouldn't have even known he had died if I hadn't told him. The man contributed an awful lot and I really think that he rates more than just an obituary notice.

[piccolo]

Catlady, I agree!  Where is the TV special commemorating his life?

[dirac]

Well, a television special would take a little time to produce, but Hines was just not that big of a star -- he wouldn't rate the coverage received by the demise of a Hepburn or a Hope, or of Steve McQueen when he died untimely about twenty years ago.  It's too bad, but there it is.  Baryshnikov should get a big sendoff when he joins the choir invisible, but I can't think of another living dancer who'll get Major Media Notice.  

I thought the Post's obit was pretty good, actually.  The New York Times had an appreciation by Sally Sommer in addition to the obituary, but the Times' cultural coverage tends to be more intensive.