BalletFlaMom Posted August 10, 2003 Share Posted August 10, 2003 NOT ballet, I know, but an amazing dancer nonetheless. He has died at 57. http://entertainment.msn.com/news/article....spx?news=130808 Link to comment
Alexandra Posted August 10, 2003 Share Posted August 10, 2003 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. Link to comment
Dale Posted August 11, 2003 Share Posted August 11, 2003 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. Link to comment
carbro Posted August 11, 2003 Share Posted August 11, 2003 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. Link to comment
Guest amethyst Posted August 11, 2003 Share Posted August 11, 2003 Yes, what a great loss to the dance world! He was such a natural tapper - made me want to get up and dance too! He was probably my inspiration to take tap classs as an adult. He evidently knew about the cancer for some time but didn't want to worry his family, so he just kept on dancing. What a brave man - he will be fondly remembered and sadly missed by many! Link to comment
PK Posted August 11, 2003 Share Posted August 11, 2003 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. Link to comment
Farrell Fan Posted August 11, 2003 Share Posted August 11, 2003 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. Link to comment
novamom Posted August 11, 2003 Share Posted August 11, 2003 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. Link to comment
Justdoit Posted August 12, 2003 Share Posted August 12, 2003 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. Link to comment
dirac Posted August 12, 2003 Share Posted August 12, 2003 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. Link to comment
Amy Reusch Posted August 12, 2003 Share Posted August 12, 2003 << 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?) Link to comment
dirac Posted August 12, 2003 Share Posted August 12, 2003 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." Link to comment
catlady Posted August 13, 2003 Share Posted August 13, 2003 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. Link to comment
piccolo Posted August 14, 2003 Share Posted August 14, 2003 Catlady, I agree! Where is the TV special commemorating his life? Link to comment
dirac Posted August 14, 2003 Share Posted August 14, 2003 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. Link to comment
catlady Posted August 14, 2003 Share Posted August 14, 2003 Well, I find it really obnoxious that they had room to print a story in the Style section about a millionaire who was married to two women at the same time but couldn't find room to write even a small appreciation of Gregory Hines. The man contributed alot to not only film and tv but to dance too. I know countless boys who took up tap after seeing Gregory Hines in "White Nights" as well as the film "Tap." I'm willing to bet that if Alan Kreigsman wasn't retired from the Post there would have been an appreciation. Sorry if I sound a bit hot under the collar, but for some reason it really got to me. It just seems like such a snub. Link to comment
dirac Posted August 15, 2003 Share Posted August 15, 2003 I quite understand, and may I suggest you write a tartly worded letter to the editor? It might be worth reminding them that the Style section readers who follow cultural matters as well as or instead of Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous need some attention, too. Link to comment
novamom Posted August 15, 2003 Share Posted August 15, 2003 Catlady, I'm personally very glad that you brought this subject up. And, Dirac, your idea is a very good one. As a result I will also write a terse :angry: e-mail t the editor. Thanks! Link to comment
Recommended Posts