You Have To Watch The 'Dance Moms' Bob Fosse Routine That Fans Are Obsessed With
The ALDC continued their group dance winning streak on the Aug. 19 episode of Dance Moms with a Bob Fosse-inspired performance. Abby Lee Miller explained to the girls and Brady that Bob Fosse is her "hero," and she wanted her team to understand his unique style and the effect it had on the history of dance. "I just think it’s so important to any dancer that really wants to do this for a living that you understand those forefathers of dance," Abby said.
According to PBS, Fosse was a director and choreographer in the '50s, '60s, and '70s who developed a unique choreography style. The outlet reported that his dance routines were known for their hip thrusts, sharp hand movements, and vaudeville-style feet and shoulder positions. Fosse's choreography often featured isolated dance movements of specific body parts, rather than a fluid turn or leap, per se. You can see examples of his work in movies like The Pajama Game and Cabaret and the musical play Chicago.
For the Dance Moms group routine, Abby chose to focus specifically on Fosse's rendition of the frug. That was a dance move in the '60s that evolved from the twist and featured Fosse's favorite hip shakes and isolated arm and leg movements. He put his own spin on the iconic move in his movie Sweet Charity with a performance called "The Rich Man's Frug." Watch that below before you check out the Dance Moms number to see the references for Abby's own choreography.
At first, when the moms heard that the group dance was Fosse-inspired, they were worried. It is a very specific style of dance, and it's uncommon at dance competitions which focus a lot on storytelling lyrical numbers with beautiful turns and leaps. In comparison, Fosse's jazz choreography is stilted and sharp. Lilliana's mom Stacey was especially concerned. "If we have a judge that doesn't know Fosse, they're gonna be like, 'Why are they even doing this? It’s weird,'" Stacey said. "And then if we have a judge does know Fosse, they're gonna be able to pick out every little thing they're doing wrong, just like a ballet dance."
Even Abby acknowledged that the Fosse routine, titled "The Frug," was not necessarily a safe choice — especially two weeks before Nationals. "Of course I'm taking a risk by doing a Fosse number," Abby said. "This isn't competition material. But there's intricate little pieces of choreography that they can't mess up."
The end result was pretty spectacular, though. All of the girls and Brady were in sync and their short, specific movements were powerful on stage. The judges thought so too, because they awarded the routine first place. If the ALDC can win with a Fosse number two weeks before Nationals with a brand new team member, what can't they do? The team is on a winning streak now, and they're showing no signs of slowing down. Watch the unique performance for yourself here:
Watch all new episodes of Dance Moms season 8 on Tuesday nights on Lifetime and catch up on all the old seasons on Hulu.
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