Big Deal

L. K. Rosenberg, CHOICE A fascinating and well-researched book ... Essential.

James F. Wilson, City University of New York
This is the real deal. An impeccably researched, thoroughly entertaining examination of Fosse's life, legacy, and all that jazz.

Chita Rivera
Having worked with and been fortunate to be trained by some truly great choreographers/directors-Jerome Robbins, Michael Kidd, Peter Gennaro, Gower Champion-I could not have been luckier to learn yet another great style, Bob Fosse's. A style never explored before: sex appeal, innocence and humor in minimal movements. He himself was a great dancer, one who could dance all styles. In Sweet Charity his choreography ranged from explosive to controlled, precise, focused, tiny movements. People have a tendency to speak of the 'Fosse Style' as only small movements, but he had a wide range that fit his directorial talents. It has been rewarding to learn from Bobby through the years. He is one of a kind, and this book says it all.

Mindy Aloff, author of Dance Anecdotes: Stories from the Worlds of Ballet, Broadway, the Ballroom, and Modern Dance
A model for how to approach a biography-history of a dancemaker. Patiently, without edge or vulgarity or hype of any sort, the book focuses on Fosse's career-technical details, influences, process, and ideals intact-and it relates Fosse's life honestly yet with full relevance to the work. Furthermore, the larger context of the subtitle is honored as well, in full. It reads as if written with the collaboration of everyone in Fosse's world, including his critics, historians, and audiences. Kevin Winkler's achievement is a Big Deal, indeed.

The Journal of American Drama and Theatre There are many backstage tidbits sprinkled throughout the entire book, but Winkler is at his best when exploring Fosses choreographic process through descriptions of the body in motion.

Kevin Winkler enjoyed a career of more than twenty years as a curator, archivist, and library administrator at the New York Public Library, prior to which he was a professional dancer. He has published articles and contributed to books on performing arts libraries and archives, LGBTQ performance, films, and dance. He blogs for the Huffington Post and is a MacDowell Colony fellow.

Foreword by Geoffrey Block Acknowledgements Glossary of dance terms Introduction Chapter 1: Boy Dancer Chapter 2: Apprenticeship Chapter 3: Uncle Sam Rag Chapter 4: Comic Relief Chapter 5: Rhythm of Life Chapter 6: Wilkommen Chapter 7: An Anecdotic Revue Chapter 8: Keep It Hot Chapter 9: Dancin' Solo Chapter 10: Dance of Death Chapter 11: Control Fosseville Notes Selected Bibliography Index