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Theatrical poster from 1900 showing an early chorus line.
A chorus line is a large group of dancers who together perform synchronized routines, usually in musical theatre. Sometimes, singing is also performed.
Chorus line dancers in Broadway musicals and revues have been referred to by slang terms such as ponies, gypsies and twirlies. A chorus girl or chorine is a female performer in a chorus line (i.e. the chorus of a theatrical production as opposed to a choir).
Musicals
- A Chorus Line (1975) - centers on a chorus line audition in Broadway
Famous chorus lines
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A relief on the exterior of Radio City Musical Hall, New York City
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A modern chorus line
- Gaiety Girls (started in England during the 1890s)
- The Rockettes (U.S. act founded in 1925)
- Tiller Girls (international act starting in the 1890s)
- Ziegfeld girls
Famous performers
Performers who started out dancing in chorus lines include:
- Josephine Baker[1]
- Lucille Ball[2]
- Tallulah Bankhead
- Joan Blondell
- Betty Boothroyd[3]
- Louise Brooks[1]
- Ada "Bricktop" Smith
- Karin Booth
- Patricia Barry
- Constance Bennett
- Carroll Baker
- Virginia Bruce
- Jeanne Crain
- Ruth Chatterton
- June Clyde
- Ellen Corby
- Imogene Coca
- Joan Crawford[4]
- Bette Davis
- Constance Dowling
- Doris Dowling
- Marion Davies
- Marlene Dietrich
- Myrna Dell
- Ja'Net DuBois
- Frances Dee
- Myrna Loy
- Yvonne De Carlo
- Ruth Donnelly
- Alice Faye
- Rhonda Fleming
- Paulette Goddard[1]
- Betty Grable
- Rita Hayworth
- June Haver
- June Havoc
- Audrey Hepburn
- Patricia Heaton
- Evelyn Keyes
- Dorothy Mackaill
- Ann Miller
- Eve Miller
- Jeanette MacDonald
- Marsha Mason
- Miriam Hopkins
- Lena Horne[1]
- Adele Jergens
- Dorothy Jordan
- Ruby Keeler[4]
- Phyllis Kennedy
- Dorothy Lamour
- Dorothy Mackaill
- Dorothy Malone
- Dorothy Morris
- Caren Marsh Doll
- Shirley MacLaine
- Jessie Matthews
- Virginia Mayo
- Florence Mills
- Marilyn Monroe
- Vera Miles
- Nita Naldi
- Evelyn Nesbit
- Julie Newmar
- Aida Pierce
- Jean Porter
- Marjorie Reynolds
- Ginger Rogers
- Jean Rogers
- Ruth Roman
- Amzie Strickland
- Barbara Stanwyck[1]
- Inger Stevens
- Joan Shawlee
- Gwen Verdon
- Tyra Vaughn
- Jane Wyman
- Marie Windsor
- Shelley Winters
- Bessie Love
- Anita Page
- Ruta Lee
- June Allyson
- Ann Sheridan
See also
- Can-can
- Friedrichstadt-Palast
- Showgirl
- Corps de ballet
References
- ^ a b c d e Cantu, Maya. American Cinderellas on the Broadway Musical Stage: Imagining the Working Girl from Irene to Gypsy, p. 49 (Palgrave Macmillan 2015).
- ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2017-11-07. Retrieved 2017-10-30.
- ^ "Profile: 'Call me Madam'". BBC News. 2000-10-23. Retrieved 2012-09-09.
- ^ a b Cantu, Maya. American Cinderellas on the Broadway Musical Stage: Imagining the Working Girl from Irene to Gypsy, p. 18 (Palgrave Macmillan 2015).