Elgin dancer honored to have his work presented alongside Fosse's

Elgin native Wade Schaaf can't believe his good fortune. As a dancer with Thodos Dance Chicago, Schaaf is not only working directly with dance legend Ann Reinking, but his own work as a choreographer is being presented in concert alongside that of the late American dance master Bob Fosse.

"It's something a dancer dreams of - having a Broadway legend who had first hand experience with one of the most amazing choreographers of our time," said Schaaf about Reinking, one of Fosse's main muses in his film "All That Jazz," the 1978 Broadway revue "Dancin'" and as a star replacement for the original 1970s production of "Chicago" and the 1980s revival of "Sweet Charity."

"To get it first hand from her and to have her spirit in rehearsal, it's something that you hope for," said the 30-year-old Thodos company member and choreographer. Schaaf is also humbled to have his new choreographed dance, "Awakening," enter the Thodos repertory alongside Fosse's work.

Fosse died of a heart attack at age 60 in 1987, but his influence as a dancer, director and choreographer lives on. That's thanks to efforts of his late wife and Broadway legend Gwen Verdon, his daughter Nicole and Reinking, whose choreography for the smash hit 1996 revival of "Chicago" was done "in the style of Bob Fosse" and performed around the world.

All three women collaborated together in compiling Fosse's work into the 1999 Tony Award-winning musical revue "Fosse." And now thanks in part to a Dance Masterpiece Grant from the National Endowment for the Arts, Reinking is recreating three early Fosse trios - with her own choreography to link the pieces - exclusively for Thodos Dance Chicago as the "Fosse Trilogy."

The three works are "Cool Hand Luke" (a 1968 piece first presented on a Bob Hope TV special and later seen in the musical "Fosse"), "Tijuana Shuffle (also from that 1968 TV special) and most famously a 1969 "Ed Sullivan Show" trio "Mexican Breakfast." The latter became a YouTube sensation when pop diva Beyoncé Knowles acknowledged "Mexican Breakfast" as the choreographic inspiration for her hit video of "Single Ladies (Put a Ring on it)."

"I can't help but think that (Beyoncé) as a contemporary artist today drawing from the past in her inspiration is certainly bringing (Fosse's style) to the present," said company founder Melissa Thodos when asked if the Beyoncé association might bring an extra bump in audience attendance for the company's 2009 Fall Concert.

But among dance and theater aficionados, the Reinking and Fosse pairing is enough to pique interest. This is the third time that Reinking has collaborated with Thodos Dance Chicago.

"She's near and dear to us all as an artist and it's a relationship we have that's just wonderful," Thodos said. "We love also doing Bob's work and her work, too - she has such an amazing choreographic voice."

Reinking and Thodos became friends through their husbands, who were both tennis players on the semipro circuit. Thodos of course knew about Reinking's fame and choreographic work, but Reinking came to learn of Thodos' work as a dancer and artistic director of her own company as they chatted in the stands during tennis matches.

"This is an excellent company," Reinking said after a "Fosse Trilogy" rehearsal at Chicago's Menomonee Club. "Every time I come here - it's so positive. (Thodos) has a way of having the dancers work so well that the joy is in the work - it's not about the ego per se - it's about getting to the work and that's where you find the satisfaction."

Reinking is also complimentary about Thodos' taste and ambition to have her dancers teach and choreograph works themselves in addition to performing.

"I think her choices are magnificent," Reinking said. "But she still nurtures. You've got to bring the next generation of dancers and choreographers along."

Reinking's passing on of dance knowledge was apparent and enlightening in rehearsals. Reinking shared what Fosse told her to think and do while dancing certain gestures ("Reach out like you're grabbing something") and the playful thoughts that should be in the dancers' heads while doing certain provocative poses.

Although dancer Schaaf is cast in the "Fosse Trilogy" as a cover (an understudy to all the male roles), he too got the benefit of rehearsing directly with Reinking. She physically demonstrated to him how to properly undulate his torso in the "Fosse style" in the piece "Cool Hand Luke."

"(Fosse) isn't here, so we can't get that information from him, so to get it first hand from her - it's experiences like this that you dream of in a company," said Schaaf. He's also glad to have the opportunity with Thodos to share his skills as a dance teacher and choreographer.

"It's a perfect fit for me," Schaaf said. "To have my work go up at the Harris Theater with a professional company in the city, it's a big privilege especially since I'm from here."