Dean Collins (dancer)
Dean Collins (born May 29, 1917 , † June 1, 1984 ; real name Sol Ruddosky ) was an American dancer, teacher, choreographer and innovator of swing . He is often credited with bringing swing or lindy hop from New York to southern California. He is the most filmed lindy hop dancer.
Collins grew up in Newark and began learning to dance with his two older sisters when he was fourteen. Soon he was dancing in the Harlem Savoy Ballroom . In 1935, the New Yorker named him Dancer of the Year.
In 1936 Collins moved to Los Angeles, where he worked as a guard, danced at night in the Diana Ballroom and Casino Gardens, and took his stage name. He popularized a version of the Shim Sham that is now called the Dean-Collins-Shim-Sham.
In Los Angeles, Collins taught dancing from the 1930s on. His breakthrough came when he was hired by RKO Pictures to choreograph the film Let's Make Music (1940). He has choreographed or danced in almost forty Hollywood films , including the classic Hellzapoppin ' (1941). Collins's students include Shirley Temple , Joan Crawford , Cesar Romero , Sylvia Sykes, and Arthur Murray .
Jewel McGowan was Collins' partner for eleven years; B. Buck Privates (1941) and "Ride 'Em Cowboy" (1942).
Web links
- Dean Collins in the Internet Movie Database (English)
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Collins, Dean |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Ruddosky, Sol (real name) |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | American dancer, teacher, choreographer and innovator of swing |
| DATE OF BIRTH | May 29, 1917 |
| DATE OF DEATH | June 1, 1984 |