Felipe Rose

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Felipe Rose performing in Village People costume in Asbury Park 2006

Felipe Ortiz Rose (born January 12, 1954 in New York City ) is a founding member of the disco group Village People . His mother is Puerto Rican of Indian descent ( Taíno ) and his father is a native American from the Lakota Sioux tribe .

The early years

Rose was born in New York and raised in Brooklyn , where he showed an early interest in the arts as a child. His mother was his main inspiration because she was a dancer at the Copa Cabana between 1940 and 1950 .

In 1970, at the age of 16, Rose won a scholarship which enabled him to study dance with the Ballet de Puerto Rico under the guidance of Pasqual Guzman . He took part in a dance drama lecture by Julia De Burgos at the Lincoln Center for Performing Arts with his ballet. The renowned New York Post called his performance "poignant and overwhelming".

Village People

Rose soon began to venture into the nightclub scene, while his aunt brought him together with other dance influences and recommended that he honor his father's legacy by wearing his tribal insignia. Rose, who from then on dressed as an Indian, was working as a dancer and bartender in a New York go-go club when he was discovered there by French producer Jacques Morali and its executive producer Henri Belolo and was the first member of the Village People to be hired has been.

Both Morali and Belolo were intrigued by Rose's Native American clothing and saw it as an opportunity to put together a singing group in which each individual would wear a different costume and have a specific social identity. While the producers tried to find and sign the other members of the group, Rose was sent to Paris to choreograph a local dance performance for the Crazy Horse Saloon . When he returned to the United States, he suggested that the other members of the group wear the uniforms that represent the main professional groups represented in New York's Greenwich Village .

In 1977 the Village People in Great Britain had their first hit with San Francisco . In 1978 they had their first successes in the USA with Machoman and YMCA . Some consider this incident to be the beginning of the disco era .

In the 1980s Rose sang and danced for the Latin American music maestro Tito Puente , and he also appeared in a regional theater production of the West Side Story . In 1996, Rose founded the Tomahawk Group , a company that distributes the Village People's publications and songs and is also responsible for the group's obligations. Rose also worked as a producer for various artists and groups.

Solo career

In 2000 Rose began working on his solo career. His single Trail of Tears was nominated for 3 NAMMY Awards ( Native American Music Awards ) for best historical recording , song of the year and best producer . In 2002 Rose was honored to inaugurate the 5th Annual NAMMY Awards, this time held at the Marcus Amphitheater in Milwaukee . That year Rose won a NAMMY Award for Trail of Tears for best historical recording exploring the path of tears .

In 2002 Rose moved to Richmond, Virginia. He himself described the city as the next Southern town on the rise . Ironically, when looking for a suitable sports club, Rose's choice fell on the Richmond Athletic Club rather than the almost obvious YMCA .

In 2003 Rose released his follow-up single We're Still Here , The Virginia Indians Tell Their Story. The single was nominated for five NAMMYs, Rose and Lawson won the NAMMY for Song / Single of the Year .

On January 12, 2005, Rose donated the gold single for the hit YMCA to the National Museum of the American Indian in Washington, DC

Rose has appeared in the following films: Can't stop the Music (1980) , The Best of The Village People (1993), and Feathers and Leather: The Story of the Village People (1999) . He also appeared in the documentary report Village People: The E! True Hollywood Story with.

Later years

Rose and the Village People have raised several million dollars for charitable institutions and service projects. These projects include the Native American College Fund and various AIDS support organizations.

Rose is a member of the Board of Directors of Sixuvus Ltd. , a separate Village People corporation. He is a member of the Advisory Board of the Native American Music Association , the LARAS-Latin Grammys, and the Winter Music Conference .

In 2006, Rose appeared as a contestant in the revival of the game show I've Got a Secret .

In 2008 he was inducted into the NAMA Hall of Fame .

family

He lives in Richmond with longtime partner Charles Sadler.

Web links

personal data
SURNAME Rose, Felipe
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Rose, Felipe Ortiz
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American singer and dancer
DATE OF BIRTH January 12, 1954
PLACE OF BIRTH New York City