08-30-2003, 04:33 PM
With so much talk about him, I thought him having his own
thread to only appropriate! I'm interested to hear what
you all know about him, or have seen him dance in, or
any questions or more info that pops up from everyone.
This is a biography from the California Historical Jazz Dance
Foundation, I thought it a suitable way to start off. Please visit
their website for even more information, the links are
included below as reference rights.
http://www.caljazzdance.com/images/rideem.jpg
http://www.caljazzdance.com/dean.htm
Dean Collins
Born as Saul Cohen in Columbus, Ohio on May 29th
1917 he grew up in Newark, New Jersey where he
began dancing at the age 14 with his two older sisters.
Along with many other young Jewish and Italian early
teenagers, he was soon attracted by the dance styles
coming out of Harlem, which inevitably propelled him
on his way to the Savoy Ballroom. By then an avid
enthusiast he danced everywhere he could, especially
to the Jimmy Lunceford band, which he was a devoted
fan of.
Saul recalled Young people in those days took their
dancing very seriously. They spent a lot of time with
their partners, learned the steps, invented new ones.
It was more than a hobby; it was a real passion. He
must have made rapid progress, for he became the
"New Yorker" magazine's dancer of the year in 1935,
at the age of 18. It is said that he entered the first and
second Harvest Moon Ball competitions, in 1935 and
1936 but no record of his participation has surfaced so
far.
Saul's curiosity on the history of swing dancing caused
him to explore it roots, thus he traveled from NY to
New Orleans in 1937 where he claimed he discovered
that this was actually the birthplace of "Swing Dancing."
Saul landed a job performing with an Orchestra (at this
time it is not clear which orchestra, there have been a
couple different ones mentioned) and the job took him
to Los Angeles. Apparently Saul thought his Jewish
name would limit his ability to find work and when he
came across a wallet someone had dropped he used it
for his new name, Dean Collins.
Totally broke he moved into the back of a drive-in diner
called Simons located on the corner of Wilshire Blvd and
La Brea, where he did janitorial duties and hung out. The
owner of Simons was Danny Apple who owned a number
of Night Clubs and was able to help Dean out with small
gigs and such to get by. From here he started venturing
out to various ballrooms. The places Dean was
remembered for frequenting around Los Angeles were
the Diana Ballroom, the Tuesday night hot spot and
Casino Gardens, the Sunday night spot for the best
dancers.
In 1938 Dean met Johnny Archer who became a life long
friend and the two became room mates in Venice Beach
on the corners of Venice and Hoover. Also at this time
Dean got together with two dancers by the name Jack
Maddis and Bill Alcorn, whom he taught and performed
with for a short while. He got his first lucky break in
1939 when RKO called him for an interview. He showed
up for what he thought would be an $11 a day extra job,
and walking away with a $100 a day job to choreograph
the dance sequences in "Let's Make Music," which came
out in 1940. This started his long career dancing in
small bit dance scenes, making him one of the most
filmed "Lindy Hoppers" on the movie screen.
Dean was most famous dancing with Jewel McGowan,
who was the most popular female dancer in Los Angeles.
When I've talked to "Old Timers," Jewel's name almost
always comes up as the best that ever lived. Dean and
Jewel were partners for 11 years, she is can be seen in
"Pot o' Gold" (James Stewart, 1941.) Dean's style was
different from the other dancers in his era, as in the
movie "Hellzapoppin" (1941). While the world famous
"Whitey's Lindy Hoppers" performed an awesome routine,
earlier in the movie Dean socially dances to "Watch the
Birdie," and takes Martha Ray for a spin! Dean had great
dance musicality, as seen in "Chool Song" (3/23/42),
"Buck Privates" (1941), and many, many others. His air
steps were very precise and normally always an 8 count
pattern which was unusual for the time. Check out "Ride
'Em Cowboy" (1942), "Springtime In The Rockies" (1942),
and "Lets Make Music" (1940).
Dean was also a talented choreographer who did a
wonderful job on movies such as "Let's Make Music"
(1940) and "Junior Prom" (1945). Dean's personal touch
was great to see in the movie "The Powers Girl." Here he
dances in the rain with an umbrella to Benny Goodman's
Orchestra. He actually leads with the umbrella handle,
not touching Jewels hand. Although few people were doing
the Lindy Hop in Los Angeles before Dean arrived, it was
Dean who brought the formula of the Lindy Hop from the
Savoy Ballroom. Dean was without a doubt a technician of
dance, who not only had the dance broken down into it's
various patterns but was also able to teach it. At a time
when Lindy Hop was street dance and the only way to learn
was through trial and error practice, Dean Collins was an
influential pioneer in the field of Lindy Hop instruction which
started in the 1930's. Mary Collins told me that Dean's love
was really in teaching, he had hundreds of students across
the country but his more famous students were Shirley
Temple, Ronald Coleman, Cesar Romero, Abbot and
Costello, Patti Andrews, Joan Crawford and yes . . . he gave
private lessons to Arthur Murray!
Dean Collins was, and still is possibly the most influential
swing dancer that ever lived, who danced till the day he left
us, leaving behind his stamp on the world of swing dancing.
The California Historical Jazz Dance Foundation is the home
of the Dean Collins archive and collection.
© California Historical Jazz Dance Foundation
http://www.caljazzdance.com
http://www.caljazzdance.com/images/switch.jpg
-FF
thread to only appropriate! I'm interested to hear what
you all know about him, or have seen him dance in, or
any questions or more info that pops up from everyone.
This is a biography from the California Historical Jazz Dance
Foundation, I thought it a suitable way to start off. Please visit
their website for even more information, the links are
included below as reference rights.
http://www.caljazzdance.com/images/rideem.jpg
http://www.caljazzdance.com/dean.htm
Dean Collins
Born as Saul Cohen in Columbus, Ohio on May 29th
1917 he grew up in Newark, New Jersey where he
began dancing at the age 14 with his two older sisters.
Along with many other young Jewish and Italian early
teenagers, he was soon attracted by the dance styles
coming out of Harlem, which inevitably propelled him
on his way to the Savoy Ballroom. By then an avid
enthusiast he danced everywhere he could, especially
to the Jimmy Lunceford band, which he was a devoted
fan of.
Saul recalled Young people in those days took their
dancing very seriously. They spent a lot of time with
their partners, learned the steps, invented new ones.
It was more than a hobby; it was a real passion. He
must have made rapid progress, for he became the
"New Yorker" magazine's dancer of the year in 1935,
at the age of 18. It is said that he entered the first and
second Harvest Moon Ball competitions, in 1935 and
1936 but no record of his participation has surfaced so
far.
Saul's curiosity on the history of swing dancing caused
him to explore it roots, thus he traveled from NY to
New Orleans in 1937 where he claimed he discovered
that this was actually the birthplace of "Swing Dancing."
Saul landed a job performing with an Orchestra (at this
time it is not clear which orchestra, there have been a
couple different ones mentioned) and the job took him
to Los Angeles. Apparently Saul thought his Jewish
name would limit his ability to find work and when he
came across a wallet someone had dropped he used it
for his new name, Dean Collins.
Totally broke he moved into the back of a drive-in diner
called Simons located on the corner of Wilshire Blvd and
La Brea, where he did janitorial duties and hung out. The
owner of Simons was Danny Apple who owned a number
of Night Clubs and was able to help Dean out with small
gigs and such to get by. From here he started venturing
out to various ballrooms. The places Dean was
remembered for frequenting around Los Angeles were
the Diana Ballroom, the Tuesday night hot spot and
Casino Gardens, the Sunday night spot for the best
dancers.
In 1938 Dean met Johnny Archer who became a life long
friend and the two became room mates in Venice Beach
on the corners of Venice and Hoover. Also at this time
Dean got together with two dancers by the name Jack
Maddis and Bill Alcorn, whom he taught and performed
with for a short while. He got his first lucky break in
1939 when RKO called him for an interview. He showed
up for what he thought would be an $11 a day extra job,
and walking away with a $100 a day job to choreograph
the dance sequences in "Let's Make Music," which came
out in 1940. This started his long career dancing in
small bit dance scenes, making him one of the most
filmed "Lindy Hoppers" on the movie screen.
Dean was most famous dancing with Jewel McGowan,
who was the most popular female dancer in Los Angeles.
When I've talked to "Old Timers," Jewel's name almost
always comes up as the best that ever lived. Dean and
Jewel were partners for 11 years, she is can be seen in
"Pot o' Gold" (James Stewart, 1941.) Dean's style was
different from the other dancers in his era, as in the
movie "Hellzapoppin" (1941). While the world famous
"Whitey's Lindy Hoppers" performed an awesome routine,
earlier in the movie Dean socially dances to "Watch the
Birdie," and takes Martha Ray for a spin! Dean had great
dance musicality, as seen in "Chool Song" (3/23/42),
"Buck Privates" (1941), and many, many others. His air
steps were very precise and normally always an 8 count
pattern which was unusual for the time. Check out "Ride
'Em Cowboy" (1942), "Springtime In The Rockies" (1942),
and "Lets Make Music" (1940).
Dean was also a talented choreographer who did a
wonderful job on movies such as "Let's Make Music"
(1940) and "Junior Prom" (1945). Dean's personal touch
was great to see in the movie "The Powers Girl." Here he
dances in the rain with an umbrella to Benny Goodman's
Orchestra. He actually leads with the umbrella handle,
not touching Jewels hand. Although few people were doing
the Lindy Hop in Los Angeles before Dean arrived, it was
Dean who brought the formula of the Lindy Hop from the
Savoy Ballroom. Dean was without a doubt a technician of
dance, who not only had the dance broken down into it's
various patterns but was also able to teach it. At a time
when Lindy Hop was street dance and the only way to learn
was through trial and error practice, Dean Collins was an
influential pioneer in the field of Lindy Hop instruction which
started in the 1930's. Mary Collins told me that Dean's love
was really in teaching, he had hundreds of students across
the country but his more famous students were Shirley
Temple, Ronald Coleman, Cesar Romero, Abbot and
Costello, Patti Andrews, Joan Crawford and yes . . . he gave
private lessons to Arthur Murray!
Dean Collins was, and still is possibly the most influential
swing dancer that ever lived, who danced till the day he left
us, leaving behind his stamp on the world of swing dancing.
The California Historical Jazz Dance Foundation is the home
of the Dean Collins archive and collection.
© California Historical Jazz Dance Foundation
http://www.caljazzdance.com
http://www.caljazzdance.com/images/switch.jpg
-FF