Graciela Daniele
Encyclopedia
Graciela Daniele is an Argentine
-American
dancer, choreographer, and theatre director.
, Daniele began her dance training at the age of seven at Teatro Colón, Argentina
's equivalent of Moscow
's Bolshoi Theatre
. She later moved to Paris
to continue her ballet
studies, and while living there attended a performance of West Side Story, with Jerome Robbins
's original choreography. Overwhelmed by the way dance was an integral part of the story-telling, she decided to move to New York City
to study jazz and modern dance, styles she felt were best for expressing human emotions on stage.
As a performer, Daniele made her Broadway
debut in What Makes Sammy Run?
in 1964. She studied with Martha Graham
and Merce Cunningham
while working with such luminaries as Bob Fosse
, Agnes de Mille
, and Michael Bennett
, who hired her to assist him with Follies
in 1971. Her first credit as a full-fledged choreographer was the 1979 revival of The Most Happy Fella
.
Daniele has worked with Woody Allen
on three films, Mighty Aphrodite
, Everyone Says I Love You
, and Bullets Over Broadway
.
In addition to her work in New York City, where she has choreographed for Ballet Hispanico and served as a director-in-residence at Lincoln Center, Daniele has directed and/or choreographed theatrical, opera
, and dance productions throughout the United States
.
She has directed and/or choreographed several musicals of Lynn Ahrens
and Stephen Flaherty
, including, most recently, The Glorious Ones
(2007) and Dessa Rose
(2005) at the Off-Broadway
Mitzi E. Newhouse Theater at Lincoln Center. She has directed and/or choreographed several musicals of Michael John LaChiusa
Off-Broadway, most recently Bernarda Alba
(2006) and Little Fish
(2003).
Argentina
Argentina , officially the Argentine Republic , is the second largest country in South America by land area, after Brazil. It is constituted as a federation of 23 provinces and an autonomous city, Buenos Aires...
-American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
dancer, choreographer, and theatre director.
Biography
Born at Buenos AiresBuenos Aires
Buenos Aires is the capital and largest city of Argentina, and the second-largest metropolitan area in South America, after São Paulo. It is located on the western shore of the estuary of the Río de la Plata, on the southeastern coast of the South American continent...
, Daniele began her dance training at the age of seven at Teatro Colón, Argentina
Argentina
Argentina , officially the Argentine Republic , is the second largest country in South America by land area, after Brazil. It is constituted as a federation of 23 provinces and an autonomous city, Buenos Aires...
's equivalent of Moscow
Moscow
Moscow is the capital, the most populous city, and the most populous federal subject of Russia. The city is a major political, economic, cultural, scientific, religious, financial, educational, and transportation centre of Russia and the continent...
's Bolshoi Theatre
Bolshoi Theatre
The Bolshoi Theatre is a historic theatre in Moscow, Russia, designed by architect Joseph Bové, which holds performances of ballet and opera. The Bolshoi Ballet and Bolshoi Opera are amongst the oldest and most renowned ballet and opera companies in the world...
. She later moved to Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
to continue her ballet
Ballet
Ballet is a type of performance dance, that originated in the Italian Renaissance courts of the 15th century, and which was further developed in France and Russia as a concert dance form. The early portions preceded the invention of the proscenium stage and were presented in large chambers with...
studies, and while living there attended a performance of West Side Story, with Jerome Robbins
Jerome Robbins
Jerome Robbins was an American theater producer, director, and choreographer known primarily for Broadway Theater and Ballet/Dance, but who also occasionally directed films and directed/produced for television. His work has included everything from classical ballet to contemporary musical theater...
's original choreography. Overwhelmed by the way dance was an integral part of the story-telling, she decided to move to New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
to study jazz and modern dance, styles she felt were best for expressing human emotions on stage.
As a performer, Daniele made her Broadway
Broadway theatre
Broadway theatre, commonly called simply Broadway, refers to theatrical performances presented in one of the 40 professional theatres with 500 or more seats located in the Theatre District centered along Broadway, and in Lincoln Center, in Manhattan in New York City...
debut in What Makes Sammy Run?
What Makes Sammy Run?
What Makes Sammy Run? is a novel by Budd Schulberg. It is a rags to riches story chronicling the rise and fall of Sammy Glick, a Jewish boy born in New York's Lower East Side who very early in his life makes up his mind to escape the ghetto and climb the ladder of success...
in 1964. She studied with Martha Graham
Martha Graham
Martha Graham was an American modern dancer and choreographer whose influence on dance has been compared with the influence Picasso had on modern visual arts, Stravinsky had on music, or Frank Lloyd Wright had on architecture.She danced and choreographed for over seventy years...
and Merce Cunningham
Merce Cunningham
Mercier "Merce" Philip Cunningham was an American dancer and choreographer who was at the forefront of the American avant-garde for more than 50 years. Throughout much of his life, Cunningham was considered one of the greatest creative forces in American dance...
while working with such luminaries as Bob Fosse
Bob Fosse
Robert Louis “Bob” Fosse was an American actor, dancer, musical theater choreographer, director, screenwriter, film editor and film director. He won an unprecedented eight Tony Awards for choreography, as well as one for direction...
, Agnes de Mille
Agnes de Mille
Agnes George de Mille was an American dancer and choreographer.-Early years:Agnes de Mille was born in New York City into a well-connected family of theater professionals. Her father William C. deMille and her uncle Cecil B. DeMille were both Hollywood directors...
, and Michael Bennett
Michael Bennett
Michael Bennett was an American musical theater director, writer, choreographer, and dancer. He won seven Tony Awards for his choreography and direction of Broadway shows and was nominated for an additional eleven....
, who hired her to assist him with Follies
Follies
Follies is a musical with music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim and a book by James Goldman. The story concerns a reunion in a crumbling Broadway theatre, scheduled for demolition, of the past performers of the "Weismann's Follies," a musical revue , that played in that theatre between the World Wars...
in 1971. Her first credit as a full-fledged choreographer was the 1979 revival of The Most Happy Fella
The Most Happy Fella
The Most Happy Fella is a 1956 musical with a book, music, and lyrics by Frank Loesser. The story, about a romance between an older man and younger woman, is based on the play They Knew What They Wanted by Sidney Howard...
.
Daniele has worked with Woody Allen
Woody Allen
Woody Allen is an American screenwriter, director, actor, comedian, jazz musician, author, and playwright. Allen's films draw heavily on literature, sexuality, philosophy, psychology, Jewish identity, and the history of cinema...
on three films, Mighty Aphrodite
Mighty Aphrodite
Mighty Aphrodite is a 1995 romantic comedy film written and directed by Woody Allen. The screenplay was inspired by the mythological tale of Pygmalion....
, Everyone Says I Love You
Everyone Says I Love You
Everyone Says I Love You is a 1996 American musical film that was written and directed by Woody Allen. The film features many stars, including Julia Roberts, Alan Alda, Edward Norton, Drew Barrymore, Gaby Hoffmann, Tim Roth, Goldie Hawn, and Natalie Portman.Set in New York, Venice, and Paris, the...
, and Bullets Over Broadway
Bullets Over Broadway
Bullets Over Broadway is a 1994 crime-comedy film written by Woody Allen and Douglas McGrath and directed by Woody Allen. It stars an ensemble cast including John Cusack, Dianne Wiest, Chazz Palminteri, and Jennifer Tilly....
.
In addition to her work in New York City, where she has choreographed for Ballet Hispanico and served as a director-in-residence at Lincoln Center, Daniele has directed and/or choreographed theatrical, opera
Opera
Opera is an art form in which singers and musicians perform a dramatic work combining text and musical score, usually in a theatrical setting. Opera incorporates many of the elements of spoken theatre, such as acting, scenery, and costumes and sometimes includes dance...
, and dance productions throughout the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
.
She has directed and/or choreographed several musicals of Lynn Ahrens
Lynn Ahrens
Lynn Ahrens is an American writer and lyricist for the musical theatre, television and film. She has collaborated with Stephen Flaherty for many years...
and Stephen Flaherty
Stephen Flaherty
Stephen Flaherty is an American composer of musical theatre. He works most often in collaboration with the lyricist/bookwriter Lynn Ahrens...
, including, most recently, The Glorious Ones
The Glorious Ones
The Glorious Ones is a musical with book and lyrics by Lynn Ahrens and music by Stephen Flaherty. Set in 17th-century Italy, it concerns a theatre group in the world of commedia dell'arte and theatre of the Italian Renaissance....
(2007) and Dessa Rose
Dessa Rose (musical)
Dessa Rose is a musical based on the book by Sherley Anne Williams with book and lyrics by Lynn Ahrens and music by Stephen Flaherty. It tells the story of a young black woman and a young white woman and their journey to acceptance in 1847 in the ante-bellum South, as they tell their story to their...
(2005) at the Off-Broadway
Off-Broadway
Off-Broadway theater is a term for a professional venue in New York City with a seating capacity between 100 and 499, and for a specific production of a play, musical or revue that appears in such a venue, and which adheres to related trade union and other contracts...
Mitzi E. Newhouse Theater at Lincoln Center. She has directed and/or choreographed several musicals of Michael John LaChiusa
Michael John LaChiusa
Michael John LaChiusa is an American musical theatre and opera composer, lyricist, and librettist. He is best known for complex, musically challenging shows such as Hello Again, Marie Christine, The Wild Party, and See What I Wanna See...
Off-Broadway, most recently Bernarda Alba
Bernarda Alba (musical)
Bernarda Alba is a one-act musical with music, lyrics and book by Michael John LaChiusa, based on Federico García Lorca's 1936 play The House of Bernarda Alba. Bernarda Alba tells the story of a controlling, newly-widowed mother who is challenged by her five rebellious daughters. The musical...
(2006) and Little Fish
Little Fish
Little Fish may refer to:*Benny Bass, American world featherweight champion & world junior lightweight champion boxer*Little Fish , a 2005 film directed by Rowan Woods*Little Fish , a 2003 musical by Michael John LaChiusa...
(2003).
Additional Broadway credits
- 2007: The Pirate QueenThe Pirate QueenThe Pirate Queen is a musical written by Claude-Michel Schönberg and Alain Boublil, best known for their adaptation of Les Misérables. John Dempsey is the co-lyricist. The Pirate Queen marks the first time Boublil and Schönberg have created a musical with American collaborators...
(Musical Staging) - 2005: Chita RiveraChita RiveraChita Rivera is an American actress, dancer, and singer best known for her roles in musical theater. She is the first Hispanic woman to receive a Kennedy Center Honors award...
: The Dancer's Life (Director and Choreographer) - 2004: Barbara CookBarbara CookBarbara Cook is an American singer and actress who first came to prominence in the 1950s after starring in the original Broadway musicals Candide and The Music Man among others, winning a Tony Award for the latter...
's Broadway! (Creative Consultant) - 2002: Elaine StritchElaine StritchElaine Stritch is an American actress and vocalist. She has appeared in numerous stage plays and musicals, feature films, and many television programs...
At Liberty (Movement Consultant) - 1999: Marie ChristineMarie ChristineMarie Christine is a musical written by Michael John LaChiusa. It opened on Broadway in 1999. Set in 1890s New Orleans and then 5 years later in Chicago; the story is loosely based on the Greek play Medea, and uses elements of voodoo rituals and practices...
(Director and Choreographer) - 1999: Annie Get Your GunAnnie Get Your Gun (musical)Annie Get Your Gun is a musical with lyrics and music written by Irving Berlin and a book by Herbert Fields and his sister Dorothy Fields. The story is a fictionalized version of the life of Annie Oakley , who was a sharpshooter from Ohio, and her husband, Frank Butler.The 1946 Broadway production...
(Director and Choreographer) - 1998: RagtimeRagtime (musical)Ragtime is a musical with a book by Terrence McNally, lyrics by Lynn Ahrens, and music by Stephen Flaherty.Based on the 1975 novel by E. L. Doctorow, Ragtime tells the story of three groups in America, represented by Coalhouse Walker Jr., a Harlem musician; Mother, the matriarch of a WASP family in...
(Choreographer) - 1995: Chronicle of a Death ForetoldChronicle of a Death ForetoldChronicle of a Death Foretold is a novella by Gabriel García Márquez, published in 1981...
(Director, Choreographer, and Writer) - 1993: The Goodbye GirlThe Goodbye Girl (musical)The Goodbye Girl is a musical with a book by Neil Simon, lyrics by David Zippel, and music by Marvin Hamlisch, based on Simon's original screenplay for the 1977 film of the same name.-Production history:...
(Choreographer) - 1990: Once on This IslandOnce On This IslandOnce on This Island is a one-act musical with a book and lyrics by Lynn Ahrens and music by Stephen Flaherty. Based on the novel My Love, My Love by Rosa Guy, set in the French Antilles in the Caribbean Sea...
(Director and Choreographer) - 1985: The Mystery of Edwin DroodThe Mystery of Edwin Drood (musical)Drood is a musical based on the unfinished Charles Dickens novel The Mystery of Edwin Drood. It is written by Rupert Holmes, and was the first Broadway musical with multiple endings . Holmes received Tony Awards for Best Book and Best Original Score...
(Choreographer) - 1984: The Rink (Choreographer)
- 1983: Zorba (Choreographer)
- 1981: The Pirates of PenzanceThe Pirates of PenzanceThe Pirates of Penzance; or, The Slave of Duty is a comic opera in two acts, with music by Arthur Sullivan and libretto by W. S. Gilbert. The opera's official premiere was at the Fifth Avenue Theatre in New York City on 31 December 1879, where the show was well received by both audiences...
(Choreographer) - 1978: WorkingWorking (musical)Working is a musical with a book by Stephen Schwartz and Nina Faso, music by Schwartz, Craig Carnelia, Micki Grant, Mary Rodgers, and James Taylor, and lyrics by Schwartz, Carnelia, Grant, Taylor, and Susan Birkenhead....
(Additional Spanish lyrics) - 1975: ChicagoChicago (musical)Chicago is a musical set in Prohibition-era Chicago. The music is by John Kander with lyrics by Fred Ebb and a book by Ebb and Bob Fosse. The story is a satire on corruption in the administration of criminal justice and the concept of the "celebrity criminal"...
(Performer) - 1969: CocoCoco (musical)Coco is a musical with a book and lyrics by Alan Jay Lerner and music by André Previn. It starred Katharine Hepburn in her only stage musical.-Background:...
(Performer) - 1968: Promises, PromisesPromises, PromisesPromises, Promises is a musical based on the 1960 film The Apartment. The music is by Burt Bacharach, lyrics by Hal David, and book by Neil Simon. Musical numbers for the original Broadway production were choreographed by Michael Bennett; Robert Moore directed and David Merrick produced...
(Performer) - 1968: Here's Where I BelongHere's Where I BelongHere's Where I Belong is a musical with a book by Alex Gordon and Terrence McNally, lyrics by Alfred Uhry, and music by Robert Waldman.Based on John Steinbeck's classic novel East of Eden, the allegorical tale centers on the Trasks and the Hamiltons, two families drawn to the rich farmlands of...
(Performer)
Award nominations
- 2006 Drama Desk AwardDrama Desk AwardThe Drama Desk Awards, which are given annually in a number of categories, are the only major New York theater honors for which productions on Broadway, Off-Broadway, Off-Off-Broadway compete against each other in the same category...
for Outstanding Choreography (Bernarda Alba) - 1999 Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Director of a Musical (A New Brain)
- 1998 Tony AwardTony AwardThe Antoinette Perry Award for Excellence in Theatre, more commonly known as a Tony Award, recognizes achievement in live Broadway theatre. The awards are presented by the American Theatre Wing and The Broadway League at an annual ceremony in New York City. The awards are given for Broadway...
for Best Choreography (Ragtime) - 1998 Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Choreography (Ragtime)
- 1996 Tony Award for Best Book of a Musical (Chronicle of a Death Foretold)
- 1996 Tony Award for Best Choreography (Chronicle of a Death Foretold)
- 1996 Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Book (Chronicle of a Death Foretold)
- 1996 Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Choreography (Chronicle of a Death Foretold)
- 1996 Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Director of a Musical (Chronicle of a Death Foretold)
- 1994 Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Choreography (Hello Again)
- 1994 Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Director of a Musical (Hello Again)
- 1993 Tony Award for Best Choreography (The Goodbye Girl)
- 1991 Tony Award for Best Choreography (Once on This Island)
- 1991 Tony Award for Best Direction of a Musical (Once on This Island)
- 1990 Tony Award for Best Choreography (Dangerous Games)
- 1986 Tony Award for Best Choreography (The Mystery of Edwin Drood)
- 1984 Tony Award for Best Choreography (The Rink)
- 1981 Tony Award for Best Choreography (The Pirates of Penzance)
- 1981 Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Choreography (The Pirates of Penzance)
Sources
- Dance Magazine "Faces in Dance: Graciela Daniele", by Rose Eichenbaum, September 1999
- "A Life in the Theatre: Director-Choreographer Graciela Daniele", Mervyn Rothstein, June 15, 2006 playbill interview