The Man Behind The Scene

By K.C. Patrick

Bob Rizzo Revealed

“I’ve never talked about myself this way,” admits well-known teacher, choreographer, director, and video producer Bob Rizzo. Rizzo had just confessed that his first love was working behind the scenes, making all the magic happen, despite his leading-man good looks and his considerable experience in the spotlight.

Born and raised in Grand Island, a suburb of Buffalo, New York, Rizzo remembers when his parents, Jabber and Josie Rizzo, presented him with a four-foot high marionette theater. As a youngster, he was fascinated with how actors could become different characters, with different voices, costumes, makeup, and movements, and so affect their audiences in different ways. And—how special effects could extend stage magic into wonder. There were lots of experiments, rehearsals, and little shows for neighbors.

“Our family had just seen Peter Pan with Mary Martin and all the special effects of that show,” reminisced Rizzo. “I came home and got busy in our garage figuring out how everything had been done. I even rigged my brother up with wires and all to get him to fly.

“When I was thirteen, I was given an 8mm movie camera and I learned to see through a lens and started figuring out how to make things happen on film. The movie Mary Poppins had just come out and it was filled with magical special effects. My family watched the television series Bewitched every week. I started making things appear and disappear. I think this interest and experience led me into my later work as a television choreographer and producer-director. Much later, of course, but the fascination was always there.”

Young Bob Rizzo didn’t exactly grow up in a dancing school, but he was never too far away. His aunt, Norma Ferrara-Gelose, was a ballet teacher with Cecchetti Society certification whose school also offered jazz and tap classes.

“It wasn’t just that she wanted another boy for her school or that I was a family member, my aunt thought I had natural talent as a mover and she brought black patent leather dance shoes just my size when she visited. I always ran in the other direction. She didn’t push too hard, since she was occupied with her protégé, Michael DiFiglia. Michael attended Bennett High School and when he moved to New York he became Michael Bennett. Yes, the great Michael Bennett who later created A Chorus Line!”

During high school, Rizzo studied musical theater and sang in the school’s mixed chorus. He attended State University of New York, Fredonia, to earn his BA in Musical Theater. Meanwhile he worked in summer stock, and as a director at Buffalo Community Theater.

“Every teacher should encourage students to take voice classes and learn to read music,” he advises, “especially if it’s offered free in school. Even if they never intend to sing, it increases their knowledge of rhythm and musicality.”

“I just fell into my first professional job. It was June 8—I remember exactly—that I got a call from the director of the Merry-Go-Round Theater in Auburn, New York. He offered me a job—as a dancer! And they needed me there in three days. I protested that I wasn’t a professionally trained dancer. The director said my resume was marked ‘promising’ and to ‘hire’ me. I quit my community theater job and went.”

His aunt had been right; Bob was a natural. He picked up the necessary movement quickly and learned to fake the rest until he got it. That summer, he fell in love—with dance. Although he was already 19, he returned to Buffalo and began intensive study with his aunt, mastering grades one, two, and three of the Cecchetti ballet syllabi, as well as tap and jazz dance styles. Because of his seniority with the students, he eventually began to help with class instruction. At age 21, his aunt told Rizzo that it was time for him to “leave the nest.” She had arranged for a scholarship with Joel Hall, a jazz dance teacher and company director in Chicago. Miss Norma’s policy of helping students fly once they could has become a life model for her nephew, too. He advises teachers to learn what they can do to help their promising students advance to the next level, and then be prepared to let go of them. A successful student is the mark of a good educator like his aunt, he maintains.

“She wrote me a note that I have kept: ‘You will never be a ballet prince, but with your ballet you’ll be able to cover all the bases,’ ” he remembers and that note was prophetic.

In Chicago, Rizzo studied and danced with Joel Hall, whose jazz style was modern-based. When Rizzo discovered four women dancers who were the genesis of Hubbard Street jazz dance company and its director, Lou Conte, he found himself drawn to that style and studied intensively with Conte for two years. Eventually he was invited to join the advanced class. He says he learned more about musicality and mixed dance genres, and about teaching styles. “Lou didn’t dance, and I remembered that my aunt didn’t either when she taught. I learned that you don’t have to teach by standing in front of students and performing.” This theme recurred when Rizzo later began preparing instructional videos and DVDs. Chicago was a center for “industrials,” the label for the live dance and musical promotion of products that paid well. Rizzo joined a dance troupe that worked musical fashion shows. When their choreographer fell ill, Rizzo was asked to devise the movement for the next show. He did so well that he was contracted for the next year—and he loved it. As in his youth, he was again in a position to control the movement and the magic.

Then it was time to go to New York. As a new talent in Manhattan, Rizzo started at square one, doing a little teaching here and there. It was good luck that landed him as choreographer of the musical Chicago at a well-known club in New Jersey that ran for two years. Cast with all-New York talent that came over by van, the show got good reviews, and so opened more doors for Rizzo. He taught classes for “singers who dance,” from which he came to the attention of Broadway Dance Center, where he subsequently taught for almost nine years. He also taught musical theater and jazz at New York University’s Tisch School for eight years. Meanwhile he choreographed for various summer stock productions, and signed on for a Broadway tour of A Chorus Line as the dancer Don, and understudied the principal role of Zak. When he wasn’t onstage, Rizzo says he stood in the wings every performance, learning all the dialog, songs, dances, and tracks of all characters, even Cassie’s dance. He has since directed that show three times. And when breaks didn’t come to him, he made up new options for himself, notably production of trendy, new video instruction recordings that are available to the public.

“I’m always looking ahead,” explains Rizzo. “Just performing isn’t enough for me. I have always wanted to be a producer as well—and to keep passing along the knowledge I have been given. I think everyone should learn as much as they can because you never know when opportunity will knock. It’s more than being in the right place at the right time, you must be prepared to use the skills you have learned. Before becoming an artist, you have to develop your craft. It isn’t just handed to anyone.”

You may contact Bob Rizzo at bobrizzo@aol.com or www.bobrizzo.com.

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