Vermont Magazine | Page 38

Liza Minnelli in Cabaret as captured by the legendary Al Hirschfeld
© The Al Hirschfeld Foundation.
www.AlHirschfeldFoundation.org
S
herman: Nicole, you’re a dancer,
Vermonter, and Emmy-nominated
producer. I want to focus on your
life and accomplishments, but given the
recent success of the FX television minise-
ries Fosse/Verdon, let’s first talk about your
very famous parents: Tony, Emmy, and
Oscar-winning director/choreographer
Bob Fosse and the legendary Broadway
performer, Gwen Verdon. First, where
were you born?
Fosse: I was born in New York City. So,
actually, when you said, “Vermonter
Nicole Fosse”, that really wouldn’t fly with
the real Vermonters that have been here
for generations and generations. I’m a
transplant. I’ve lived in Vermont for 25
years, but I grew up in Manhattan and
Eastern Long Island.
Sherman (laughing): Fair enough. Fair
enough. So – what was it like growing up
with two famous parents – and how would
you describe your childhood?
Fosse: That was normal to me. I didn’t
realize they were famous. Or maybe I
thought everybody’s parents were famous.
I mean, I would hang out with Liza [Min-
nelli] backstage. And I went to see Liza
in concert in Germany once, and I went
backstage to see her afterwards. And she
had her shoes off and no slippers on and
I looked at her feet, and I said, “Liza, your
bunions!” and she goes, “Oh, my God,
they’re horrible. What do you do about
these?” And we started talking about
how to treat bunions. I mean, that’s what
36 VERMONT MAGAZINE
you do when you dance. [I was a dancer.]
She was a dancer. Her mother was Judy
Garland. My mother was Gwen Verdon.
You know, her father was Minnelli. My
father was Fosse. I didn’t get it - that she
was quote-unquote “different”. She was
just really good. Also, I went to a private
school in New York City, where a lot of
parents - even if they were not famous -
were extremely successful. That was the
norm for me. My parents really
encouraged me to explore all of my
creative forces and outlets, especially as a
young child. My mother was very
supportive of thinking outside the box and
exploring painting, drawing, music,
horseback riding, tennis, foreign
languages, biology and different academic
pursuits. My father was supportive of that
- but he had a tunnel vision of his own.
Because of the nature of who he was, he
was very focused on film and theater. all doing ballet steps - just dressed
differently – wearing high heels. That,
sort of, highly trained show girl look.
And that’s what she was raised around.
And then she went and worked with Jack
Cole, who [incorporated] classical ballet,
modern, Afro-Caribbean, East Indian, and
Flamenco dance. My mother was also a
great tap dancer. She learned that as a way
to make money standing on street corners
when she was a little girl. She could put
a hat out and tap dance and come home
with some dough during The [Great]
Depression. My father trained primarily as
a tap dancer. He was a percussionist with
his feet versus that sort of hoofer-thing
that people think is tap dancing. He was a
real percussionist. He was a musician. He
had an act with another boy that he was in
dance class with called, “The Riff Brothers”.
And they went to the vaudeville houses
and performed.
Sherman: You just mentioned art and
painting and horseback riding and tennis,
but you didn’t mention dance. Sherman: Tell me a little bit more about
Jack Cole and your mom’s relationship
with him?
Fosse: Dancing was something I believe
I desired to be a part of, because it was a
core part of the family. It was a language
that we spoke. I was never forced to dance.
When I was 8, 9, 10, I took a lot of creative
movement classes. I liked those. I also
liked riding horses and playing tennis.
And then at around the age of 13, I felt
that I was facing a decision to choose,
especially if I wanted to dance. It became
very difficult to ride horses one day, play
tennis the next day, and dance the follow-
ing day. And I understood at a very early
age the focus and discipline and devotion
and loyalty that one must have to be an
employable dancer. So, a lot of the other
activities fell by the wayside. Fosse: Jack is rightfully referred to as
“The Father of American Jazz Dance”. He
trusted my mother. When my mother was
working for Jack, she performed his
choreography and also assisted him in
Hollywood on the big Hollywood musi-
cals. She would coach Marilyn Monroe
and others. Jack’s patience was short. And
his communication skills were, I think,
frustrating to be on the receiving end
(from what I understand). My mother had
the patience and the expansive heart to
hear what he needed - and then decipher
that for other people and be able to elicit
it from them, instead of just telling them
what to do. She could help them achieve
that. I believe Jack relied on her a lot -
especially when working with Marilyn
Monroe. In “Diamonds are a Girl’s Best
Friend,” my mother would tell the story
that Jack would say, “I don’t know how to
get her to do this”. And my mother would
say, “Go away. I’ll work on this with her.”
And then my mother and Marilyn would
work together, and Jack would come back
and say, “Oh, that’s better”. And I had the
experience of my father choreographing
a ballet solo for me when I was about 18
years old. I saw how my mother worked
that exact same way with my father and
with me as the dancer. He would become
very frustrated. She would tell him to go
Sherman: Your parents had very different
childhoods in terms of their dance
training. Can you talk a little bit about
that?
Fosse: My mother’s mother, Gertrude,
was a Denishawn dancer. So she brought
the modern dance and the classical dance
into my mother’s early childhood. Then
my mother studied at Gower Champion’s
parents’ studio. My mother was surround-
ed by MGM. All the dancers in all those
Hollywood musicals, they all trained in
ballet. If you look at those women, they’re