“Sweet Charity” and the formula of Robert Fosse’s choreographic style

The article explores the possibility of deriving the “formula of style” of the American choreographer, dancer, director and actor Robert Louis Fosse, better known in the national cultural tradition as Bob Fosse. The musical “Sweet Charity” was chosen as the main material. Its premiere took place in 1966 on Broadway and the film version was released in 1969. The author believes that not only the choreography, but also the artist’s stage presence, and way of constructing the mise-en-scène through the scenery, light, costume, greasepaint, as well as the transformation of musical material by superimposing additional sounds produced by dancers on the existing melody, so as to change the rhythmic pattern (and in cinematographic works — also the director's vision of not only the finished film, but also the frame itself) were all components of a single style. Without understanding the unity of the above listed elements, it is impossible to grasp the essence of the artistic method of R. Fosse and reproduce his work in practice. A detailed analysis of each element leads to the conclusion that the choreographic text conveys the choreographer's concepts through a codified message that changes its meaning depending on intonation. The musical material presented by the composer and processed by the dancers with additional sounds determines the nature of the stage story. The internal fullness of the performers, as well as mise-enscène, costume, greasepaint, and light add hidden meaning and subtext to the original story. If it were possible to deduce Robert Louis Fosse's “formula of style,” then it would be achieved from a synthesis of all the above listed elements, that have been studied within the body of all his works.