Eugene Louis Faccuito

Eugene Louis Faccuito
Born
Eugene Louis Faccuito

(1925-03-20)March 20, 1925
Steubenville, Ohio, U.S.
DiedApril 7, 2015(2015-04-07) (aged 90)
New York City, New York
Occupation(s)Dancer, choreographer, teacher

Eugene Louis Faccuito (March 20, 1925 – April 7, 2015), known professionally as Luigi, was an American jazz dancer, choreographer, teacher, and innovator who created the jazz exercise technique. The Luigi Warm Up Technique is a training program that promotes body alignment, balance, core strength, and "feeling from the inside".[1] It is also used for rehabilitation. This method became the world's first standard technique for teaching jazz and musical theater dance.[citation needed]

Faccuito developed the technique, which consists of a series of ballet-based exercises, for his rehabilitation after suffering paralyzing injuries in a car accident at the age of 21. He couldn't stop dancing, so he first learned to regain control of his body by what he uses as a cornerstone of his technique – namely, to "lengthen and stretch the body without strain" and "put the good side into the bad side". He then focused on a way "to stabilize himself – as if he were pressing down on an invisible (dance) barre".[2] He went on to have a successful dance career and became a world-renowned jazz teacher.[3][4]

  1. ^ Luigi; Kriegel, Lorraine Person; Roach, Francis J. (1997). Luigi's Jazz Warm Up and Introduction to Jazz Style & Technique, a Dance Horizons Book. Princeton Book Company, Publishers. p. 6. ISBN 978-0-87127-202-7.
  2. ^ Kay, Lauren (December 2009). "Luigi's Legacy". Dance Spirit: 60.
  3. ^ Profile Archived 2013-02-18 at the Wayback Machine, swingapore.com; accessed April 18, 2015.
  4. ^ Straus, Rachel (August 2007). "Teacher's Wisdom: Luigi". Dance Magazine. Archived from the original on 2015-04-17. Retrieved 2015-04-10.