September 23
Born Today:
Virginia Bosler
Dancer Virginia Bosler (1926-2020) studied ballet with Mikhail Mordkin (1880-1944) as a child to improve her posture. After moving to Connecticut, she took up dancing again in high school, studying modern and folk dance and studying Pilates with Joseph Pilates (1883-1967). In 1946, she was cast in the touring version of Bloomer Girl by Agnes de Mille (1905-1993) and this break led to a role in Brigadoon (1947), which she reprised in the 1954 film version. Bosler continued working with de Mille in the movie version of Oklahoma! (1955). In the 1970s she began the process of Labanotation certification and she notated dances by de Mille, among others.
Also Born Today: Actor/dancer Mickey Rooney (1920-2014) is best known for appearing as a song-and-dance team in musicals with Judy Garland (1922-1969) during WWII, including Babes in Arms (1939) and Babes on Broadway (1941). Dancer and professional figure skater JoAnn Dean (1923-2015) performed in ice shows with skater Sonja Heine and was often paired with dancer Gene Nelson (1920-1996) in the 1950s.