The Peter Gennaro Project to Host Exclusive Jazz Workshop at Broadway Dance Center
Led by Jason Wise and Liza Gennaro, the session explores Tony winner Peter Gennaro's jazz legacy.
The Peter Gennaro Project has announced an exclusive workshop on Sunday, August 23, from 3:30-6:30 p.m. at Broadway Dance Center, offering dancers a rare opportunity to study the celebrated jazz vocabulary of Tony Award-winning choreographer Peter Gennaro through his original notes and archival materials. Registration is now open at BroadwayDanceCenter.com.
Created by director/choreographer Jason Wise and Peter Gennaro's daughter, Liza Gennaro, The Peter Gennaro Project is a multifaceted initiative dedicated to preserving, reconstructing, and celebrating the artistic legacy of one of Broadway's most influential choreographers through research, reconstruction, education, performance, and archival exploration.
The project began in January 2023 with a Developmental Lab at the Manhattan School of Music, bringing together 35 of New York's leading dancers to study and explore the vocabulary, movement, meaning, and technique behind four of Peter Gennaro's television works. Building upon that research, the project expanded into live performance with the recreation of one of Gennaro's iconic dance numbers at Carnegie Hall in December 2024. The upcoming workshop at Broadway Dance Center represents the next phase of the project's ongoing exploration, making Gennaro's distinctive movement language accessible to today's dancers through historically informed reconstruction.
Born in New Orleans, Peter Gennaro developed a vibrant, rhythm-driven style that seamlessly blended athleticism, musicality, and storytelling. His extraordinary career spanned Broadway, film, television, and Radio City Music Hall, leaving an indelible mark on American musical theatre.
Among his many accomplishments, Gennaro appeared in the original Broadway cast of Guys and Dolls; performed as Carl in Bells Are Ringing, dancing alongside Judy Holliday in the celebrated 'Mu Cha Cha'; originated one of the iconic 'Steam Heat' trio in The Pajama Game; co-choreographed West Side Story, creating the dances for the Sharks; received the Tony Award for Best Choreography for Annie; choreographed acclaimed productions including Irene, The Unsinkable Molly Brown (on Broadway and for the film adaptation), and Fiorello!; and served for a decade as Producer at Radio City Music Hall, where he created stage spectaculars and choreographed for the Radio City Rockettes.
Beyond the stage, The Peter Gennaro Dancers became fixtures of American television throughout the 1960s and 1970s, appearing on virtually every major variety program of the era, including dozens of performances on The Ed Sullivan Show, The Judy Garland Show, The Andy Williams Show, Your Hit Parade, Kraft Music Hall, and The Bing Crosby Show, as well as television specials starring Mitzi Gaynor, Chita Rivera, and Robert Goulet.
Offered for the first time since the 1970s, The Peter Gennaro Project workshop has been reconstructed from Peter Gennaro's original choreographic notes and archival materials by director/choreographer Jason Wise and Peter Gennaro's daughter, Liza Gennaro. Participants will learn Gennaro's signature movement vocabulary and combinations while gaining insight into the creative process behind his work, culminating in the rare opportunity to learn and perform 'Easy Street' from Annie.
As The Peter Gennaro Project continues its mission to preserve and share Peter Gennaro's artistry with new generations of dancers, educators, and audiences, the Broadway Dance Center workshop marks another exciting chapter in the ongoing exploration of his remarkable legacy.
Workshop Information
The Peter Gennaro Project
Sunday, August 23
3:30-6:30 p.m.
Broadway Dance Center
New York City
Registration is now open at BroadwayDanceCenter.com.
