Happy birthday to choreographer-director Graciela Daniele, born Dec. 8, 1939, in Buenos Aires. She began dance training at age 7 in Argentina, then continued her studies in Paris and New York City, where she took classes with Martha Graham and Merce Cunningham. She made her Broadway debut as Rio Rita in What Makes Sammy Run? (1964), followed by roles in Promises, Promises (1968) and Coco (1969). In the 1970s, she added to her chorus work, also serving as assistant to Michael Bennett and then as dance captain in, respectively, Follies (1971) and Chicago (1975). Below is Jerry Orbach and the Chicago chorus in “All I Care About” at the 1976 Tony Awards.
After contributing additional lyrics to the 1978 revue Working, she ended the decade with her first Broadway musical staging credit for A History of the American Film (1978) and choreography credit for the 1979 revival of The Most Happy Fella. She began the 1980s with her Off-Broadway debut in The Pirates of Penzance, which moved to Broadway and earned Daniele her first Tony and Drama Desk nominations. Below is Tony Azito and the Off-Broadway Pirates cast in “A Policeman’s Lot Is Not a Happy One.”
She earned further Tony noms for her choreography of The Rink (1984), The Mystery of Edwin Drood (1986), and Dangerous Games (1990), which she also wrote and directed. In the 1990s, she received subsequent Tony noms for her staging of Once on This Island (1991), The Goodbye Girl (1993), Chronicle of a Death Foretold (1996, which she also wrote), and Ragtime (1998). Her Off-Broadway work in the 1990s earned her additional Drama Desk noms for her staging of Hello Again (1994) and A New Brain (1999). Below is the Once on This Island Broadway ensemble at the 1991 Tony Awards.
At the start of the millennium, she staged revues for Elaine Stritch (2002), Barbara Cook (2004), and Chita Rivera (2005) and was inducted into the American Theater Hall of Fame (2005). She returned Off-Broadway to stage the musicals Bernard Alba (2006) and The Glorious Ones (2007). Her most recent Broadway credit was best musical nominee The Visit (2015). Below is Chita Rivera and The Visit cast at the 2015 Tony Awards.