Onna White

Dance Magazine, July, 2005 by Sylviane Gold

Victorian orphans cutting up in London, jazz age socialites partying in New York, turn-of-the-century teens cavorting in River City--they all shared the rousing, high-stepping dances of Onna White, who died in April. Born in Nova Scotia, White started dance training at 12, spent seven years at San Francisco Ballet, and then began her Broadway career dancing for Michael Kidd in Finian's Rainbow. It was Kidd who suggested that she be hired to choreograph the 1955 revival, starting her on a career that would span more than four decades and win her eight Tony nominations and an Oscar. The first new show she choreographed was The Music Man. She went on to choreograph nearly a dozen Broadway shows, specializing in the exuberant period struts that typified her other great Broadway success, Mame. In 1962, she branched into movies, choreographing the film version of Music Man and winning an Oscar in 1969 for her work on Oliver! In the "Who Will Buy?" number, she later recalled, she directed 276 dancers, with eight assistants to call out instructions.

She became known for her ability to stage big, busy numbers, and into her 60s she could still be found perched on a rigging overseeing the choreography for a traveling version of The Wizard of Oz. But her Broadway career was essentially over by 1978--"There are no more homey, down-to-earth shows," she later lamented. She continued to work, however, close to home in Los Angeles and in regional theater. In 1991, she was given the annual Gypsy Award by the Professional Dancers Society. She told the Los Angeles Times that she looked in on MTV now and then to try, to keep up with contemporary dance styles. "You're trained for the period you're living in," she said, "and my era is gone."