Occupation Dancer, actor, singer Name Dennis Parlato | Role Actor | |
 | ||
Born March 30, 1947 (age 77) ( 1947-03-30 ) Los Angeles, California, United States Movies Starting Out in the, First Born, Rick Similar People Carolee Carmello, Michele Pawk, John Cameron Mitchell, Malcolm Gets, Donna Murphy | ||
Dennis Parlato (born March 30, 1947 in Los Angeles) is an American dancer, actor, and singer.
Contents
Early life and education
He is the son of Charlie Parlato. Parlato used to teach high school English in San Francisco before realizing he wanted to perform. He was performing in chamber concert groups and teaching full-time. While on vacation with his first wife, they decided to see the ballet nearby just as something to do. He went to the Nederlands Dans Theater, a premier theatre company that, unbeknownst to him, was putting on a ballet of Carmina Burana. After watching the ballet, it inspired him when he got back home to switch to half-time teaching and study ballet. He met Austin Tichenor (of Reduced Shakespeare Company) when Parlato joined the Oakland Ballet as a featured solo dancer and Tichenor was stage manager.
He moved to New York when he was thirty years old. His fiancee at the time Maggie Caponio, had gotten a scholarship to the New York City Ballet and he decided to go with her. He auditioned for everything, even though he had no formal vocal or acting lessons. He got into A Chorus Line and after that was able to afford proper lessons.