Frank Hatchett

Frank Hatchett III (December 7, 1935 – December 23, 2013) was an American jazz dancer and dance teacher known for developing VOP, a commercial jazz style that combined traditional jazz technique with contemporary social dance, hip-hop, modern dance and African dance. He performed in theatre, film, television and nightclubs before establishing dance schools in Springfield, Massachusetts, and Hartford, Connecticut.

Hatchett later became a prominent teacher in New York City, where he co-founded the Hines-Hatchett studio with Maurice Hines and remained associated with the school after it became Broadway Dance Center. He taught into his late seventies and received a Dance Teacher Lifetime Achievement Award in 2013.

Early life

Hatchett was born in Danville, Virginia, on December 7, 1935, and was raised in East Hartford, Connecticut, and Springfield, Massachusetts. His appearances included work alongside entertainers such as Sammy Davis Jr. and Eartha Kitt, and he later appeared on MTV's The Real World and VH1's Driven.

Hatchett opened his first studio, the Hatchett School of Dance, in a converted storefront in Springfield, Massachusetts, where it served neighborhood youth. Richard Ellner assumed ownership of the studio in 1984 and renamed it Broadway Dance Center. Hatchett and Hines remained associated with the new school.

VOP jazz

Hatchett developed a style of jazz dance known as VOP, combining elements of Katherine Dunham technique with contemporary social dance.

Broadway Dance Center faculty member Sheila Barker was one of Hatchett's former students and later became his teaching assistant. In a 2023 profile, Barker described his influence on her approach to teaching jazz dance.

Publications

Hatchett's book, Frank Hatchett's Jazz Dance, co-written with Nancy Myers Gitlin, was published in 2000.

In 2013, Dance Teacher presented Hatchett with its Lifetime Achievement Award. Hatchett died on December 23, 2013, at age 78.