Quantcast

The DNAinfo archives brought to you by WNYC.
Read the press release here.

Dancer Tryouts Bring Together Generations of 'Copa Girls'

By DNAinfo Staff on June 27, 2011 7:37pm

By Olivia Scheck

DNAinfo Reporter/Producer

TIMES SQUARE — As the famed Copacabana nightclub prepared to reopen for the fifth time in its 70-year history, two of its veteran dancers were on hand to take it in.

Terri Stevens, 82, and Francine Storey, 70, who performed at the Copa during the 40's and 60's, respectively, sat in the audience Monday as a new generation of dancers auditioned to become "Copa Girls."

Flipping through scrapbooks in between performances, the women swapped memories of the legendary restaurant and cabaret, which was immortalized in Barry Manilow's hit "Copacabana" and in films including "Goodfellas."

"It was the most glamorous, exciting place that you'd ever want to be in," said Stevens, who spent three seasons as a production singer at the Copa.

Francine Storey, 70, holds a picture of herself from the 1960's when she was a Copa Girl.
Francine Storey, 70, holds a picture of herself from the 1960's when she was a Copa Girl.
View Full Caption
DNAinfo/Olivia Scheck

"It had a wholesome flavor. Nothing risqué, just glamorous," Storey, a dancer, added.

Though the performers' runs at the Copa were separated by nearly 20 years, the words "glamor" and "elegance" pervaded both of their recollections.

"We were always elegant, but never bosomy," Stevens explained.

"What's important is to always keep your elegance," Storey said.

(Stevens left the Copa in 1950, after she was noticed by future "I love Lucy" star Desi Arnez – a Copacabana regular – who invited her to join his big band on tour.)

But maintaining one's elegance wasn't always easy, according to the former Copa Girls.

"People go crazy — they have fights with waiters," Storey remembered. "There was one time when a girl's shoe flew off and landed in somebody's salad."

Other times, celebrity headliners were causing the distraction.

The Supremes, Tito Puente and Frank Sinatra are just a few of the music legends to grace the Copa stage since its opening in 1941, according to co-owner John Juliano.

While Juliano, who has run the club since 1975 and was on hand for Monday's auditions, admitted that the Copa is unlikely to reclaim its place as a performance destination for entertainment's biggest acts, he said he believes the Copacabana name will continue to attract them as patrons.

The club has been forced to change locations three times over the years — most recently to accommodate the expansion of the 7 train — but Juliano says the celebrities have followed.

"Even at the 57th Street Copa, we had J-Lo and Marc Anthony come in and hang out. They jumped up on the stage and had some fun," Juliano recalled. "Bette Midler did the same thing."

Now, with the Copa set to open near Times Square — on West 47th Street between Broadway and Eighth Avenues — Juliano hopes the club will become a hangout for Broadway actors.

But whether or not the new Copa manages to attract a celebrity clientele, as it did in its golden age, Juliano hopes it will be known for what it has always been known for: music and dancing.

For the dancers who turned out for Monday's "Copa Girl" auditions, upholding the club's reputation would be both a challenge and an honor.

"When I first started dancing, I remember going to the Copa and seeing the dancers. I was just mesmerized by the grace and the beauty," said Jazz Biannci, 32, of TriBeCa after her audition. "Now that it's reopening — to have the opportunity to actually be a Copa Girl is a dream come true."

The Copacabana is scheduled to open at its new location — 268 W. 47th St. — on July 12.