Dancers Lost 2024
JANUARY
1 - Structural engineer and wheelchair dancer Jon French (born 1968?) performed with Candoco after a 1989 spinal injury. Upon leaving the group in 2000, he embarked on a creative journey with the theatre group Face Front, helping to make the company a leading force in inclusive theatre performance.
3 - Aboriginal Australian dancer Lillian Crombie (born 1958) trained in classical ballet as a young dancer in Sydney, and later performed with Aboriginal Islander Dance Theatre, touring with the group internationally.
7 - Dance writer and critic Joan Acocella (born 1945) was an editor at Dance Magazine, and a dance critic at The Village Voice and The Financial Times, and a dance critic at The New Yorker from 1998 to 2019. She also published a biography of Mark Morris in 2004 and edited the diary of Vaslav Nijinsky (2006).
7 - American dancer/choreographer Arnold Taraborrelli (born 1931) spent most of his career in Madrid after meeting prominent Spanish dancers Lola Flores and Mercedes and Albano Zuñiga. Taraborrelli created choreography for many operas and became a beloved teacher for subsequent generations of dancers in Spain.
7 - Sarah Stackhouse (born 1936) joined the Limón Dance Company from 1958-1969, afterward performing with Louis Falco (1942-1993), Alvin Ailey American Dance Theatre, and Annabelle Gamson (1928-2023), among others. Throughout her career, she maintained ties with Limón, assisting him in classes and becoming a foremost reconstructor of his dances and author of articles about his work.
16 - Moroccan choreographer Lacen Zinoun (born 1944) was kicked out of his family home for studying modern dance and relocated to Belgium to work with Maurice Bejart (1927-2007). Zinoun returned to his home country in 1973 to reconcile with his father and to provide opportunities for dance to take root, but was met with many obstacles, including the King of Morocco. After creating dances for movies The Last Temptation of Christ (1988) and The Sheltering Sky (1990), Zinoun founded a dance school in Casablanca.
19 - Contemporary dancer Dan Wagoner (born 1932) performed with Paul Taylor (1930-2018), Merce Cunningham (1919-2009) and Martha Graham (1894-1991) before starting his own eponymous company in 1969. His work often contained elements from his upbringing in rural West Virginia, and when he disbanded his company in the early 1990s, Wagoner taught at college dance programs throughout the United States.
20 - British dancer/actor Eleanor Fazan (born 1929) trained at The Royal Ballet (Sadler’s Wells) and went on to direct and contribute to many significant productions at The Royal Opera House at Covent Garden, and choreographed for film productions starting in the late 1950s, including Willow (1988), Cold Comfort Farm (1995), and Mrs Henderson Presents (2005).
28 - Dancer, choreographer and body therapy practitioner Suzie Lundgren (born 1953) was based in Port Townsend, Washington and during her career earned certifications in Pilates, Feldenkrais Method, Laban Movement Analysis and Bill Evans Technique.
30 - Broadway dancer Chita Rivera (born 1933) is perhaps the only dancer to have a Broadway show dedicated to her career - Chita Rivera: The Dancer’s Life (2005). She was in numerous original hit shows from the 1950s onward - West Side Story (1957), Bye Bye Birdie (1960), Chicago (1975), Kiss of the Spider Woman (1993) and Nine (2003), and appeared in movies including Sweet Charity (1969) and Tick, Tick…Boom! (2021). She was married to fellow West Side Story dancer Tony Mordente (1935-2024) from 1957-1966.
30 - Tony-winning Broadway dancer Hinton Battle (born 1956) studied at the School of American Ballet and he debuted on Broadway in The Wiz (1975), playing the Scarecrow, going on to star in a series of hit shows including Dancin’ (1978), Dreamgirls (1981), and Sophisticated Ladies (1981). He choreographed for multiple TV shows including Buffy the Vampire Slayer, and choreographed the off-Broadway musical version of The Evil Dead (2006).
FEBRUARY
19 - Best known for appearing in multiple seasons of the UK show Strictly Come Dancing, Robin Windsor (born 1979) was a British professional ballroom and Latin dance performer, winning World Championships and dancing in the Burn the Floor international touring show.
20 - Steve Paxton (born 1939) was one of the attendees of the historic 1960 Robert Dunn (1928-1996) dance composition class at the Merce Cunningham (1919-2009) studio, a formative experience that inspired the direction of many post-modern dance careers. Paxton created work within the Judson Dance Theatre collective and improvisational collective The Grand Union before embarking on an exploration of collective movement that became Contact Improvisation. Please read Wendy Perron’s poignant obituary for Paxton - it’s time well spent.
29 - Dance professor Jill Priest (born 1970) coordinated the University of Central Oklahoma dance education program from 2006-2024 and served as the Associate Dean for the College of Fine Arts and Design since 2021. A dance scholarship in her honor has been established for entering freshmen students at UCO.
MARCH
3 - Japanese dancer Natsu Nakajima (born 1943) is considered one of the first female butoh artists, studying with both Kazuo Ohno (1906-2010) and performing with Tatsumi Hijikata (1928-1986). She supported the introduction of Butoh to audiences outside of Japan and she appeared in the seminal 1990 documentary Butoh: Body on the Edge of Crisis.
9 - Before dancer Julie Robinson Belafonte (born 1928) married singer Harry Belafonte, she studied at the Katherine Dunham (1909-2006) School of Dance in Manhattan and became a student-teacher at the school, where she taught Alvin Ailey (1931-1989) and actor Marlon Brando. She performed with Dunham for seven years, and met Belafonte on set of the musical Carmen Jones (1954) in 1957, and they participated in civil rights causes during their 50-year marriage.
13 - Russian ballerina Natalia Kasatkina (born 1934) performed with the Bolshoi Theatre from 1954-1976 and ran the Kasatkina/Vasilyev company from 1977-2024.
21 - Ballerina Lorraine Graves (born 1957) performed with the Dance Theatre of Harlem for almost two decades, joining in 1978. Taller than the average ballet dancer at over 5’10”, Graves used her elongated frame to become a commanding dancer. She served as the company’s rehearsal director, retiring in 1996 to teach at the Governor’s School for the Arts in her home state of Virginia.
25 - Japanese butoh dancer Ushio Amagatsu (born 1949) founded Dairakudakan in 1972 and Sankai Juku in 1975, and their international tours helped to establish interest for butoh outside of Japan. A signature performance aspect of Sankai Juku was the upside-down suspension of dancers in midair, a feat he likened to a “dialogue with gravity”.
APRIL - None
MAY
1 - French modern dancer and choreographer Dominique Dupuy (born 1930) is considered a pioneer of the dance form in France. He trained with Merce Cunningham (1909-2009) and met and married fellow dancer Françoise Dupuy (1925-2022) while they worked with expressionist choreographer Jean Weidt (1904-1988) and the Dupuys formed Le Ballet Moderne de Paris and established several dance festivals.
6 - Square and contra dance caller/choreographer, Tony Parkes (born 1949) and his wife, fellow caller/dancer Beth Parkes lived and worked with folk dancers in the Greater Boston area from 1974 onwards and he published Contra Dance Calling - A Basic Text (1991), and he also wrote and documented over 90 dances in other compilations.
15 - Czech dancer/choreographer Vlastimil Harapes (born 1946) served as the Artistic Director of the Prague Conservatory after dancing with the National Theatre since 1965.
JUNE
2 - Spotted by an agent in the Hollywood Canteen, a Warner Bros. studio-sponsored club for military members, singer/dancer Janis Paige (born 1922) went on to appear in many Hollywood musicals including Bathing Beauty (1944 and Silk Stockings (1957) and Broadway shows including The Pajama Game (1954), where she originated the lead role.
8 - French ballet dancer Éric Vu-An (born 1964) performed with the Paris Opera Ballet, dancing in roles created by Rudolf Nureyev (1938-1993) and Maurice Bejart (1927-2007) until 1986, when he joined the Grand Théâtre de Bordeaux, later serving as head of ballet from 1995-1997. He also appeared in the film, The Sheltering Sky (1990), choreographed by Lacen Zinoun (1944-2024).
10 - Born Sobia Hussain, Pakistani actor/dancer Khushboo (born 1980) appeared in many musical films, earning the lead role in Dil kisi ka dost nahi (1997), and performed in mostly stage roles after 2000.
11 - Discovered as a young dancer by choreographer Michael Kidd (1915-2007), Tony Mordente (born 1935), he was soon cast in the original Broadway production of West Side Story (1957) and appeared in the film version as well, in the role of Action. He appeared on many TV variety shows and began directing episodes of TV sit-coms in the mid-1970s, including Rhoda, M*A*S*H, and The A-Team. He was married to fellow West Side Story dancerChita Rivera (1933-2024) from 1957-1966.
19 - Bharatanatyam dancer and scholar, C.V. Chandrasekhar (born 1935) trained with acclaimed dancer/scholar Rukmini Devi Arundale (1904-1986) and served as the head of the Faculty of Performing Arts at the Maharaja Sayajirao University of Baroda, retiring in 1992. He and his wife Jaya Chandrashekar (1962-2024) were a well-known dancing couple in the 1970s and 1980s.
21 - Slovak folk dancer/choreographer Janos Quittner (born 1941) performed with the Hungarian State Folk Ensemble between 1964 to 1973 before relocating to Melbourne, Australia and founding the New Szőttes Folk Dance Ensemble. From 1990 onwards, he moved between the two locations to direct folk dance ensembles and productions.
JULY
8 - Ballerina Marina Kondratyeva (born 1934) danced with the Bolshoi Ballet and there trained with Marina Semionova (1908-2010) and was best known for her portrayal of Giselle. Later in her career, she trained upcoming generations of Russian ballerinas, including Natalia Osipova (1986-) and Ludmila Semenyaka (1952-).
9 - Danish ballroom dancer Jens Werner (born 1964) and won the title of World Amateur Champion in 1994. Between 2004 and 2013, he participated in the Danish version of Dancing with the Stars as the lead adjudicator.
29 - Dancer Robert Banas (born 1933) appeared on Broadway in the original production of Peter Pan (1954), and on film he danced in West Side Story (1961), Bye Bye Birdie (1963), and Mary Poppins (1964) as one of the Chimney Sweeps. Treat yourself and watch him dance his own choreography in the Nitty Gritty - he’s the one you can’t take your eyes off.
31 - Spanish flamenco dancer and choreographer Victoria Eugenia (born 1933) studied in Madrid and joined the Ballet de Antonio in 1953, afterwards devoting herself to choreography and teaching. In 1980 she joined the National Ballet of Spain as a character dancer and teacher of Spanish dance.
AUGUST
3 - Indian Bharatanatyam and Kuchipudi dancer Yamini Krishnamurthy (born 1940) began her training with Rukmini Devi Arundale (1904-1986) at the age of five and began performing in 1957, later adding Kuchipudi and Odissi styles and helping to popularize classical Indian dance throughout the country. She published her autobiography, A Passion for Dance in 1995.
27 - Polish singer and dancer Rena Rolska (born 1932) began her career as a dancer in 1955 with the Polish Radio Dance Orchestra and recorded 12 albums between the 1950s and the 1980s.
SEPTEMBER
3 - American-born flamenco dancer María Benítez (born 1942) began studying ballet at an early age and traveled to Spain to study with teachers Victoria Eugenia (1933-2024) and Mercedes and Albano Zuñiga. Upon returning to the United States, she and her husband Cecilio founded Teatro Flamenco and in 1970, they established the Institute for Spanish Arts in Santa Fe.
9 - Multi-talented Patricia Taylor (born 1929), who was a scientist and accomplished violinist and ballet dancer, who played with the California Symphony Orchestra (among others) and danced with the Queensland Ballet Theatre in Australia (among others). She is perhaps best known for her role in helping several Americans escape Iran during the 1979 hostage crisis, made into the film Argo (2012).
10 - Ballerina Michaela DePrince (born 1995) overcame a terrifying childhood in war-torn Sierra Leone to perform with Boston Ballet, Dance Theatre of Harlem, and Dutch National Ballet. She appeared in the documentary First Position (2011) and co-wrote the autobiography Taking Flight: From War Orphan to Ballerina (2014).
13 - Young dancer Emily Gold (born 2007?) competed in the 19th season of America’s Got Talent with the Los Osos High School Dance Troupe, and had advanced to the quarter finals before being eliminated from the competition.
15 - Ballroom dancer Miye Ota (born 1918) met her husband, dancer Ken Ota (1923-2015) in a Japanese internment camp during WWII. Following the war, the duo later taught martial arts and ballroom dancing at their studio - The Cultural School of Goleta, California.
24 - Dancer Cat Glover (born 1964) is best known for performing with Prince in the late 1980s during his Sign ‘o the Times and Lovesexy tours and recorded the rap portion on the song Alphabet Street. Her big break came from the TV show Star Search earlier in the 80s.
25 - Mongolian ballet dancer Noroviin Baatar (born 1936) is known as one of the country’s first professional ballet dancers, working with the Mongolian State Academic Theatre of Opera and Ballet from 1963-1989.
OCTOBER
4 - Contemporary dancer Christopher Ciccone (born 1960) performed with Le Group de La Place Royale in Ottawa before performing with his sister, Madonna, early in her singing career, and appearing in her music video, Lucky Star (1984). He moved into design and served as the art director for her Blonde Ambition tour in 1990 and began selling his paintings later that decade.
17 - Dancer and Hollywood musical star Mitzi Gaynor (born 1931) is best known for her performances in movies There’s No Business Like Show Business (1954) and South Pacific (1958). She studied ballet as a young dancer and began performing professionally at the age of 13 and capped off her dancing career on TV - performing in a series of specials in the 1960s-1980s.
17 - Dancer Zachary August (born 1998) danced with the hip hop troupe Misfit as a youth and with the Creekview High School Dance program before earning a BFA in dance at Point Park University in Pittsburgh, despite the worldwide lockdown during COVID. He was choreographing and performing in Texas and NYC before his untimely death.
21 - Indian dancer Bantwal Jayaram Acharya (born 1957) was best known as a Yakshagana dance theatre artist, a profession passed down from his father, and for injecting a bit of humor into his performance. Yakshagana is performed with a himmela - a background music group lead by a singer, and a dance and dialogue group called a mummela.
25 - Traditional folk dancer Kanaka Raju (born 1940/1941) is best known for performing and teaching Gussadi dance. He was the chief dance master at the Kanaka Raju School of Gussadi Dance.
NOVEMBER
9 - Powerhouse modern dance performer Judith Jamison (born 1943) danced with Alvin Ailey (1931-1989) in classic pieces such as Cry (1971), a bravura solo dedicated to “all black women everywhere, especially our mothers” created on her glorious, nearly 6-foot frame. Upon Ailey’s death, she went on to direct the highly successful Alvin Ailey American Dance Theatre from 1989-2011.
15 - Inspired by the Bodenweiser Ballet in Australia, dancer Eileen Kramer (born 1914) joined the company between 1943-1953 and worked in India. After putting her own career on hold to care for an ill partner for nearly two decades, Kramer re-entered the dance community and published a memoir, Walkabout Dancer (2008). At the age of 99, she returned to Australia and began working with filmmaker Sue Healey, creating memorable dances well into her second century of life.
18 - Russian ballet dancer Vladimir Shklyarov (born 1985) performed with the Mariinsky Ballet beginning in 2003 and was a guest artist with the Bavarian State Ballet in Germany and The Royal Ballet in London. He married fellow dancer Maria Shirinkina (born 1987) in 2013 and his accidental death is being investigated.
22 - Founding member of the Merce Cunningham Dance Company, post-modern dancer Marianne Preger-Simon (born 1929) performed with the group from 1953-1958, retiring to have children. She maintained a close relationship with Merce Cunningham (1919-2009) and the company and pursued a career as a psychotherapist.
23 - Classical Indian dancer Rajkumar Singhajit Singh (born 1931) began dancing and teaching Manipuri at a young age, growing up in a family of dancers and musicians. He joined the faculty of Triveni Kala Sangam in 1954 as the head of Manipuri technique and founded the Triveni Ballet in 1962, an international touring company.
DECEMBER
4 - Originally from South Africa, Graham Tainton (born 1927) escaped Apartheid with the help of Nelson Mandela and relocated to Sweden in 1959, where he became the choreographer for the hit group ABBA. One wonders if he was the creator of their distinctive head-turning move.
16 - Dance critic Arlene Croce (born 1934) wrote for The New Yorker (1973-1996) and was the co-founder of the Ballet Review (1965) publication. She is known for coining the term “afterimages” when referring to fleeting visual memories of ephemeral dances. Late in her career, she famously refused to review a piece by contemporary choreographer Bill T. Jones (born 1952) entitled Still/Here (1994), calling it “victim art”.
19 - Danish ballerina Kirsten Simone (born 1934) joined the Royal Danish ballet company in 1952 and upon retiring, taught at the company school and mentored dancers in the Bournonville style. She starred as a young ballerina’s mentor in the 1966 made-for-TV film Ballerina, featuring ballerina Inge Mette Hønningen (born 1944).
29 - South African dancer/choreographer Dada Masilo (born 1985) was recognized for her fusion of ballet, contemporary dance, and African dance styles in unique re-interpretations of classic ballets Romeo and Juliet (2009), Carmen (2009), Swan Lake (2011) and Giselle (2017), updating the works to accommodate present-day struggles with inequality and domestic violence.
31 - Dancer Frances Wessells (born 1919) studied with modern choreographer and teacher Hanya Holm (1893-1992) was the dance critic for the Richmond Times-Dispatch for 25 years. She taught at the University of Richmond for 25 years and founded the dance department at Virginia Commonwealth University.
