Richard Scott Thomas (December 3, 1925 – July 27, 2013) was an American dancer, educator, and co-founder of the New York School of Ballet along with his wife
Barbara Fallis. He is known as a teacher of
Eliot Feld
Eliot Feld (born July 5, 1942) is an American modern ballet choreographer, performer, teacher, and director. Feld works in contemporary ballet. His company and schools, including the Feld Ballet and Ballet Tech, are deeply committed to dance and ...
and
Twyla Tharp
Twyla Tharp (; born July 1, 1941) is an American dancer, choreographer, and author who lives and works in New York City. In 1966 she formed the company Twyla Tharp Dance. Her work often uses classical music, jazz, and contemporary pop music.
Fr ...
.
Early life
Thomas was born on December 3, 1925, in
Paintsville, Kentucky
Paintsville () is a home rule-class city along Paint Creek in Johnson County, Kentucky, in the United States. It is the seat of its county. The population was 3,459 during the 2010 U.S. Census.
History
A Paint Lick Station was referred to in ...
. His father was a coal miner and his mother a nurse. At the encouragement of his father, Thomas enrolled one semester at the
University of Kentucky
The University of Kentucky (UK, UKY, or U of K) is a Public University, public Land-grant University, land-grant research university in Lexington, Kentucky. Founded in 1865 by John Bryan Bowman as the Agricultural and Mechanical College of Kentu ...
,
Lexington, intending to pursue an engineering degree.
Dancing career
As a performer
Following his first exposure to a performance by the
Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo
The company Ballets Russes de Monte-Carlo (with a plural name) was formed in 1932 after the death of Sergei Diaghilev and the demise of Ballets Russes. Its director was Wassily de Basil (usually referred to as Colonel W. de Basil), and its a ...
– while visiting relatives in Seattle, Washington – he entered the tutelage of Russian ballet dancer and choreographer
Bronislava Nijinska
Bronislava Nijinska (; pl, Bronisława Niżyńska ; russian: Бронисла́ва Фоми́нична Нижи́нская, Bronisláva Fomínična Nižínskaja; be, Браніслава Ніжынская, Branislava Nižynskaja; – Febr ...
in Los Angeles, and
Vincenzo Celli and Anatole Vilzak in New York.
Thomas subsequently appeared on Broadway in
Kiss Me Kate
''Kiss Me, Kate'' is a musical written by Bella and Samuel Spewack with music and lyrics by Cole Porter. The story involves the production of a musical version of William Shakespeare's ''The Taming of the Shrew'' and the conflict on and off-sta ...
and
Billion Dollar Baby
''Billion Dollar Baby'' is a musical with the book and lyrics by Betty Comden and Adolph Green and the score by Morton Gould. Comden and Green were fresh from their success with '' On the Town'', and the production team was something of an ''On ...
.
During his early career with the Ballets Russes de Monte Carlo and Ballet Theatre, Thomas met fellow dancer Barbara Fallis, whom he married in Cuba in 1950 while both were on tour with the Company Alicia Alonso (later the
National Ballet of Cuba
The Cuban National Ballet ( es, Ballet Nacional de Cuba) is a classical ballet company based at Great Theatre of Havana in Havana, Cuba, founded by the Cuban prima ballerina assoluta, Alicia Alonso in 1948. The official school of the company is ...
). Their son – future Emmy-winning actor and ''
The Waltons
''The Waltons'' is an American historical drama television series about a family in rural Virginia during the Great Depression and World War II. It was created by Earl Hamner Jr., based on his 1961 book ''Spencer's Mountain'' and the 1963 film ...
'' star
Richard Thomas – was born a year later. Thomas's first teaching experience also occurred there, when
Fernando Alonso
Fernando Alonso Díaz (; born 29 July 1981) is a Spanish racing driver currently competing for Alpine in Formula One. He won the series' World Drivers' Championship in and with Renault, and has also driven for McLaren, Ferrari, and Mi ...
attempted to develop a school by selecting pupils from a local orphanage and asked Thomas to assist.
The Thomases returned to Manhattan to dance with the
New York City Ballet
New York City Ballet (NYCB) is a ballet company founded in 1948 by choreographer George Balanchine and Lincoln Kirstein. Balanchine and Jerome Robbins are considered the founding choreographers of the company. Léon Barzin was the company' ...
from 1953 to 1958. During this time Thomas was a frequent soloist and member of the premiere casts of Todd Bolender's ''Souvenirs'', Balanchine's ''Jeux'', and Jerome Robbins's ''The Concert'' (or The Perils of Everybody).
Thomas left the New York City Ballet in 1958 to join the circus but soon returned to the city to indulge his overriding desire to teach.
As a teacher
Thomas, who was known by his friends and pupils as "Dick" or "Dicky," first joined Harry Asmus at a school on Broadway and 54th Street, chiefly working with students from the High School of the Performing Arts. He later was employed at the schools of
June Taylor
Marjorie June Taylor (December 14, 1917 – May 16, 2004) was an American choreographer, best known as the founder of the June Taylor Dancers, who were featured on Jackie Gleason's various television variety programs.
Early life and career
Taylo ...
and
Robert Joffrey
Robert Joffrey (December 24, 1930 – March 25, 1988) was an American dancer, teacher, producer, choreographer, and co-founder of the Joffrey Ballet, known for his highly imaginative modern ballets. He was born Anver Bey Abdullah Jaffa Khan in Se ...
, whose company he escorted to Russia. In 1963 he abandoned a position at
American Ballet Theatre
American Ballet Theatre (ABT) is a classical ballet company based in New York City. Founded in 1939 by Lucia Chase and Richard Pleasant, it is recognized as one of the world's leading classical ballet companies. Through 2019, it had an annual ei ...
to open what would become the New York School of Ballet on West 56th Street, with his wife. Thomas and Fallis alternated shifts at the Pennsylvania Ballet in Philadelphia to fund their fledgling school, out of which
Eliot Feld
Eliot Feld (born July 5, 1942) is an American modern ballet choreographer, performer, teacher, and director. Feld works in contemporary ballet. His company and schools, including the Feld Ballet and Ballet Tech, are deeply committed to dance and ...
founded the American Ballet Company.
In 1969 George Balanchine and Lincoln Kerstein offered the couple the former studios of the School of American Ballet, at 2291 Broadway between 82nd and 83rd Street. Thomas taught well-established and up-and-coming students in his daily classes, including
Cynthia Gregory
Cynthia Kathleen Gregory (born July 8, 1946) is an American former prima ballerina.
Career
Born in Los Angeles, Gregory took up dancing when she was five, with the encouragement of her parents, who hoped exercise would stem her history of childhoo ...
,
Debbie Allen
Deborah Kaye Allen (born January 16, 1950) is an American actress, dancer, choreographer, singer-songwriter, director, producer, and a former member of the President's Committee on the Arts and Humanities. She has been nominated 20 times for an ...
, Christine Sarry,
Twyla Tharp
Twyla Tharp (; born July 1, 1941) is an American dancer, choreographer, and author who lives and works in New York City. In 1966 she formed the company Twyla Tharp Dance. Her work often uses classical music, jazz, and contemporary pop music.
Fr ...
,
Sean Lavery
Sean Lavery (1931–1999) was a Roman Catholic priest for the Missionary Society of St. Columban ("''The Columbans''") and a church music director.
Lavery was born in Lurgan, County Armagh.
Shortly after his ordination in 1954, Father Lavery mo ...
, and Feld.
In 1975 following Feld's departure, the couple formed U.S. Terpsichore, as a touring showcase of the most advanced New York School of Ballet students. Daniel Levans (b. 1953) served as co-artistic director and choreographer of the troupe, composed of approximately 25 to 40 members, mostly teenagers – including Thomas's and Fallis's children
Richard Thomas and Bronwyn Thomas (b. 1960). Their repertory of over 30 ballets included both the classic and the contemporary, such as the work of
Merce Cunningham
Mercier Philip "Merce" Cunningham (April 16, 1919 – July 26, 2009) was an American dancer and choreographer who was at the forefront of American modern dance for more than 50 years. He frequently collaborated with artists of other discipl ...
and Levans.
Thomas was one of the first ballet directors to arrange performances for schools. The troupe originally appeared in New York City and Kentucky venues, until a 1976–1977 series of nationwide performances contracted with Columbia Artists Management, inc., who insisted the ten-member troupe appear under the title of "Richard Thomas Theatre Ballet"; this led to further extensive traveling through the U.S., Canada, and Mexico.
The revenue from sold-out houses helped fund the school. In 1984 he raised $370,000 to organize and host the First International Ballet Competition with co-founder Ilona Copen; the competition – which unconventionally required all participants to perform the same four pas de deux rather than their own selected dances – still continues to this day.
After Fallis's death in 1980, Thomas directed the troupe and operated the School until its forced closure in 1985. He continued to teach, chiefly children, commencing work in 1990 at Feld's Ballet Tech School, which educated minority students at New York City public schools. Thomas eventually retired to a farm in Kentucky, where he committed to an already established second career in dog breeding and showing until his death from a stroke on July 27, 2013.
References
External links
New York School of Ballet/U.S. Terpsichore recordsManuscripts and Archives, New York Public Library.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Thomas, Richard
1925 births
2013 deaths
Ballet teachers
American male ballet dancers
People from Paintsville, Kentucky
20th-century American ballet dancers