Thomas Armour (1909-2006).Thomas Armour knew the thrill of performing with legendary dancers on the world's preeminent stages, but his longest and most successful run came in American regional dance. When he died of heart failure on May 7, few in South Florida's ballet community were left untouched by his generous, enterprising spirit. Born in Tarpon Springs, Florida Tarpon Springs is a city in Pinellas County, Florida, United States. The population was 21,003 at the 2000 census. According to the U.S. Census Bureau's 2004 estimates, the city had a population of 22,554. , Armour left for Paris in 1933 to expand his dance horizons. He soon landed a job with the Ida Rubinstein Ida Lvovna Rubinstein (5 October 1885 St. Petersburg, Russia - 20 September 1960, Vence, France) was a ballet dancer, patron and iconic Belle Epoque beauty. Early life Born into a wealthy Jewish family, Rubinstein was orphaned at an early age. Company, which introduced him to works by Fokine and Jooss. After a stint with the Nijinska Company, Armour became one of the first Americans to dance Le Spectre de la Rose Le Spectre de la Rose is a ballet of the Ballets Russes based on a choreographic poem by Théophile Gautier. The music, by Carl Maria von Weber, was taken from his short piece Invitation to the Dance. in the Leon Woizikowski Company. Following tours with the De Basil Company, he eventually settled in New York New York, state, United States New York, Middle Atlantic state of the United States. It is bordered by Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut, and the Atlantic Ocean (E), New Jersey and Pennsylvania (S), Lakes Erie and Ontario and the Canadian province of to perform with Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo Ballet company formed in Monte Carlo in 1932. The name derived from Sergey Diaghilev's Ballets Russes, which dissolved after his death in 1929. Under René Blum and Col. W. . The military draft and intelligence work in post-World War II France halted Armour's dance career, but he found renewed inspiration in the Miami Conservatory, which he opened in 1949. The area's oldest dance academy, it has fostered generations of talent, with former students meeting success at Miami City Ballet Miami City Ballet was created in 1986 with former New York City Ballet principal dancer Edward Villella helming the company. The Miami City Ballet flourishes as one of America's most respected Balanchine-style based ballet companies. , Alvin Alley, and Boston Ballet, among other companies. While teaching, Armour always favored a joke over a jab to produce higher leaps or precise positions. His school--renamed the Thomas Armour Youth Ballet--continues that nurturing mission through a scholarship program. Armour helped form the Southeastern Regional Ballet Association and Miami Ballet, a performance arm of his conservatory. Thanks to his collaborative grace, the company managed to mount full-scale 19th century classics with such notables as Bujones, Makarova, and Cynthia Gregory. Ruth Wiesen, current director of the Youth Ballet, recalls, "He wasn't a divo. He taught us all how to be good and humble." |
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