Dick (Gus) Andros

Dick Andros, the much-loved dancer and teacher and DO40 friend and member, died on December 31 at 83. As a choreographer and teacher for over 60 years, Dick came into dance in a way that was typical of his era: the GI bill, upon discharge from the Army after WW!!.

In 1948, he joined the San Francisco Ballet and went on to teach for Theatre Arts center, was ballet master for the prestigious Bat Dor dance Company (Israel), taught at High School of Performing Arts, Harkness Dance Center, New York School of Ballet, Usdan center for the Performing Arts, Steps, 92nd Street YMHA and, his last teaching home: Ballet Academy East. For 20 years, Dick wrote dance history for Dance Pages and Dance and the Arts plus the Dick Andros Newsletter.

For DO40 friends and fans, he is remembered for his many contributions to our newsletter in its early days.

His is full of his rich personal and professional history: please google Gus Dick Andros ot learn more. You may also leave messages of condolences on Dick's Facebook page, or on DO40's Facebook page.

For more on Dick's legacy, DO40 turned to his former student and long-time friend, Julie Pasqual. Here is some of what she told us:

Dick was a dancer through and through, as dance brought him such joy. Even in his final days at Calvary Hospital, at a party given for the patients, he told me that there was a "large man" (his words) who had what Mr. A always called a "joy of movement" and how he could have watched him all night long. On Christmas day, as he lay in his hospital bed, his attention was drawn to the Radio City Rockettes, being broadcast on television.

Dick studied and performed almost all forms of dance but ballet was his love. He felt that all his students would be soloists, saying, "I don't teach corps de ballet, so I don't care why you're here: to exercise, to get out of the house, it doesn't matter. I teach you like you are going to perform on the Met stage."

His students remember his tricky combinations, technically-difficult steps and of course, the stories. Stories about dancing in the 50's, about the army, about eccentric Russian teachers of the era, and then, the "Androsisms," the Yogi Berra of dance colloquilism. See his site for a list of these!

After breaking his foot and being unable to dance as he once did, he bought a studio in Brooklyn, where he taught hundreds of children, many of whom have kept up a life-long connection with their beloved teacher. Once he sold that studio, he taught with Richard Thomas and Barbara Fallis at their New York School of Ballet until they closed - a moment that made its mark in the annals of Ballet Schools' history.

Dick Andros was considered a complete, whole person by all who knew him: he always knew the music, phrasing and valued his many accompanists, he took an interest in every person in his classes, whether professional or amateur. Ms Pasqual adds, "His classes taught more than dance: they taught about life and the love of it. Mr. A was one of those rare people who spent their entire career in dance. He was and always will be a Dancer."

Read about the March 7th Memorial Service.

To RSVP to this event to celebrate Dick "Gus" Andros' life, please go to Dick's Facebook page. You may also go to DO40's Facebook page for up-to-date information on Dick's memorial.

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