Jerome Andrews

Jerome Andrews (1908–1992) was an American dancer and choreographer. He is remembered as a pioneer of modern dance in France.

Biography

Early life

Jerome Andrews was born in Plaistow, New Hampshire, in 1908.^[1][2] He was educated at the Cornish College of the Arts in Seattle.^[1] He was then trained in modern dance by Martha Graham, as well as Ruth St. Denis, Doris Humphrey and Hanya Holm.^[2][1] He was also influenced by Mary Wigman.^[1][3]

Career

He started his career as a dancer in Paris in the early 1930s, where he was a dancer in Rhapsody in Blue by George Gershwin at Le Colisee.^[4] He also danced in London, where he was choreographed by Sigurd Leeder for Prometheus.^[4] At the same time, he also worked as a dancer of ballet and modern dance from 1931 to 1937 at the Radio City Music Hall in New York City.^[1] At the same time, he worked as a dance teacher and assistant to Alyse Bentley.^[1] He also worked with his former teacher, Martha Graham.^[3][5]

He also worked as a choreographer in New York. For example, he choreographed Maurice Ravel's The Waltz, which was performed at the Radio City Music Hall.^[2][3][5]

He moved back to Paris permanently in the 1952, where he worked as a dance teacher and choreographer.^[1][2][5] A year later, in 1953, he established Les Compagnons de la Danse, a dance company.^[1] Some of his most renowned students were Dominique Dupuy and Francoise Dupuy.^[2][5] A decade later, in 1964, he formed the Jerome Andrews Dance Company.^[1] According to the Los Angeles Times, he pioneered modern dance in France, where ballet was a more popular form of dance in the 1950s.^[2]

Death

He died on October 26, 1992, in Paris, at the age of eighty-four.^[2][1][5]

References