New York School of Ballet/U.S. Terpsichore records

1975-1985 [bulk 1975-1977]

The New York School of Ballet (1963-1985) and U.S. Terpsichore (1975-1985) were founded by American dancers and teachers Richard Thomas and Barbara Fallis. Thomas was born on December 3, 1925 in Kentucky. Following his first exposure to a performance by the Ballet Russes de Monte Carlo he entered the tutelage of Russian ballet dancer and choreographer Bronislava Nijinska in Los Angeles, and Vincenzo Celli and Anatole Vilzak in New York.

During his early career with the Ballets Russes de Monte Carlo and Ballet Theatre, Thomas met Fallis, whom he married in Cuba in 1950 while both were on tour with the Company Alicia Alonso. Thomas's first teaching experience also occurred there, when Fernando Alonso, in developing a dance school with pupils from a local orphanage, asked Thomas to assist.

Thomas and Fallis returned to Manhattan and danced with the New York City Ballet 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.

Thomas 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 and Robert Joffrey, whose company he escorted to Russia. In 1963 he left a position at the Ballet Theatre to open what would become the New York School of Ballet on West 56th Street. Thomas and Fallis alternated shifts at the Pennsylvania Ballet in Philadelphia to fund their fledgling school.

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. There, Thomas taught well-established and up-and-coming students in his daily classes, including Cynthia Gregory, Debbie Allen, Christine Sarry, Twyla Tharp, Sean Lavery, and Eliot Feld.

In 1975, the couple formed U.S. Terpsichore as a touring showcase of the most advanced New York School of Ballet students. Daniel Levans served as co-artistic director and choreographer of the troupe, which was composed of approximately 25 to 40 members, mostly teenagers - including Thomas's and Fallis's children Bronwyn, often the featured ballerina, and Richard, already well-known for his role as John-Boy on television show The Waltons. Their repertory of over 30 ballets included both the classic and the contemporary.

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., which led to further extensive traveling throughout the U.S., Canada, and Mexico. Columbia insisted the ten-member troupe appear under the title of "Richard Thomas Theatre Ballet." The revenue from sold-out houses helped fund the school. In 1984, he raised $370,000 to organize and host the first New York International Ballet Competition with co-founder Ilona Copen; the competition still continues to this day.

After Fallis's death in 1980, Thomas directed the troupe and operated the School until he was evicted from the Broadway facilities in 1985. He continued to teach children until his retirement in Kentucky, where he remained until his death in summer 2013.