Shields Remine

[ViolinConcerto]

An obituary of Shields Remine by Deborah Jowitt in The Village Voice.

I knew Shields as a man-about-dance. From 1971 on, his name appeared on the masthead of Ballet Review, first as an editorial assistant, then as managing editor, and finally as editorial consultant. Attending a dance performance with him (always spiffy in a hand-knotted bow tie) or running into him in the lobby was inevitably energizing. He was knowledgeable and critical, but what he loved, he loved almost unreservedly, his whole body tensed and tingling with excitement. "Glorious!" was a word he used a lot, whether applying it to a ballerina's performance, a new piece of choreography that moved him, or high points in his life—like the 2003 trip he took to Durham, New Hampshire, with a contingent from St. Luke in the Fields to celebrate the Episcopal Church's consecration of Gene Robinson as its first openly gay bishop (Shields could have flown home from there under his own steam; he was that buoyant of heart).

This is very sad -- a very youthful man. Now whatever will Francis Mason do??

[Paul Parish]

Shields was my first editor at Ballet Review.

I remember a voice on my answering machine: "Paul! [thick southern accent] Are we ever going to GET any thang from yew?"

He didn't like my breezier locutions, since he thought they made the magazine look a little disreputable, but he was really encouraging when I was onto something. He knew a lot, and he'd learned it because he loved finding out.

I'm really sad to hear this.

[ViolinConcerto]

If anyone has a photo of Shields, could you post it? Thanks. He was really from another era. Am I mis-remembering, or did he sometimes wear shorts with his dress shirt hand-tied bow-tie and jacket?

[rg]

no photos here but your recall of how s.r. often dressed for the theater, weather permitting, is accurate.