Sean Lavery Passing

[vipa]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sean_Lavery_(dancer)

This on wikipedia - Anyone else hear about it?

Sean Lavery (born August 16, 1956 in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, died February 26, 2018 in Palm Springs, California), was a former principal dancer, balletmaster, and assistant to the balletmaster in chief at New York City Ballet. He was a répétiteur for the George Balanchine Trust and a former faculty member at the School of American Ballet.

 

[its the mom]

Yes, vipa, have seen it on my Facebook feed.  Very sad.

[Drew]

Very sad news indeed and, to me at least, unexpected--he was quite young. May he rest in peace.

[Peg]

Wikipedia says ‘natural causes.’  I’m wondering if it was related to the spinal tumor which ended his dancing career and was removed in the late 1980s. 

[Helene]

The NYT published a long article in 1987 about his diagnosis and recovery.  His original tumor was benign (in diagnostic, not life-changing terms), but that's no guarantee decades later:

http://www.nytimes.com/1987/11/08/magazine/a-dancer-s-nightmare.html

He was such a beautiful dancer.

[California]

11 minutes ago, Helene said:

The NYT published a long article in 1987 about his diagnosis and recovery.  His original tumor was benign (in diagnostic, not life-changing terms), but that's no guarantee decades later:

http://www.nytimes.com/1987/11/08/magazine/a-dancer-s-nightmare.html

He was such a beautiful dancer.

I remember seeing an announcement of his retirement from SAB years ago and thinking he was awfully young to retire as a teacher. Yes, very sad.

[rg]

S.L. was one of many who came to prominent professional careers out of the ballet school linked to Central Pennsylvania Youth Ballet; news of this death is quite unexpected. He was initially known in NYC as Owen as that was his given name and the name he used when performing with the dance groups connected to Richard Thomas's New York School of Ballet, sometimes called U.S. Terpshichore.

 

[ABT Fan]

3 hours ago, Helene said:

The NYT published a long article in 1987 about his diagnosis and recovery.  His original tumor was benign (in diagnostic, not life-changing terms), but that's no guarantee decades later:

http://www.nytimes.com/1987/11/08/magazine/a-dancer-s-nightmare.html

He was such a beautiful dancer.

That article was heart-breaking. I can't imagine going through all of that and at the age of what, 30? 

[its the mom]

ABT Fan - You just took the words out of my mouth.  Heart-breaking.  How beautiful he was.  

[Amy Reusch]

22 hours ago, Peg said:

Wikipedia says ‘natural causes.’  I’m wondering if it was related to the spinal tumor which ended his dancing career and was removed in the late 1980s. 

It seems this was the case... his family posted on Facebook:  

"Sean was diagnosed in January with a recurrence of the tumor that ended his dancing in 1986. He was placed on radiation, but his immune system could not tolerate the effects of that therapy. He died quickly and peacefully in his beloved Palm Springs; his family was there, and he was well-cared-for by the professional staff at the hospital."

[sandik]

Damn

[AmandaNYC]

On 2/28/2018 at 11:22 AM, California said:

I remember seeing an announcement of his retirement from SAB years ago and thinking he was awfully young to retire as a teacher. Yes, very sad.

His leaving NYCB/SAB as staff a few years ago was related to other matters, come more publicly to light since all the Peter Martins allegations.