Alexandra Tomalonis

[Helene]

Our founder, Alexandra Tomalonis, died yesterday.  She had ben ailing from several health conditions for a few years.  

Alastair Macaulay posted the news to his Instagram account today, and there are already comments and remembrances on the thread.

https://www.instagram.com/p/Cqz7OPzozBG/

I'm hoping there are obituaries that acknowledge her importance to the ballet community.  Her immersion into the ballet world came when she saw Nureyev perform.  She changed careers and became a full-time writer and researcher for her book, "Henning Kronstam: Portrait of a Danish Dancer."  Through the periodicals she published in print, subscribed by libraries and still in their collections, and online -- the first danceviewtimes.com article was published in 2003 -- through transition to online publications -- the two latest, Denise Sum's writings on National Ballet of Canada's Erik Bruhn Prize Competition and Cinderella in the last month -- she nutured, mentored, and encouraged writers and editors and was a fierce, dedicated, and relentless proponent and supporter of dance writing in many voices.  She was also a teacher of ballet history at the Kirov Academy in Washington, DC starting in 2005, and a lecturer, including for the Kennedy Center's Ballet 360 series.

I don't know when she slept, because she kept in touch with so many people.  I remember many phone calls with her way back in the beginning of sem-affordable cell phones, when accessories were hard to find, where, after several hours, I'd be sitting on the carpet next to an outlet, because my battery was about to run out, and I didn't want to interrupt the conversation for a second.  

May she rest in peace and may her memory be a blessing.

[Helene]

Lisa Traiger was one of Alexandra's writers, and she's republished an article she wrote including interview sshe did with Alexandra and KAB students, originally published to the school's magazine, here:

https://dcdancewatcher.wordpress.com/2023/04/09/in-memoriam-alexandra-tomalonis/

[sandik]

1 hour ago, Helene said:

Lisa Traiger was one of Alexandra's writers, and she's republished an article she wrote including interview sshe did with Alexandra and KAB students, originally published to the school's magazine, here:

https://dcdancewatcher.wordpress.com/2023/04/09/in-memoriam-alexandra-tomalonis/

Thank you for this -- I hadn't seen it when it was first published.

[Drew]

How very, very sad. She made a difference in the lives of so many critics, scholars, and fans of ballet. Deeply knowledgeable and caring about ballet history—always very kind to me personally, even when we were debating things! 

May her memory be for a blessing.....

[California]

Devastating news! I wrote for Washington DanceView from about 1980-1985 (when I left DC and headed to California) and wrote a handful of things after that. She was very generous in providing space, time, and encouragement to write at length in ways that were not possible in other venues. No compensation other than free tickets to performances, but space and time are priceless, as all writers know. She will be sorely missed.

Edited April 9, 2023 by California

[maps]

Very sad.  We had the pleasure and privilege of meeting Alexandra Tomalonis at the Kennedy Center. 

 

Edited May 18, 2023 by maps

[volcanohunter]

May she rest in peace.

[Quiggin]

Very sad. In the early days she used to greet each new member. I had an impression she withdrew a bit as the BA forum became rowdier, with lots of back and forth and strong opinions. I thought of her still keeping an eye on things somehow. Leigh Witchel has a nice post on his dancelog.nyc about the help she gave him in becoming a dance critic.

Edited April 10, 2023 by Quiggin

[atm711]

Very sad news--I am almost sorry I logged on today and got this news.  She encouraged me to write about performances I had seen (something I had never done before.) She

was always generous with her time and encouragement.  Rest in peace, Alexandra. I will pray for you.

[dirac]

1 hour ago, atm711 said:

Very sad news--I am almost sorry I logged on today and got this news.  She encouraged me to write about performances I had seen (something I had never done before.) She was always generous with her time and encouragement.  Rest in peace, Alexandra. I will pray for you.

"She was always generous with her time and encouragement." Yes, indeed, and when you think of all the demands that were made on her time and energy the generosity is even more remarkable.  And let's not forget what a wonderful writer she was.

Thank you for everything, Alexandra, and Godspeed on your new journey.

[Helene]

When Alexandra accepted a position teaching ballet history at the Kirov Academy of Ballet in 2005, it was at mid-year, replacing a faculty member with little notice, and having to develope a curriculum of her own from scratch in less than one month, and she told us that she couldn't continue to run Ballet Alert! while in her new position.  She decided to transition it rather than close the site; instead, this year marks Ballet Alert!'s 25th year.

[kfw]

On 4/9/2023 at 11:52 AM, Helene said:

 

I’m very sorry to read this. Not only am I deeply grateful to her for all she taught me on the board and through DanceViewTimes, but she was always a delight to run into at the Kennedy Center. “May she rest in peace and may her memory be a blessing” —  what a perfect thing to say.  

[cubanmiamiboy]

I'm saddened to hear this news. Miss Tomalonis was always very kind in the way she handled this forum. She was part of that badge that was so pleasurable to interact with-( PopularLibrary, Leonid, Carbro, etc...), and will certainly be missed. 

RIP

[dirac]

Nothing posted yet on danceviewtimes.com.

[cubanmiamiboy]

On 4/30/2023 at 1:12 AM, dirac said:

Nothing posted yet on danceviewtimes.com.

Did they ever publish a note at least...?

[dirac]

Not that I have seen.

[Helene]

At the time of her death, Alexandra was the lone administrator and owner of the site, and it is through both a friend who assumed ownership to keep the site from being closed, and the writers who continue to contribute to danceviewtimes who have kept it alive.  There was a lot of uncertainty whether it was going to be possible to save the site and its archives, and there is no hierarchy to decide who will be the spokesperson on the site. to post an obituary  Remembrances may follow in the future, but it's not an organized effort, at least at this time.

[dirac]

I understand that and I hope the site survives, but I'm not sure why individuals shouldn't feel free to post their own remembrances. This is not intended as criticism, just genuine puzzlement. I just thought we would have seen something by now.