Eddy Thomas (c. 1932 – 10 April 2014) was a

Jamaica Jamaica is an island country in the Caribbean Sea and the West Indies. At , it is the third-largest island—after Cuba and Hispaniola—of the Greater Antilles and the Caribbean. Jamaica lies about south of Cuba, west of Hispaniola (the is ...

dancer Dance is an The arts, art form, consisting of sequences of body movements with aesthetic and often Symbol, symbolic value, either improvised or purposefully selected. Dance can be categorized and described by its choreography, by its repertoir ...

choreographer Choreography is the art of designing sequences of movements of physical bodies (or their depictions) in which Motion (physics), motion or Visual appearance, form or both are specified. ''Choreography'' may also refer to the design itself. A chor ...

and

dance instructor Dance education is a practice whereby students are taught a broad understanding of dance as a form of art and who are trained professionally in many different genres of dance. Dance education consists of specialized dancers who conduct original r ...

. With

Rex Nettleford Ralston Milton "Rex" Nettleford OM FIJ OCC (3 February 1933 – 2 February 2010) was a Jamaican scholar, social critic, choreographer, and Vice-Chancellor Emeritus of the University of the West Indies (UWI), the leading research university in ...

he co-founded the National Dance Theatre Company of Jamaica (NDTC). Before establishing the NDTC, Thomas was a member of the

Martha Graham Dance Company The Martha Graham Dance Company, founded by Martha Graham in 1926, is both the oldest dance company in the United States and the oldest integrated dance company. The company is critically acclaimed in the artistic world and has been recognized as " ...

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

Background

In 1958, he established the Eddy Thomas Workshop, with branches in Kingston and Mandeville, which was a foremost training ground for the development of Jamaican artists, and in 1959, Thomas won the Jamaican government Arts Council Award and went to study in New York, and at the Connecticut College Dance Festival in New London with Martha Graham and such others such as Merce Cunningham and José Limón. In 1962, Thomas and

co-founded the National Dance Theatre Company of Jamaica (NDTC). Works that Thomas choreographed works included: ''Legend of Lovers' Leap'', ''A Time to Rejoice'', ''Foot Notes in Jazz'', ''Afro West Indian Suite'', ''Games of Arms'', ''Liza'', ''And It Came To Pass'', ''Concert Suite'', ''Country Wedding'', ''Parade Kingston 13'', ''Jamaican Promenade'' and ''Omegan Procession''. Also a costume designer, he was responsible for most of the costume designs for the NDTC's repertoire. Thomas died at his home in

Montego Bay Montego Bay () is the capital of the Parishes of Jamaica, parish of Saint James Parish, Jamaica, St. James in Jamaica. The city is the fourth most populous urban area in the country, after Kingston, Jamaica, Kingston, Spanish Town, and Portmore ...

, Jamaica, on 10 April 2014, at the age of 82.

References

2014 deaths 1930s births Dance teachers Founders Jamaican choreographers Jamaican male dancers Jamaican dancers People from Montego Bay {{dance-bio-stub