Louise I. Gillette, Aerial Dance Pioneer, Choreographer, and Teacher, Dies at 54
A tireless dancer and creator, she was diagnosed with a brain tumor in 1998. But she refused to let her illness define her, and remained an inspiration to family and friends.
Louise I. Gillette, 54, of Philadelphia, an innovative aerial dance pioneer, founder and director of the Trapezius Aerial Dance Co., dance teacher at Temple University, and holistic instructor of Pilates and other health practices, died Saturday, Dec. 18, of complications of a brain tumor at home.
A woman of unbridled energy and countless achievements, Ms. Gillette was a dancer, musician, singer, choreographer, and composer as a teenager. By middle school, she played the piano, cello, flute, and guitar, and was an assistant dance teacher at the Steffi Nossen School of Dance in New York.
During college, she went to Nigeria to study the relationship of dance and everyday life, and created an acclaimed performance afterward to share what she had learned. In graduate school, she was so mesmerized by an aerial dance performance that she later founded, directed, and starred for the Philadelphia-based Trapezius Aerial Dance Co.
“There’s something about the newness of [aerial dance] that’s important,” she told The Inquirer in 1998. “And I think I got tired of dancing on the ground.”…
Link to Full Article at Philadelphia Inquirer.Â
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Main Image: Ms. Gillette (front, center) created many dance pieces for her aerial performances. One of her most innovative was called "Water Trilogy."Courtesy of the family
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