Stanley Williams (ballet)

Stanley Williams (1925–1997) was a dancer and, later, a renowned ballet instructor.

Stanley Williams was born in England but grew up in Copenhagen, and was enrolled at the Royal Danish School of Ballet. His instruction was steeped in the Bournonville tradition, training with Harald Lander, although he also studied with Vera Volkova, a disciple of Agrippina Vaganova. In 1943, Williams joined the Royal Danish Ballet, becoming a principal dancer six years later, and by 1950 he had begun teaching at the Royal Danish School of Ballet in Copenhagen.

In the 1950s, Stanley Williams was performing as a principal dancer with George Krista's Ballet Comique in London, where he also stood as balletmaster.

By 1964, Williams's reputation had reached George Balanchine, who invited him to instruct at the School of American Ballet in New York City.

From 1964 until his death in 1997, Stanley Williams was first among instructors at the School of American Ballet. As a teacher, he was soft-spoken.

His original teaching style relied a lot on exercises to develop speed, foot work and petit allegro (small jumps), in the tradition of the Bournonville and Balanchine ballet styles. Williams contrasted slow movement with sudden, almost spastic moves, and spoke in vague terms that some students found hard to understand. One of his famous phrases was "You're going out, you have to go in," which he constantly repeated to correct many different types of movements and steps without being too specific.

...
Wikipedia