Tessa Sollom WILLIAMS

October 6, 1930 – May 30, 2023

Tessa Sollom Williams, dancer and internationally distinguished ballet teacher and mentor who taught classical ballet for decades to Spokane's youth died in Delray Beach, Florida, on May 30th. She was 92.

London-born Teresa "Tessa" Mary Dawn Sollom was the daughter of Major Charles Ainsworth and Mary Agnes Sollom. At age five, Tessa fell in love with ballet and started taking lessons. At age nine, she decided on a career as a professional ballet dancer, stimulated by attending professional performances with her mother and being particularly enamored by the ballet Les Sylphides. She continued her training in Austria and Italy after the war and then entered the International Ballet School in London. She took her Royal Academy of Dancing (now Dance) exams and, on one occasion, was examined by the Imperial Russian ballerina of Ballets Russes fame, Tamara Karsavina, receiving high marks. Upon graduating from the school, Tessa joined Mona Inglesby's International Ballet, Britain's largest ballet company at its height. In the school and company, she studied under Nicholas Sergeyev, Madame Sergeyeva, Andrew Hardie, Madame Judith Espinosa, and Madame Northcote, learning the leading continental schools of ballet and classical repertoire. When Tessa was promoted to company soloist, Léonide Massine chose her to dance in his ballets Gaîté Parisienne and Capriccio Espagnol. She danced in many ballets, including The Masque of Comus, Les Sylphides, Swan Lake, Coppélia, and The Sleeping Princess. She toured with the company in the United Kingdom for nearly six years. The company made four European tours, including an engagement at the Arena di Verona, and opened London's Royal Festival Hall in 1951.

In 1953 the International Ballet closed, and Tessa went to Paris to dance at the variety and dancing cabaret La Nouvelle Eve. There she met her future husband, tap dancer and entertainer from Spokane, Stanley T. Williams, who was featured on the bill as "Tall, Dark and Dancesome, Stan the Man." She continued her ballet training in Paris, taking classes with Olga Preobrajenska, Madame Nora, and Madame Egorova. Tessa went on to perform throughout Europe and appeared in the opera-ballet in Italy and for three seasons as a dancer and presentatrice on R.A.I. Television. When she returned to London, Tessa signed as a George Carden dancer at the London Palladium, appearing on the weekly telecast, Sunday Night at the London Palladium, hosted by Bruce Forsyth, and working with stars such as Liberace. At the Palladium, she appeared in three command performances before Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II and H.R.H. Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh.

Tessa came to the United States to visit cousins in San Francisco and to dance at the Tropicana in Las Vegas in 1961. She came to Spokane and married Williams in 1962 at Our Lady of Lourdes Cathedral. That year she opened her Spokane ballet school under the name of "Tessa Sollom's School of Classical Ballet." As she developed her school and teaching practice, she drew on the ballet pedagogy of her other teachers: Phyllis Bedells, Miss Ruth French, Miss Elaine Archibald, Madame Zabina for character work, Madame Lea Espinosa, and Errol Addison. Eventually, she adopted the Royal Academy of Dancing Syllabus and became the society's

regional secretary in 1970. Always eager to give the best to her students, Tessa took part in courses for teachers at the Royal Academy and workshops held in the United States, London, and the Soviet Union.

Tessa helped shape the local art scene with her husband, Stanley. As a couple, they organized many summer workshops which featured prominent dancers and teachers such as Nicholas Orloff and Shamil Yagudin. Her students appeared in performances with the Spokane Symphony, Spokane Civic Theatre, and Spokane Children's Theatre, and she choreographed plays and musicals directed by Stanley and other directors. The ballet school's yearly recitals at Spokane Falls Community College (SFCC) and the Spokane Opera House were at-house-capacity performances. They featured students and, as guest artists, students who had turned professional and leading dancers from US ballet companies, including Deborah Hadley and Wade Walthall of Pacific Northwest Ballet. After retiring from teaching in Spokane, Tessa joined the teaching faculty of the school of the Sarasota Ballet in Florida. Many Spokane and Sarasota students went on to national and international ballet schools, teaching, Broadway careers, and professional ballet companies.

To the delight of her youngest students, the donning of gold and silver ballet slippers became a signature costume component in her final years of teaching. Her mentoring of young professional dancers continued well past retirement, and until her death, parents of pre-ballet-age students still sought her for lessons. Tessa's students and the world of ballet held her heart. Tessa's resounding motto, "onwards and upwards", championed fitness and carrying on regardless of the circumstances. Her last words were, "Get my slippers!"

Tessa's beloved husband, Stanley T. Williams, preceded her in death. Scott Charles Williams and daughter-in-law, Candace of West Palm Beach, Florida; daughter, Tanya Dawn, and son-in-law, John Wetenhall of Washington DC; two grandchildren, Jasmine N., and Jaden J. Williams; and her much-adored cat, Pinocchio, survive her. Tessa's burial in Spokane is in June, followed by a celebration of life in the late summer. Please email tanya500@yahoo.com for more information. Tessa loved animals. Instead of flowers, please consider donating in Tessa's name to SpokAnimal: https://spokanimal.org/.