To all in the community of memories of Sandra:

          My name is Sheldon Russell.  I am the son of Armand Russell, Sandra's husband of 30 years. Sandra is my stepmother.

          My wife and I, and my son, visited Sandra and my father every few years throughout their marriage, traveling from Los Angeles to Santa Rosa where they lived until the passing of my father in October 2022.

          To sum-up Sandra's imprint on me:  Sandra was always a gracious host.  She made it a priority to support my father's interest to have a meaningful experience with his son and family at every visit.  Our visits usually included spending some time first at the Santa Rosa house, and then the rest of the time at Sandra's Dillon Beach house.  Sandra graciously opened her beach house for my family's enjoyment every time we visited.  Each visit, Sandra, my father, and me and my family would spend a few nights there until it was time for us to go back to Los Angeles. 

          While at the Dillon Beach leg of our visits, we would all go together on side trips to various places in the Dillon Beach environs.  Sandra gratefully shared with me and my family the places that meant so much to her.

With love and gratitude for Sandra.

Sheldon Russell

Dear Dana,

To you, and to all in your family, I send my deepest condolences at the passing of your mom - my cherished friend and dance colleague.

I am heartbroken at this news.

Your mom and I had a friendship that extended over sixty-years.

It all began in West Haven, Connecticut when your mom was teaching at Constance Guetten's studio, and, when the studio was used as training space for the newly established Ballet Society of Connecticut founded in 1963 by Beverly Williamson.

I remember, as if it were yesterday, walking into your mom’s dressing room as she was preparing to teach a ballet class to area students who had been accepted into BSC.

All she was doing was putting on her ballet slippers.

But I have never forgotten the image -there was an elegance about her, a delicacy, a simplicity, a kindness, an image that was her person, one that she carried with her for her entire life. We became fast friends. Together, with Emy De Pradines, we formed the Dance Committee of the newly found Arts Council of Greater New Haven (1964), writing a proposal that entailed bringing dance into Connecticut public schools, as well as professional companies into New Haven.

We shared an appreciation for classical ballet technique as an “inside-out” experience, a belief that carried over into our conversations regarding her textbook, ‘Ballet Basics.’ A special memory was when I visited Santa Rosa and your mom was preparing a talk on Degas and the Ballet. Armand and I were her audience as she proposed her thesis. It was an extraordinary moment of shared experiences as Armand, an acclaimed composer and professor emeritus of music, saw Degas through Degas’s connection to music, and I, the dancer, saw Degas through his connection to dance - (coincidentally, at the time, I was painting Degas’s dance images in soft pastel.)

When my husband, Gaston, and I visited Dillon Beach, your mom did what many could not -she engaged with Gaston as if he were a normal person, his flailing and falling from Parkinson’s never affecting her for one moment, her graciousness toward him was a blessing.

Through the years we never ceased our correspondence, whether it was discussing Ratmansky's reconstruction of the ballet classics using Stepanov’s 19th century notation,

Feuillet’s 18th century notation of Baroque dance, or simply (but not so simple), how to really do a proper plié.

I shall miss my friend.

I am enclosing a photo from a visit that your mom and Armand made to my place in L.A.

I will cherish it always.

With love,

Barbara  

Sandra was a brilliant dance scholar who I had the privilege of working with.  Later I learned she was a neighbor of my mother’s.  We had many lovely happy hours together.  I feel extremely fortunate that our paths crossed in so many different ways.  My deepest sympathy to Sandra’s family. 

Vicki Angel

I was saddened to hear about the passing of my aunt Sandra. (My only Aunt )I have so many fond memories of our two families spending time together during the holidays and Dillon Beach.  Specifically, I enjoyed my opportunity to help take all of the photos of her ballet instruction book.  I was proud to help her . 😁

I will always remember her smile and her “southern “ grace and class.

Doug O