Roger Tully (1928-2020). British dancer and teacher

Roger Tully was born in Harrow and was originally apprenticed to an optician. After National Service he spent three years at the Ballet Rambert School, and was then taught by Lydia Kyasht, Cleo Nordi, Mary Skeaping, Stanislas Idzikowski and, most important, by Kathleen Crofton. During the 1950s he danced in musicals, for Water Gore, partnering Paula Hinton, and also for International Ballet. In the 1960s he went to Canada to dance with Les Grands Ballets Canadiens, and then, later in the decade, he took over Crofton’s school. In the 1980s he opened his own studios in Bedford Gardens, Kensington, from where his fame as a pedagogue grew. He also taught abroad, including leading classes in Helsinki, Paris and Rome. Roger Tully continued teaching until two weeks before his death in Haywards Heath, Sussex, in 2020.