James Thurston was a professional dancer, who performed with the
NYC-based George Faison's Universal Dance Experience from 1971-75. I
seek his birhdate & yr. I can pay $4.00

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Request for Question Clarification by luciaphile-ga on 17 Feb 2003 16:53 PST

Hi bluestreak,

I'm afraid I don't have any additional information other than what I
posted on the original question :(

Did you want me to post that as an answer???

Regards,
luciaphile

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Clarification of Question by bluestreak-ga on 17 Feb 2003 18:10 PST

Hi luciaphile,                                                        
         Thanks to your findings about James Thurston being in Wash DC
area, I was able to contact the woman you saw in the article, spoke at
length with her, and got other leads from her.  One lead led to
another, until I could confirm his death date from the SSDI.  So it
all started with your initial findings.  Isn't research cool?  I think
so.  So, if you'd be so kind as to post your info, we can close this
question sucessfully.  Thank you oh so much, luciaphile. What would I
have done without you?  bluestreak

Hi bluestreak!

As always, thanks for your question.

James Thurston died between 1990 and 1999. I came across several
articles in the Washington Post that mention Thurston in connection
with dance and choreography. There are no mentions past 1990. Then in
1999, there are two short pieces about a memorial for artists who
suffered from AIDS, and a dancer James Thurston named is listed as one
of the deceased.
 
According to this article, Miya Hisaka Silva, who at one time ran the
Contemporary Dance Theatre in DC, told the Washington Post 'AIDS wiped
out a whole generation of dancers.' ... is honoring those local
dancers who died--Jack Guidone, James Thurston, Jason Taylor and
others--with a program called 'Mostly Men.'"

"Here & Now." Washington Post. December 5, 1999, p. G03 
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-adv/archives/advanced.htm 

Another article reviews the "Mostly Men" program in greater depth.

"Guiding Lights of D.C. Motion: 'Mostly Men' Recalls Artists Lost to
AIDS," by Sarah Kaufman. The Washington Mpost, December 13, 1999, P.
C05.

Search strategy
Although there are a few sites that mention Thurston, I found nothing
substantial. Went to a couple of newspaper indexes and searched for
Thurston there.

I'm glad you were able to get the information you needed from my leads
:) Thanks so much for giving me credit! As always, if you'd like
clarification, please just ask and I'll do what I can for you.

Regards,
luciaphile-ga

This one was particularly tough. I had to wind my way through 2 more
leads after I spoke with Miya, but it was enjoyable though, since I
got to reminise with these folks about dance in NYC in the 70's.  But
it all ended well. So I want to thank you so very much for your
continued loyalty and skills. This is your 14th bulls-eye. The next
most hits are 4. You also have contributed to 17 more, while 3 others
had 5 contributions and 4 had 4. That why I call you Luciaphile the
Great. And you may not even be finished yet! Whew!  I can now belive
you when you once hinted that you don't take breaks.  Thanks a
million.  I'm still working to convert some of your other leads into
hits.  bluestreak