Dancer Undeterred by Loss of Leg

May 5, 2004
Homer Avila, 48, Dancer Undeterred by Loss of Leg, Dies
By JENNIFER DUNNING

Homer Avila, a dancer and choreographer who went on to a new career in dance after the amputation of his cancerous right leg and hip, died on April 25 in Manhattan, where he lived. He was 48. The cause was the spread of cancer to his lungs, said Ivan Sygoda, a colleague and friend.

Until the amputation, in April 2001, Mr. Avila was known best for work with Avila/Weeks Dance, a modern-dance company he directed with Edisa Weeks. His pieces covered a wide variety of topics, standing out for the most part for strong visual imagery. He also performed with Twyla Tharp, Mark Morris, Ralph Lemon and the Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Dance Company. He taught at Wesleyan College, the Alvin Ailey American Dance Center, Spelman College and Oberlin College.

Mr. Avila's disease was diagnosed as a rare form of cancer called chondrosarcoma, an illness that had gone undetected, he said, because he could not afford health insurance. His quandary led to the formation of One Step Forward, a fund to help dancers faced with sudden catastrophic health emergencies, begun by the New York Foundation for the Arts in June 2001 with the proceeds of a benefit tribute to Mr. Avila.

Mr. Avila returned to dance class soon after the amputation and was performing less than a year after the operation. His first New York program, presented with Ms. Weeks in February 2002, featured a solo he created for himself called "Not/Without Words" that suggested a powerful new direction for his choreography.

The austere solo used the way his new body sat, rose from the floor and moved on one leg without hopping or using a crutch. Mr. Avila inspired new pieces by choreographers including Victoria Marks and Alonzo King, whose "Pas de Deux" was created for Mr. Avila and Andrea Flores.

Mr. Avila is survived by his mother, Olympia, of New Orleans, and his brother, John, of Livermore, Calif.