Alex Pappas went from serving his country in the Army for six years starting at age 18 to serving students on the dance floor by teaching them ballroom dancing until age 94. From battle stations to ballrooms, Pappas, who passed away April 24, just shy of his 95th birthday, led a life of service.
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Walnut Creek’s Allison Tabor and her husband, Paris (Perry), first met Pappas in 1986, when they signed up for his introductory ballroom dancing class.
“Alex was a dancer’s dancer; he was a tough and exacting perfectionist, blending a choreographer’s feel for movement with an innate sense of musical flow,” said Tabor. “He had a deep passion for the Argentine tango, which he continued to teach and perform throughout his life.”
Pappas taught everywhere in the Bay Area, including Antioch, the Pittsburg Yacht club, a ballet studio in Pleasant Hill, Encore Studios in Elk Grove and as a guest instructor at San Francisco’s Metronome Ballroom.
Born on July 19, 1929, and raised in Scranton, Pennsylvania, Pappas during his U.S. Army years was based in Hawaii and deployed to the Eniwetok and Kwajalein Atolls in the Marshall Islands, where as a corporal he served as a radio operator during tests of the atomic bomb.
He also learned ballroom dancing while in the Army. When he completed his time in the service, he relocated to Topeka, Kansas, where he became a ballroom instructor for the Arthur Murray chain of dance studios and Pappas’ (former) wife, Betty.
Tabor said that in addition to performing and teaching dancing together, Betty and Alex Pappas were competitive runners in the annual USATF (USA Track & Field) Masters Outdoor Championships.
“Together they created the Summer Track Festival and the first Midwest Masters Track and Field Regional Competition in Saint Marys, Kansas,” said Tabor. “Alex was a sprinter, winning many medals and trophies.”
The couple relocated to Southern California, where they continued performing and teaching dance. Tabor said the talented couple honed additional skills and interests while there.
“They became photojournalists for a publication company and on weekends, you could find Alex body surfing and playing percussion with a Latin band in Redondo Beach,” Tabor added.
After Pappas and and his wife divorced, Pappas moved to Walnut Creek, where he continued to teach dancing for the city of Walnut Creek and privately for decades. Shelley Marlowe met Pappas in Walnut Creek’s Community Building in 1994 after searching for an Argentine tango instructor. She was excited to learn that Pappas was just 5 minutes from her home.
“I opened the door and am noticed by the instructor, who waves a warm hello,” said Marlowe. “He stops the class, walks over to me and introduces me to the room full of students.
“This is highly unusual for a dance teacher to be as personable and welcoming as Alex was. He convinced me to put on my dance shoes and follow along with the other students. I did, and I’m immediately in love with the Argentine tango.”
Marlowe said she feels that all of Pappas’ hundreds of Bay Area students were incredibly lucky to have a man of his stature and talent as their instructor.
“It would be like signing up for an acting class, and Meryl Streep greets you and says, ‘take a seat,’ ” added Marlowe. “Alex was so incredibly talented, and he bestowed his talent and love of dance on everyone he met.”
Ballet, tap and jazz dancer Sharon Murphy said when she answered an ad for Pappas’ Argentine tango class in 1992, she later thought, “Wow, did it take me on a journey!”
“Alex loved the Argentine tango, and his passion was very addicting,” said Murphy. “As the lessons progressed, we did exhibitions and competitions. We took home trophies from the winter ball in San Francisco and the Monterey Bay Ballroom competition. Alex and I danced together for many years.”
Whether it was the swing, Latin dances or Argentine tango, Murphy said Pappas’ teachings went beyond the dance floor.
“He taught the history of the dance,” she said. “He prided himself in teaching the authenticity of the dance, and his students benefited.”
Adding to Pappas’ long list of talents, he was a certified personal fitness trainer, teaching until COVID-19 pandemic restrictions closed the gym — he was age 90 at the time. His talents didn’t stop there.
“Alex was an outstanding artist,” said Tabor. “His drawings and paintings have been exhibited and now hang in the homes of many Bay Area residents. Additionally, he was truly inspired by music, the arts, the natural world, philosophy, psychology, his love of animals and healthy living. He encouraged others to follow in his footsteps.”
Later in life, Pappas was visually impaired with macular degeneration and glaucoma, but Tabor said he never let it slow him down.
“Even as it progressed, Alex refused to accept having any limitations,” she said. “Just two years ago, he agreed to have part-time visiting support at home for a two-week period, which continued for two years and evolved into another close friendship.”
Pappas lived alone in a senior apartment in Walnut Creek until he got COVID-19 in January, which led to complications and eventually his death a few months later. He is survived by his adult son, Alex W. Pappas. Tabor, who eventually became Pappas’ medical advocate and was granted power of attorney for his affairs, offered words to describe a teacher she’s known for 38 years.
“He was independent, thoughtful, disciplined, grateful, health-minded, vegetarian, artist, creative, stylish/fashionable, friendly, proud, physically fit, sharp as a tack, obstinate and a romantic,” she said. “And, of course, ageless.”
Marlowe added that “There is no end to this story. All of us who were as lucky as me to learn the Argentine tango from Alex Pappas know that his memory lives on in the well-executed gancho (tango dance move), the power and grace of el molinete and the playful sultriness of la mordida.”
Reach Charleen Earley, a freelance writer and journalism professor at Foothill and Diablo Valley colleges, at charleenbearley@gmail.com or 925-383-3072.