We are profoundly saddened by the death of Howell Binkley, Parsons Dance co-founder; cherished husband of Board member Joyce Storey, and precious best friend of David Parsons. Throughout the years, Howell received much deserved attention for his brilliant lighting designs and for his kind mentoring of so many who knew that he was the best designer around, the guy who, among other accolades, was nominated for nine Tony Awards and received two, one for Jersey Boys and another for Hamilton. As our company’s Resident Lighting Designer, he lit nearly all of our shows since he and David joined forces in 1985 to create Parsons Dance, not many years after the two met at Paul Taylor Dance Company and bonded as respected colleagues and mischievous friends. “I wouldn’t have made my company without him,” David says.
Howell once acknowledged that his early years at Parsons helped him develop the skills necessary for lighting theater. “You are sculpting the body from all sides in order to give definition to the body as it turns, as it’s lifted, as it rolls on the ground,” he said. “I try in my lighting of plays and musicals to use that same carving tool.”
Although Howell had been battling lung cancer for three years and we knew that the last weeks had not been easy for him, we are still shocked by his death as we struggle to find a way to cope with our loss. He was charming. He was charismatic. He was our friend.
“It was an incredible journey Howell Binkley and I had together. We met in Paul Taylor’s company. I was there to learn from Paul, and he was there to learn from Jennifer Tipton. We were best buddies from the start. We “fell in love.” Over the next four + decades we traveled the world together, worked like dogs, and truly experienced the wonders of life. So many laughs along the way. Some stories: traveling to the wrong city on tour; lifting cute little Italian cars out of the way of our tour bus; floating down the Amazon, and having to wait on the river for a day while Howell travelled back to JFK to fix his messed up visa, and then back again to Manaus. We have a saying at Parsons Dance-- “live large." That’s exactly what Howell did. I’d like to thank Joyce Storey, Howell’s devoted wife, for all the tender care she gave him over the years. Love you Bink.” - David Parsons
