William Como; Editor of Dance Magazine

William Como, 63, longtime editor of Dance Magazine, the influential journal of the ballet world. Through the magazine, Como championed new dance companies and regional companies, such as Ballet West and the San Francisco, Boston and Tulsa, Okla., ballet companies, and was an advocate for the critical acceptance of the Stuttgart Ballet in West Germany, the Danish Royal Ballet and Maurice Bejart’s companies in France, among others. “And he did the same thing with young dancers and young choreographers, such as John Neumeier, an American choreographer and artistic director of the Hamburg Ballet in West Germany,” said Norma McLain Stoop, a senior editor of the magazine. Como was educated at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts in New York and had a brief career as a dancer and actor both in California and New York from 1948 to 1953, before joining the magazine in 1954. He was named editor in chief in 1970, a position he held until his death. In New York City on Sunday of lung cancer.