Gus Giordano was the recipient of the 1984 Dance Educators of America Award for Giordano's outstanding contributions to the world of jazz dance. His lifetime dedication to jazz dance has exhibited itself in all facets of jazz dance: dancer, master teacher, choreographer, author, founder of Gus Giordano Jazz Dance Center, Evanston, Illinois. On the international dance circuit, Mr. Giordano serves regularly on the faculties of the International Tanz Wochen - Stuttgart, the International Des Danse - Paris, and thew Cologne Dance Festival. Mr. Giordano has also taught at every major national dance convention in the United States and for the American Ballet Theatre School in New York City. Giordano has extended his choreographic talents into all dimensions of performing including television, film, stage, commercials, and industrials. His nationally acclaimed 1980 television production The Rehearsal, has received an Emmy award, the PBS award, and the Ohio State award. Giordano was commissioned by orchestra conductor Doc Severinsen to choreograph his jazz production The Valley of Xebrob, which made its debut nationally on the Sound Stage television show in 1982.

On film, Giordano was the choreographer of the award winning film The Music Box. He has choreographed the Goodman Theatre's holiday presentation, A Christmas Carol, and more recently he was one of six choreographers for the 1988 Chicago revival of the Broadway musical Hair. Giordano continues to collaborate with the Apparel Center for their fashion shows.

Giordano credits Minette Buchman, St. Louis, as his mentor during his early dance training. He received a minor in dance at the University of Missouri (Columbia). While in New York, Giordano appeared on Broadway and studied with Hanya Holm, Alwin Nikolais, and Oreste Segerifsky. His choreogrpahy has been part of the repertoire of Gus Giordano Jazz Dance Chicago, American Ballet Theatre II, Discovery Dance Group (Houston), Gainesville Civic Ballet Company, Georgia Dance Theatre (Atlanta), Aline Rioux Dance Company (Paris), Minnesota Jazz Dance Theatre, Jazz Dance Theatre of Denver, Margit Manhardt Dance Company (Vienna, Austria), Dance Omnium (Fairbanks, Alaska), and the Ruth Mitchell Dance Company (Atlanta). Giordano wrote the highly acclaimed Anthology of American Jazz Dance, the first book of its kind.

Additional honors include the Dance Masters of America Outstanding Dance award and the 1988 Evanston (Illinois) Mayor's award for the Arts. Giordano was the recipient of the 1989 Illinois Governor's Award for the Arts for exemplary individual artistic achievement. He also received the 1991 Circle of Dance Award for lifetime contributions to dance education. Gus Giordano organized the First American Jazz Dance World Congress which took place in August 1990. This event, which was co-sponsored by Northwestern University, assembled jazz dance greats such as Luigi, Matt Mattox, and Giordano, and also numerous jazz dance companies for a week of master classes and performances. The 2nd Jazz Dance Congress convened in August of 1992. The 3rd JDWC convened in August of 1994. In 1995, the JDWC was held in Japan, and the 1996 JDWC was held in the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C. Most recently Gus received the Ruth Page Lifetime Service to the Field Award.

Bob Boross