Yvonne Mounsey

Yvonne Mounsey (born Yvonne Louise Leibbrandt, September 1919, Pretoria, South Africa – September 29, 2012, Los Angeles) was a South African ballet dancer known for her roles with George Balanchine and Jerome Robbins at New York City Ballet, and for founding both the Johannesburg City Ballet (later known as the PACT Ballet) in South Africa and the Westside School of Ballet[1] in Santa Monica, California.[2] Mounsey taught many well-known American dancers, including Jock Soto, Andrew Veyette, and Tiler Peck.[2]

Dance career

Mounsey studied with Igor Schwezoff in London, touring with the Carl Rosa Opera Company.[2] She also studied with Olga Preobrajenska and Lubov Egorova in Paris, and at the School of American Ballet in New York.

In 1939, Mounsey joined the Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo, and the following year (1940–41) joined de Basil's Original Ballet Russe,[3] under the stage name "Irina Zarova."[2] Balanchine saw her perform with the Original Ballet Russe in 1940, and created a part for her in Balustrade (1941),[4] a Stravinsky violin concerto.[2]

Shortly after, she was touring in Cuba, became stranded when her company disbanded, and worked as a nightclub dancer.[4] After success in this role, she went on tour with her nightclub routine, encountering Balanchine again in 1945 in Mexico City.[2]

She then returned to South Africa, leading her own company, before joining the New York City Ballet in 1948/49, where she stayed until 1958.[4]

After becoming a soloist after only a year at the City Ballet, she danced in leading roles or created roles in numerous ballets with Jerome Robbins, George Balanchine, and others:[2][3][5]

Mounsey was regarded as the "classic interpreter" of the role of the Siren in Balanchine's The Prodigal Son, after studying with Felia Doubrovska who originated the role.[2] A 1953 review in the New York Times noted that "[Mounsey] dances it with a studied voluptuousness that makes it mockingly cold."[6]

Administrative and teaching career

Mounsey retired from NYCB in 1958 and returned to South Africa where, with Faith de Villiers, she co-founded the Johannesburg City Ballet (later named the Performing Arts Council of the Transvaal, or PACT Ballet).[2]

In the 1966 she settled in Los Angeles,[3] and took over "Academy West" in 1967 with Rosemary Valaire, a close friend and collaborator.[5] The two later moved the school to Santa Monica, renaming it the Westside School of Ballet.[5][7] She taught in "neoclassical Balanchine technique", and her students included Jock Soto, Andrew Veyette, Tiler Peck and Joy Womack.[4]

Personal life

Mounsey was married three times, to Duncan Mounsey; then to (Albert) Hall Hughey, both ending in divorce.[2] In 1960 she married Kelvin Clegg, who predeceased Mounsey, dying in 1993.[2][5]

Mounsey died of cancer on September 29, 2012; survivors included her daughter, Allegra Clegg; her stepsons Christopher and Stephen Clegg; her grandson Marcus Spellman; and her sister Roshild Collard.[5]

Awards

Notes

  1. ↑ Artistic Director Yvonne Mounsey, West Side Ballet.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 2.6 2.7 2.8 2.9 2.10 Alastair Macaulay, "Yvonne Mounsey Dies at 93; Created Roles for City Ballet" (obituary), New York Times, Oct. 3, 2012.
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 Oxford Dictionary of Dance.
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 Associated Press, Former New York City Ballet star Yvonne Mounsey, who founded West Coast school, dies at 93, available thru Washington Post, Oct. 3, 2012.
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 5.4 Laura Bleiberg, "Yvonne Mounsey dies at 93; Westside School of Ballet director", Los Angeles Times, Oct. 3, 2012.
  6. ↑ John Martin, New York Times (May 1953), cited in Laura Bleiberg, "Yvonne Mounsey dies at 93; Westside School of Ballet director", Los Angeles Times, Oct. 3, 2012.
  7. ↑ Artistic Director Yvonne Mounsey, Westside Ballet.

External links