On Saturday, Westside Ballet director Yvonne Mounsey passed away at the age of 93.
Once a celebrated dancer with the Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo and New York City Ballet, Mounsey founded the Westside Ballet school and company in 1967. There, she trained over four decades of dancers in Balanchine technique and staged The Nutcracker annually for 39 years.
Of teaching continuing to teach classes into her 90s, Mounsey is quoted as saying, “Teaching gives me something to get up for in the morning. I’ll say to myself, ‘OK, I’m going to teach now,’ and I just keep on going.”
She will be missed.
Photo: by Todd Lechtick, courtesy of Westside Ballet