Westside Ballet Company Artistic Director
Yvonne Mounsey
Yvonne Mounsey joined New York City Ballet as a principal dancer for George Balanchine after performing with Massine's Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo and de Basil's original Ballet Russe. Durin
g Ms. Mounsey's distinguished career with New York City Ballet, she created the role of Center Spanish in Balanchine's original production of The Nutcracker. Among the other roles she created are The Harp in Fanfare, The Queen in The Cage, and The Other Woman in Lilac Garden.
In 1960, Ms. Mounsey co-founded the Johannesburg City Ballet, now Pact Ballet, one of the world's major dance companies.
For more information about Ms. Mounsey, see her faculty profile.
Rosemary Valaire: In Memoriam
We proudly honor the remarkable legacy of Rosemary Valaire, 1930-1999.
Ms. Valaire danced with England's Royal Ballet for eight years. She was an advanced member of England's Royal Academy of Dancing 
and holder of the Solo Seal. Ms. Valaire was widely respected in the performing arts world for her faithful reconstructions of the classical ballets, including Les Sylphides, Coppelia, and Swan Lake.
In our production of The Sleeping Beauty, Westside Ballet uses the Petipa choregraphy as staged by Ms. Valaire. She had also staged The Sleeping Beauty for Pittsburgh Ballet, Milwaukee Ballet, Compania Nacional de Danza (Mexico City) and Ballet Concierto de Puerto Rico. She coached Mikhail Baryshnikov, Natalia Markarova, and other dancers of the American Ballet Theatre for the ABT Sleeping Beauty.