Rest in deep peace, beautiful ballerina. Your brilliant star burned all too briefly. Sadly, a very short but tremendously remarkable life. You will not be forgotten.
For the first 23 years of my life, dance was my life. My late beloved mother started me at the age of 3 in ballet and tap. Mom had been a tapper. I was featured in Dance Magazine at 4y/o as a “Star of the Future”. I loved every minute. Then I grew…very tall. By the time I was 16 I was 5’9” and had expanded my repertoire to include Jazz and Interpretive dance. I was discouraged from continuing ballet because of my height but refused to stop. Between my Jr and Sr years in HS reached 6’ but my mentors and teachers had learned not to discourage and by then Judith Jameson had come on the scene with Alvin Ailey’s company and tall women dancers all of a sudden became viable and visible. My heart leapt. Fast forward to my junior year in college when I earned the choreographer position in the drama dept for the annual musical “Brigadoon” that year. There was a Senior who was very upset that I got the position. Long story short…during the process and rehearsals I had an accident running with a good friend over the slate sidewalks in my college town…most of the slate pieces had been pushed up by giant tree roots…picturesque but not safe. I tripped, went up in the air and landed on my right kneecap, dislocated it and all that involved and I had to resign and hand my duties over to that Senior who had been so nasty. That was basically the end of my dream of dancing on Broadway. The Senior who got the job became humble and credited me, flowers on crutches opening night and top billing in the program. All very nice but I never felt that elation of a grand jete with legs as long as mine are again. I subsequently went into broadcasting. Maybe performing wears many faces. RIP beautiful dancer 🩷
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Rest in deep peace, beautiful ballerina. Your brilliant star burned all too briefly. Sadly, a very short but tremendously remarkable life. You will not be forgotten.
For the first 23 years of my life, dance was my life. My late beloved mother started me at the age of 3 in ballet and tap. Mom had been a tapper. I was featured in Dance Magazine at 4y/o as a “Star of the Future”. I loved every minute. Then I grew…very tall. By the time I was 16 I was 5’9” and had expanded my repertoire to include Jazz and Interpretive dance. I was discouraged from continuing ballet because of my height but refused to stop. Between my Jr and Sr years in HS reached 6’ but my mentors and teachers had learned not to discourage and by then Judith Jameson had come on the scene with Alvin Ailey’s company and tall women dancers all of a sudden became viable and visible. My heart leapt. Fast forward to my junior year in college when I earned the choreographer position in the drama dept for the annual musical “Brigadoon” that year. There was a Senior who was very upset that I got the position. Long story short…during the process and rehearsals I had an accident running with a good friend over the slate sidewalks in my college town…most of the slate pieces had been pushed up by giant tree roots…picturesque but not safe. I tripped, went up in the air and landed on my right kneecap, dislocated it and all that involved and I had to resign and hand my duties over to that Senior who had been so nasty. That was basically the end of my dream of dancing on Broadway. The Senior who got the job became humble and credited me, flowers on crutches opening night and top billing in the program. All very nice but I never felt that elation of a grand jete with legs as long as mine are again. I subsequently went into broadcasting. Maybe performing wears many faces. RIP beautiful dancer 🩷
Thank you for researching and sharing this story, Laura. It is both inspirational and truly humbling.
So young, talented, and beautiful. May she rest in peace🕊️
Thank you for bringing her story here.
Beautiful Michaela Mabinty. 💙🌹