Yvonne Mounsey dies at 93

One of the great SA-born ballet personalities of the past century, Yvonne Mounsey, died at home in Los Angeles, California, on 29 September 2012 aged 93. Ms Mounsey had been battling cancer for several years.

 

 

Born Yvonne Leibbrandt in Pretoria in 1919, she started her ballet traning with a former member of Anna Pavlova's company. She moved to Europe in her late teens to continue her training prior to joining the Ballets Russes de Monte Carlo before the outbreak of WW2. Stranded in Cuba for a year, she made ends meet by dancing in night clubs.

In the 1940s, Yvonne began her distinguished association with the great choreographer, George Balanchine. Of the many roles she either created or reprised for Balanchine's New York City Ballet, the Siren in Prodigal Son (below) will always be remembered as an exceptional achievement. Mounsey, like most Balanchine dancers, always cited the legendary Mr. B as the single most important influence on her life.

 

 

After retiring from the New York City Ballet in 1958, Mounsey returned to SA where she married childhood friend Kelvin Clegg and was a leading mover in the establishment of the Johannesburg City Ballet, forerunner of PACT Ballet.

She and her husband returned to America, settling in Los Angeles where Mounsey’s ballet school became one of the leading privately owned ballet training centres in California as well as being respected throughout the USA and abroad.

Yvonne Mounsey (right) with Dawn Weller (left), artistic director of PACT Ballet, during a visit to SA in the 1990s.

Yvonne Mounsey returned regularly to SA to see her sister and her family, visit PACT Ballet and, on one occasion, head the judging panel of the Sanlam International Ballet Competition. With a personality blending humour, grace and steely strength, being with Yvonne was an intoxicating experience.

A Memorial Service will be held for Yvonne Mounsey at the Wadsworth Theater, Wilshire Boulevard, Los Angeles on Sunday 14 October at 3pm.

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