This 99-year-old ballet teacher once taught Parisian royalty. Now she teaches in Pasadena

In 1953, French writer J.C. Vérots reviewed the Marquis de Cuevas ballet company’s show of “Les Sylphides.” The amusement starred immoderate of the astir iconic post-war ballet dancers — Serge Golovine, Rosella Hightower, Jacqueline Moreau — but Vérots didn’t absorption connected them. He was enthralled by Helga Monson de Kansky.

“We were amazed to find ourselves preferring Helga Monson. Remember her name. It volition soon beryllium a celebrated one,” Vérots wrote successful French.

Vérots was wrong. Monson de Kansky ne'er became a world-famous ballerina. Just a fewer years later, she started a household and had to equilibrium her responsibilities arsenic a performer and ballet teacher with those of motherhood, yet returning to the U.S. But much than 70 years later, Monson de Kansky hasn’t mislaid her emotion of dance.

The 99-year-old Sierra Madre nonmigratory inactive teaches ballet astatine Pasadena Dance Theatre. She’s much frail than she erstwhile was, and precocious battled a bout of pneumonia that hospitalized her. But the infinitesimal she’s asked astir ballet, a grin spreads crossed her face, and she lights up talking astir her journey.

Helga Monson de Kansky was erstwhile predicted to go ballet’s adjacent star. Instead, she chose a beingness with her household and a vocation arsenic a creation instructor.

(Christina House / Los Angeles Times)

Monson de Kansky began dancing arsenic a kid successful Independence, Kan. During the Great Depression, her household moved from metropolis to city, and successful each caller place, her parents recovered her a creation school. Dance ever spoke to her, and she explained that the “highlight” of her “young years” was erstwhile her begetter drove them to Topeka to ticker a German modern creation institution execute “The Green Table.”

“That was the archetypal nonrecreational show I ever saw of ballet oregon anything,” Monson de Kansky said during a caller interrogation astatine her home, wherever she has lived for 60 years. “And I was conscionable mesmerized. Between the music, the lighting and the dancing, jumping up and down from the table, it was a fantastic performance.”

Monson de Kansky’s midcentury modern location is filled with decades of love. Classical euphony CDs and cassette tapes that Monson de Kansky records for ballet people clutter her shelves. The walls are lined with paintings done by her husband, Igor — a creator and sculptor whom The Times profiled successful 1991. He besides built the woody room cabinets. The location is tucked down a long, gravel driveway, surrounded by nature, which Monson de Kansky says is the astir important happening she’s learned to appreciate.

“I person a small broader imaginativeness of the world. I’m much attuned to — particularly since they’re tearing it up — to our surroundings, to the birds,” Monson de Kansky said, portion those aforesaid birds chirped successful the background. “I didn’t adjacent deliberation astir a small vertebrate before.”

That’s apt due to the fact that she was acold excessively busy.

The time aft graduating from precocious school, Monson de Kansky near connected a bid from Atlanta to survey ballet nether Elizabeth Anderson-Ivantzova successful New York City. Monson de Kansky trained with the erstwhile Bolshoi Ballet prima ballerina for 3 years, until her begetter inquired astir her future.

“My dada wrote and said, ‘Is it astir clip you got a job?’ Because we were poor, and helium was supporting this, bless his heart.”

Monson de Kansky auditioned for Colonel Wassily de Basil’s Ballet Russe portion they were touring successful America. She was accepted and had lone 7 days to get a passport earlier she took a vessel crossed the water to England to statesman performing astatine the Royal Opera House successful London’s Covent Garden. Thrown into the heavy of a ballet season, the dancer explained that determination wasn’t clip to beryllium lonely.

“There was nary time,” she said. “It was changeless come, go, rehearsals.”

After the Ballet Russe disbanded, Monson de Kansky toured with the Marquis de Cuevas ballet institution for 9 years. This gave her the accidental to execute passim Europe, South America, North Africa and adjacent during inauguration events for Prince Rainier III of Monaco. In Europe, she studied with ballet legends including Olga Preobrajenska, Bronislava Nijinska and Vera Volkova.

She danced successful countless roles, her favorites being the prelude to “Les Sylphides,” 1 of 4 principals successful “Pas de Quatre” and queen Myrtha successful “Giselle,” though Monson de Kansky recovered that relation to beryllium “just hell. It was truthful hard.”

During those whirlwind years, she besides met Igor. Monson de Kansky was performing successful the relation of a thoroughfare dancer successful the ballet “Petrouchka,” and Igor played the organ grinder. Smitten by Monson de Kansky’s performance, helium presented the dancer with a watercolor coating of their characters successful the ballet.

“He’d asked maine retired for a solid of vino a fewer times, but I didn’t person clip oregon the energy, and I thought, ‘Well, possibly I’ll spell person a solid of vino with him aft the performance,’” Monson de Kansky explained portion giggling. “So we started [off as] friends, and the remainder is history.”

The brace joined 3 years aboriginal successful 1954 and had their archetypal child, Svetlana. After taking a abbreviated interruption to attraction for her daughter, Monson de Kansky went backmost to work. (“People leap successful and instrumentality your roles,” she said of the Marquis de Cuevas.) She returned to the institution for 8 months earlier traveling northbound to execute arsenic a main ballerina for Het Netherlands Ballet (now known arsenic the Dutch National Ballet).

The Netherlands was “heaven.” She loved eating herring and moving with the “wonderful” Sonia Gaskell, but it wasn’t worthy being separated from Svetlana.

Even astatine 99, Helga Monson de Kansky has nary plans to retire.

“Svetlana bounced backmost and distant from my mother-in-law and from my cousin,” Monson de Kansky said. “I had to permission astir 10 months later. I near to spell backmost to Paris due to the fact that I conscionable couldn’t beryllium distant from my family.”

Back successful Paris, Monson de Kansky gave commencement to a 2nd girl and focused connected teaching. Her students were chiefly Parisian royalty (Igor’s half-sister, French histrion Odile Versois, joined Count François Reynier Ambroise Henri Pozzo di Borgo), with their lessons wrong the duchess’ palace.

After much than a decennary abroad, it was clip for the ballerina to instrumentality to America. The de Kansky household settled successful California, archetypal successful Los Angeles, past successful Newport Beach, followed by 3 years successful Altadena earlier buying a location successful Sierra Madre.

It was a large alteration successful gait from her 20s, which were astir wholly focused connected ballet. When we talked astir dancing successful post-war Europe, Monson de Kansky simply shrugged. She was determination to dance, and portion she was training, she didn’t person clip to spot the cities wherever she performed. It was a communal thread passim our conversation. She didn’t person a preferred marque of pointe shoes oregon a favourite costume: “Never gave it a thought. You deterioration this, period.” She was a ballerina, and that was what mattered most.

Nowadays, Monson de Kansky inactive keeps busy, whether by managing the Sierra Madre property; spending clip with her 4 children, six grandchildren and cat, Lizzie; keeping up with existent affairs and aged friends; or, naturally, teaching dance.

“There’s a benignant of joyousness successful seeing students marque progress, and I person someway made friends with a batch of the students, 2 of which person conscionable turned 80. They’ve studied with maine for a agelong time,” Monson de Kansky said. “In and retired of the studio, I deliberation the students person been wonderful.”

For Monson de Kansky, the creation workplace is her 2nd home. It’s each she grew up knowing, and these days, it’s wherever immoderate of her deepest friendships and top joys are. And adjacent astatine 99, she has nary plans to retire, astatine least, she says, “Not arsenic agelong arsenic I tin walk.”

Eloise Rollins-Fife contributed to this report.