Truth matters. Community matters. Your support makes both possible. LAist is one of the few places where news remains independent and free from political and corporate influence. Stand up for truth and for LAist. Make your year-end tax-deductible gift now.
This archival content was originally written for and published on KPCC.org. Keep in mind that links and images may no longer work — and references may be outdated.
Westside Ballet founder big absence in Nutcracker production
An instructor gets her student ready for a Nutcracker rehearsal at Westside Ballet in Santa Monica, Calif. This year the show went on despite the absence of the school's founder, Yvonne Mounsey.
(
Mae Ryan/KPCC
)
Toy soliders lay defeated in The Westside Ballet's rehearsal of the Nutcracker. Yvonne Mounsey, the founder of the school, died in September, just weeks before the starting audition for the annual performance.
(
Mae Ryan/KPCC
)
Students practice the Spanish dance at the Westside Ballet's rehearsal of the Nutcracker in Santa Monica, Calif.
(
Mae Ryan/KPCC
)
Allegra Clegg, left, is Westside Ballet's Executive director and Yvonne Mounsey's daughter. Clegg says she hears the voice of her mother all the time when she's going through rehearsals.
(
Mae Ryan/KPCC
)
The prince practices his choreography at the Westside Ballet in Santa Monica, Calif.
(
Mae Ryan/KPCC
)
From left to right, Skye Wight, Talia Marks and Micaela Larkin put on their candy cane costumes at the Westside Ballet Nutcracker rehearsal.
(
Mae Ryan/KPCC
)
Students dress as rats for their rehearsal of the Nutcracker at Westside Ballet in Santa Monica, Calif. Until recently, the school was run by Yvonne Mounsey, who was the principal dancer at the New York City Ballet in the 1950s.
(
Mae Ryan/KPCC
)
Students practice at the Westside Ballet, which was founded more than 40 years ago by Yvonne Mounsey.
(
Mae Ryan/KPCC
)
Students at the Westside Ballet wait their turn for rehearsals for their upcoming show at the L.A. Wadsworth Theater.
(
Mae Ryan/KPCC
)
Rachel DeAngelis plays an angel and a party boy in the Westside Ballet's Nutcracker.
(
Mae Ryan/KPCC
)
Joy Womack plays the sugar plum fairy in this season's Nutcracker. Womack is the first American ballerina who has ever been hired by the Russia's Bolshoi Ballet and decided to come back to the states to honor Yvonne Mounsey.
(
Mae Ryan/KPCC
)
Listen
2:50
Westside Ballet founder big absence in Nutcracker production
Dancers with the Westside Ballet have pirouetted on local stages for nearly four decades. The Santa Monica-based school says its Nutcracker production is the oldest in Southern California. This year’s show at L.A.’s Wadsworth Theater went on despite the absence of the school’s founder, Yvonne Mounsey.
The South African-born ballerina was 93 years old when she died in September, just weeks after starting auditions for the annual performance.
During a rehearsal at the school's studios, the teenage ballerinas she helped to select rhythmically pounded their toes on the hardwood floor.
Richard Tahvildaran-Jesswein said Mounsey was an inspiration to his 14 year old daughter Nova.
“Yvonne would be right out there front and center and she’d be giving direction and inspiring the kids as she did. When we first joined, we would watch Yvonne and marvel at how this woman who was advanced in age would be so young and so youthful and was there until the very end inspiring the kids. It’ll be hard for all of them, I’m sure,” he said.
At the height of her career in the 1950s, she was a principal dancer with the New York City Ballet. She studied under the celebrated dancer and choreographer George Ballanchine.
Allegra Clegg is Westside Ballet’s executive director - and Mounsey’s daughter.
Sponsored message
“I hear her voice all the time, and I hear her saying things like, ‘Oh don’t do that, you must smile, you must look out at the audience.’ You must present yourself well and put a good foot forward in that sense of you perform your best and try your hardest,” Clegg said.
Joy Womack danced the role of the sugar plum fairy in this season’s production. She grew up dancing in the Westside Ballet. But she didn’t stop there. At 18 years old, she’s the first American ballerina Russia's Bolshoi Ballet has hired. Womack said she came back to dance the ballet’s starring role because she wanted to honor what she'd learned from Mounsey.
“My only goal is if one girl gets inspired to pursue this as a professional career, my job here would be done. If anyone who’s coming to see the Nutcracker for the first time, if they can get to fall in love with dance as much as I am, then it’s worth all the blood, sweat, and tears,” she said.
It worked. Her presence set the studio abuzz.
Well, at first everyone’s like, ‘Joy’s here, Joy’s here.’ I’m like, 'oh.' So I walk out and I’m like, ‘I don’t see her,’” said 14 year-old dancer Nova Jesswein, who wants to follow in Womacks footsteps, “and then we finally see her and we’re silent and we giggle, and it’s really funny.
The rehearsals go on without Mounsey. But if you listen closely, you can still hear the echoes of her stage directions off the studio’s mirrors and hardwood floors.
You come to LAist because you want independent reporting and trustworthy local information. Our newsroom doesn’t answer to shareholders looking to turn a profit. Instead, we answer to you and our connected community. We are free to tell the full truth, to hold power to account without fear or favor, and to follow facts wherever they lead. Our only loyalty is to our audiences and our mission: to inform, engage, and strengthen our community.
Right now, LAist has lost $1.7M in annual funding due to Congress clawing back money already approved. The support we receive before year-end will determine how fully our newsroom can continue informing, serving, and strengthening Southern California.
If this story helped you today, please become a monthly member today to help sustain this mission. It just takes 1 minute to donate below.
Your tax-deductible donation keeps LAist independent and accessible to everyone.
Right now, LAist has lost $1.7M in annual funding due to Congress clawing back money already approved. The support we receive before year-end will determine how fully our newsroom can continue informing, serving, and strengthening Southern California.
If this story helped you today, please become a monthly member today to help sustain this mission. It just takes 1 minute to donate below.
Your tax-deductible donation keeps LAist independent and accessible to everyone.
Senior Vice President News, Editor in Chief
