Beatrice Collenette (1899 – 2001) was a

Guernsey Guernsey (; Guernésiais: ''Guernési''; french: Guernesey) is an island in the English Channel off the coast of Normandy that is part of the Bailiwick of Guernsey, a British Crown Dependency. It is the second largest of the Channel Islands ...

-born American dancer and dance educator, and the founder of the Collenette School of Dancing in

Pasadena, California Pasadena ( ) is a city in Los Angeles County, California, northeast of downtown Los Angeles. It is the most populous city and the primary cultural center of the San Gabriel Valley. Old Pasadena is the city's original commercial district. I ...

in 1926. She was a

protégée Mentorship is the influence, guidance, or direction given by a mentor. A mentor is someone who teaches or gives help and advice to a less experienced and often younger person. In an organizational setting, a mentor influences the personal and p ...

Anna Pavlova Anna Pavlovna Pavlova ( , rus, Анна Павловна Павлова ), born Anna Matveyevna Pavlova ( rus, Анна Матвеевна Павлова; – 23 January 1931), was a Russian prima ballerina of the late 19th and the early 20th ...

and the first ballet teacher of

Twyla Tharp Twyla Tharp (; born July 1, 1941) is an American dancer, choreographer, and author who lives and works in New York City. In 1966 she formed the company Twyla Tharp Dance. Her work often uses classical music, jazz, and contemporary pop music. Fr ...

Early life and education

Collenette was born in

on the

Channel Islands The Channel Islands ( nrf, Îles d'la Manche; french: îles Anglo-Normandes or ''îles de la Manche'') are an archipelago in the English Channel, off the French coast of Normandy. They include two Crown Dependencies: the Bailiwick of Jersey, ...

. After her father, physician Frank de Beauchamp Collenette, became too ill to practice, she moved to Londo, England, to perform and earn a living.Mary Reinholz
"Beauty in Motion"
''Pasadena Weekly'' (November 26, 2014). She studied with Russian ballerina Anna Pavlova at Ivy House in London, and danced in her company.Eleanor Yang
"Dance in her Heart"
''Los Angeles Times'' (June 28, 1999). via

Newspapers.com Ancestry.com LLC is an American genealogy company based in Lehi, Utah. The largest for-profit genealogy company in the world, it operates a network of genealogical, historical records, and related genetic genealogy websites. In November 2018, ...

Pavlova treated young Collenette almost as a daughter for a time, but she was irritated by the girl's preference for practicing technique at the expense of expressiveness. After her time with Pavlova, she also studied with

Enrico Cecchetti Enrico Cecchetti (; 21 June 1850 – 13 November 1928) was an Italian ballet dancer, mime, and founder of the Cecchetti method. The son of two dancers from Civitanova Marche, he was born in the costuming room of the ''Teatro Tordinona'' in Ro ...

and

Ivan Clustine Ivan Nikolayevich Khlyustin (russian: Иван Николаевич Хлюстин; 22 August 1862 – 21 November 1941), usually referred to outside Russia as Ivan Clustine, was a Russian dancer, ballet master, and choreographer. He was "offered ...

Career

Collenette was taken to the United States after

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

by theatrical manager

Henry Wilson Savage Henry Wilson Savage (March 21, 1859 – November 29, 1927) was an American theatrical manager. Biography Henry W. Savage was born March 21, 1859, in New Durham, New Hampshire. He graduated from Harvard in 1880. He became president of the Henry W. ...

. She appeared on the Broadway stage twice in musicals: in

Zelda Sears Zelda Sears (née Paldi; January 21, 1873 – February 19, 1935) was an American actress, screenwriter, novelist and businesswoman. Early life and background She was born as Zelda Paldi near Brockway Township, St. Clair County, Michigan, into ...

's ''Lady Billy'' (1920–1921), and in ''Jack and Jill'' (1923). In 1926, Collenette founded the Collenette School of Dancing in Pasadena, California. By 1931, she was appearing in regional newspaper advertisements, endorsing

Welch's Grape Juice Welch Foods Inc., commonly known as Welch's, is an American company, headquartered in Concord, Massachusetts, Concord, Massachusetts. It has been owned by the National Grape Cooperative Association, a Agricultural cooperative, co-op of grape g ...

. In 1936, Collenette was chosen to teach

San Francisco Ballet San Francisco Ballet is the oldest ballet company in the United States, founded in 1933 as the San Francisco Opera Ballet under the leadership of ballet master Adolph Bolm. The company is currently based in the War Memorial Opera House, San Franc ...

classes during

Adolph Bolm Adolph Rudolphovich Bolm (russian: Адольф Рудольфович Больм; September 25, 1884 – April 16, 1951) was a Russian-born American ballet dancer and choreographer, of German descent. Biography Bolm graduated from the Rus ...

's absence. Her ballet company mostly performed at the

Pasadena Community Playhouse The Pasadena Playhouse is a historic performing arts venue located 39 S. El Molino Avenue in Pasadena, California, United States. The 686-seat auditorium produces a variety of cultural and artistic events, professional shows, and community engage ...

, but also toured regionally and nationally. Among her young students in the 1950s was dancer and choreographer

Personal life and legacy

Collenette married journalist Joseph Kenyon Ivie, moved to California, and had a daughter, Joan Collenette Damon, who followed her mother into dance education as head of the Collenette School of Dancing for forty years, until she retired in 2002. Beatrice Collenette marked her 100th birthday with family and former students in

San Juan Capistrano San Juan Capistrano (Spanish for "St. John of Capistrano") is a city in Orange County, California, located along the Orange Coast. The population was 34,593 at the 2010 census. San Juan Capistrano was founded by the Spanish in 1776, when St. ...

in 1999. She died in 2001, aged 102 years. The Collenette school remains in operation in

San Marino, California San Marino is a residential city in Los Angeles County, California, United States. It was incorporated on April 25, 1913. At the 2010 census the population was 13,147. The city is one of the wealthiest places in the nation in terms of househol ...

as of December 2017.Stacy Lee
"Collenette School of Dancing Marks 90th Season"
''San Marino Tribune'' (October 27, 2015).

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Collenette, Beatrice 1899 births 2001 deaths American female dancers Guernsey women British emigrants to the United States 20th-century American dancers Dancers from California American centenarians Women centenarians People from Pasadena, California 20th-century American women