Helga Monson at 99

I was blown away by this article in the LA Times (apparently reprinted in the Sacramento Bee) regarding Helga Monson, who is still teaching ballet in Pasadena at age 99. 

Monson danced with the Marquis de Cuevas Ballet at the same time my first ballet instructor George Zoritch danced with them. Indeed, I found online a program showing they were both dancing on the same day for the company in 1951. 

Despite the fullness of modern life, the world of ballet isn't that large. The art form isn't that old. Ballet dancers tend to live long lives, making most instructor-student genealogies, extending right to the start of the art form, quite short.

“There’s a kind of joy in seeing students make progress, and I have somehow made friends with a lot of the students, two of which have just turned 80. They’ve studied with me for a long time,” Monson de Kansky said. “In and out of the studio, I think the students have been wonderful.” 

For Monson de Kansky, the dance studio is her second home. It’s all she grew up knowing, and these days, it’s where some of her deepest friendships and greatest joys are. And even at 99, she has no plans to retire, at least, she says, “Not as long as I can walk.”