SIERRA NEVADA BALLET ARTISTIC COACH, ANNE BENA, DIES AT 75 IN CALIFORNIA

Anne Bena, Sierra Nevada Ballet Artistic Coach and former artistic director of Peninsula Ballet Theatre and School died of Cancer on January 11, 2008 at Kaiser Permanente Hospital in Redwood City, Ca.  Anne Bena dedicated her life to dance, taught ballet for over 50 years and directed professional productions for over 35 years.

Recipient of numerous awards, Bena was inducted into the San Mateo County Women’s Hall of Fame in 1987 for her work in the arts, and received the San Mateo Arts Council Individual Artist Diamond Award in 2002.

In her early days, Anne danced professionally with the NY Metropolitan Opera Ballet and as lead dancer with Uric Lasovski ‘s Character Ballet Company.

She began her teaching as director of the Ballet America School and Choreographer in residence for the Park Theatre in New Jersey.  She established her international reputation as a teacher through her work with the Washington School of Ballet in Washington DC as Assistant Director to Mary Day and later through directing the internationally known Peninsula Ballet Theatre School in San Mateo, CA  which she owned and operated with her husband, Edward for 25 years and later with her daughter, Rosine, for 15 years.

Under Anne’s directorship, the P.B.T. school’s performing group developed into a  fully professional company with paid dancers and a regular performing season. Under her “eagle eye”, the San Mateo company went from an amateur school performing group to a high caliber company reviewed comparable to San Francisco Ballet and American Ballet Theatre with over ¾’s of the dancers in the professional company trained in the PBT school.

Ms. Bena taught and coached dancers from companies such as the Stuttgart Ballet, Washington Ballet, Joffrey Ballet, American Ballet Theatre, Houston Ballet, Miami Ballet, Diablo Ballet, New York City Ballet, San Francisco Ballet, Frankfurt Ballet, Lines Contemporary Ballet, and the Jazz Tap Ensemble. She earned a reputation as one of the finest teachers in the US and passed down her devotion to dance and teaching to daughter, and granddaughter, both ballet dancers, teachers and directors. In the last years of her life, Anne spent her time traveling back and forth between California and Nevada teaching ballet in Belmont Ca and coaching Sierra Nevada Ballet, the professional ballet company for Northern Nevada and helping the sick through her work with her church in Half Moon Bay, Ca. Anne’s daughter directs Sierra Nevada Ballet and her grand daughter is one of SNB’s leading dancers.  Anne is survived by her daughter, Rosine, her son in-law Steve Porter, her grand daughter, Ananda Bena-Weber, and Sam Weber.

 

 

Memories of Anne Bena by those who knew her coming soon.

 

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