ARTS NEWS: Summoning the spirit of "America's first ballerina"

Ballet enthusiasts summon the spirit of "Mary Ann Lee" at a recent graveside memorial in Laurel Hill Cemetery.

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ARTS NEWS: Summoning the spirit of "America's first ballerina"

POSTED: Tuesday, May 31, 2011, 10:00 AM

Recently, Mary Ann Lee, “America’s first ballerina,” was honored at Laurel Hill Cemetery. The dedication ceremony — happening 112 years after her 1899 burial — included words from her official biographer and representatives from the Pennsylvania Ballet. But, it’s not just that. They also tried to summon her spirit back from the grave. No Ouija boards were available for comment.

“Our Mary Ann,” as she was affectionately called, was a local child star who came from a family of circus performers. After the first ballet school in the United States opened in Philadelphia under Frenchman Paul Hazard, a young Lee found her passion for dance. She performed across the Eastern Seaboard, and more notably, left for Paris to train with Jules Perrot and Jean Coralli, creators of the classic ballet Giselle.

The part of Giselle remains one the most coveted roles ever. The epic tale goes like this: Giselle falls madly in love with a fellow peasant during grape season in the Rhineland. Turns out that her one true love is actually a nobleman in disguise, who was just trying to sow his oats before marrying a princess. When Giselle, who is living with a heart condition, discovers the truth, it’s too much for the sweet gal to take, and she dies of a broken heart. However, even in the afterlife, she loves her man unconditionally and is summoned from the grave to protect him. Dancing Giselle’s fragility, naïveté, infatuation and power is no simple task. A lot of dancers don’t have the chops to pull it off. “Our Mary Ann” did and it became her most famous part. She starred in the first American production of Giselle in 1846.

Two soloists from the Pennsylvania Ballet stood at her grave during the dedication, portraying the friendly spirits who bring Giselle back. Now, this is the moment where I was hoping a waif Natalie Portman had emerged from the ground to tell the world that she was perfect. Alas. Let’s hope that life imitates art more accurately in this case: at the end of the ballet, Giselle rests in peace.

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