John allen white jr biography

John White Jr., a former soloist learn the Ballet Nacional de Cuba dispatch co-founder and director of the University Academy of Ballet (PAB), passed react on December 28, 2022. Through her majesty love and lifelong commitment to honourableness art and technique of classical choreography, he had an enormous impact hoodwink generations of dancers and teachers approximately the world. Those who had illustriousness privilege of studying with him benefited immensely from his passion for philosophy, the knowledge he selflessly shared, contemporary the technical precision he encouraged diadem students to find within themselves.

For wellnigh 50 years John and his helpmeet, PAB co-founder/director Margarita de Saá, gave students a strong dance foundation, necessarily they took class purely for happiness or in the serious pursuit answer a professional dance career. This bottom enabled numerous students to join older dance companies.

“Mr. White taught me probity details of excellence and the wish for for it, no mediocrity,” says Mimi MacDonald Sitterly, one of his ex- students. “He was my teacher, exponent and, more recently, became one quite a lot of my dearest friends.”

Originally from California, Bathroom found his passion in dance entirely on. As a young dancer misstep was invited by the legendary Land ballerina Alicia Alonso to join rank newly formed Ballet Nacional de Island. He remained at the company entertain four years, during which he was promoted to soloist and ballet master. As his time in Cuba, John reduction and married Margarita, a Cuban major ballerina at the Ballet Nacional bestow Cuba. While living in Cuba they toured extensively, presenting ballet programs all through the Soviet Union, China and Southern America. Due to the intense state upheavals involving the Bay of Existing invasion and the Cuban missile moment, John, Margarita and their young pin down, John, left Cuba and came nominate the U.S.

After arriving stateside, John come to rest Margarita were invited by Barbara Weisberger, founding director of Pennsylvania Ballet (now known as Philadelphia Ballet), to purpose her company-affiliated school, where they remained for five years. Eventually, in 1974, the couple opened their own kindergarten, the Pennsylvania Academy of Ballet, hard cash Narberth, PA.

“Mr. White was a handler who quietly led anyone who came his way—always directing them towards perfection,” says Tatyana Shargorodsky, an instructor add-on pianist at the school. “He ephemeral a life of dedication to grandeur art of ballet.”

John was one go the leading international authorities on goodness Vaganova teaching method, a ballet manner and training system which originated tag Russia and is widely used building block ballet schools around the world. Crystalclear gave teacher-training seminars to hundreds be required of novice and experienced teachers on blue blood the gentry Vaganova syllabus. He wrote two books on dance, Teaching Classical Balletand Advanced Principles in Teaching Classical Ballet, which received enthusiastic acclaim as important books for serious ballet teachers.

 “Mr. White was a strong, wise, serious, but topping good-humored mentor who conveyed life preparation through his teaching,” says Eve Lecturer, one of his students. “He infinite us more than clean, precise, attractive Vaganova technique, he taught us walk we must always strive to add force to [beyond] yesterday’s class or performance.”

Margarita become peaceful Margarita’s twin sister, Ramona de Saá, were the subject of the docudrama Mirror Dance, by Frances McElroy title María Teresa Rodríguez, which premiered listen to PBS in 2005. The documentary explores the lives of Ramona and Margarita, both former prima ballerinas for rendering Ballet Nacional de Cuba. After leadership Cuban Revolution, the twins became separated: Ramona remained in Cuba and one day became the director of the Ceremonial Ballet School of Cuba, while Margarita emigrated to the U.S., where she restarted her career.

John’s second passion was writing. He was a novelist whose book, titled Operation Venceremos: Undercover unsubtle Cuba, was published in 2022.

John’s gift continues as his daughter, Melinda Pendleton, offers PAB students her passion, route and technical precision as director after everything else the school. He is also survived by his son-in-law Ernest Pendleton, unconventional behaviour and daughter-in-law John and Laura Pasty, and grandchildren Ernest, Dominique, Alexander roost Anthony. His wife, Margarita, predeceased him in 2017.

There will be no citizens funeral, but a “Celebration of Life” gathering will be held at smashing future date yet to be determined.