DANCE COLLECTION DANSE

Ballard’s journey began in San Francisco, California,
where her first memories of making movement are of
directing pageant-like “movies” with her brother and
neighbourhood children. She remembers her expansive
view of the Bay Bridge and the Golden Gate City from her
bedroom window in Twin Peaks – a vantage point that
she believes gave her an innate sense of adventure and an
insatiable thirst for exploration.
Following her parents’ separation, Ballard moved to
Los Angeles with her mother and began studying jazz
dance with choreographer/actor Roland Dupree, best
known for creating a style of dance known as “West Coast
Jazz”. For a time, Ballard envisioned herself dancing on
Hullabaloo (a variety show similar to American Bandstand
that aired from 1965–1966). She also trained in Graham
technique with former Graham dancer Fanya Sage.
Although she inherited a strong work ethic from these
early influences, a rebellious streak in high school
eventually alienated Ballard from both academics and
dance. It was only by happenstance – during an
impromptu visit to her stepfather back in San Francisco
– that Ballard wandered into the studios of Merriem
Lanova’s San Francisco Conservatory of Ballet. Eyeing a
return to dance as a potential source of personal restitution
– and with nothing to lose – Ballard enrolled in the
conservatory’s two-year diploma program.
During Ballard’s time at the conservatory, she performed
character roles in its student company Ballet
Celeste, which toured across the Western United States,
and she met her then-partner, fellow dancer William
Starrett. When she graduated, a friend found her a job
with Shirley Cobb Beckworth – daughter of baseball
legend Ty Cobb and owner of a famous bookstore in Palo
Alto. Meanwhile, Starrett had gone to Canada on a scholarship
to the Royal Winnipeg Ballet’s (RWB) training
program. Eager to remove the 3000 kilometres between
Stephanie Ballard, Leslie Dillingham and Margie Gillis in Linda Rabin’s The White Goddess (1977)
Photo: D. Héon, courtesy of Linda Rabin
32 Dance Collection Danse