PR for People Monthly FEBRUARY 2017 | Page 28

There are many subtle nuances to the dance world. One story rarely told is about the many dancers who have never become professional ballerinas, yet their love for ballet is nothing less than pure devotion. These dancers train in ballet every week, and in some instances every day, for the sheer love of it. Some of these dancers perform in semi-professional companies and others never perform at all. Here is a story about one woman’s courage and ambition to dance, no matter what obstacles stand in her way. Seattle dancer Marywilde Nelson has had a lifelong passion for ballet and literally lives to dance.

On any given day, you can find Marywilde Nelson standing at the barre at one of the open classes offered by Pacific Northwest Ballet (PNB). These classes are open to anyone who can practice the demanding rigors of the discipline. Marywilde is tall, slender and has a creamy white complexion that has an almost translucent quality. She is a woman of a certain age or more accurately stated, Marywilde does not like telling her age because her mother raised her with the precept that ladies never reveal their age. Marywilde grew up in Kennewick, Washington. Her mother taught 5th grade in Pasco and her father was an entrepreneur who owned independent grocery stores. She cites her parents as among the greatest influencers in her life. “Mother was strict,” Marywilde said, and she remembers her father dearly for his “kindness and humility.”

Dancing for Life

Marywilde Nelson shares her lifelong love of ballet

by Patricia Vaccarino