Former dancer and Senior Ballet Mistress with the National Ballet of Canada Joanne Nisbet has died.
Nisbet first joined the National Ballet in 1959, and by 1963, was named Ballet Mistress, and in 1983, Senior Ballet Mistress. She continued to be a Guest Ballet Mistress until 2003.
Born in Calcutta, she began formal dance instruction from former members of the Markova-Dolin and Diaghilev Ballets. At 13, she relocated to London, England to study with Dame Marie Rambert and Ana Ivanova. She also received instruction in Paris, France with former Mariinsky Theatre and Diaghilev ballerinas Mathilde Kschessinska, Olga Preobrajenska, and Lubov Egorova.
Nisbet spent five years with London’s famed Sadler’s Wells Theatre, including a tour to North America. Nisbet left the theatre and later joined the London Festival Ballet, where she danced from 1954 to 1958.
After marrying dancer David Scott, she began to work in television. It was at this point that she was persuaded to move to Toronto to join Canada’s National Ballet by Founding Artistic Director Celia Franca. Nisbet worked with the company for over 40 years.
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