Wells, Mary Ann (c. 1895–1971)

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Wells, Mary Ann (c. 1895–1971)

American ballet teacher. Born c. 1895 in Appleton, WI; died Jan 11, 1971, in Seattle, WA.

Started out teaching ballet at Cornish School in Seattle (1916) and was soon considered most influential ballet teacher of Pacific Northwest; served as ballet teacher for close to 50 years in Seattle area and trained some of most acclaimed ballet and theater performers of 20th century, including Margaret Petit, choreographer William Weslow, and ballet directors Gerald Arpino and Robert Joffrey.