In Memory of our dear friend and beloved teacher

Dancer Lisa LaManna Left a Lasting Mark on Ballet in Utah
By Helen Forsberg the Salt Lake Tribune

The lights in the dance world grew dimmer with the loss of Lisa LaManna, who took her own life on March 6th 2000. The former principal dancer with Ballet West was a strong yet fragile woman. Friends and colleagues, devaststed by her death, described her as honest, instinctive, stoic, and kind.

"She had integrity about her in everything she did,"says Wendee Fiedeldey, a longtime colleague at Ballet West. "I always admired the way she lived her life. She had grace as a dancer, as a mother, and as a woman."

"As a friend she was very instinctive,she was there for you," said former dancer Mareen Laird. "She was the same way on stage. She was true to the moment." LaManna, a native of Santa Barbara, began her career with Ballet West in 1979, when she joined the company as an apprentice. She quickly became one of the most prominent members of the corps and subsequently rose to soloist and then principal dancer. During the mid '80s, her career thrived. In the fall of 1985, she was cast as Titania in "The Dream," which became her signature role. Her vibrant, crisp style was perfect for the fairy queen.

Later that season, LaManna was cast in the title role of "Sleeping Beauty" and performed it when the company took the ballet to Washington, D.C.'s Kennedy Center. Critics singled her out for her powerful interpretationl of all the ballerinas cast as Aurora, it was she who displayed the most sure-fire technique. LaManna also made her mark in other ballets, including "Don Quixote," "Anna Karenina," "Bugaka," "Swan Lake," "Romeo and Juliet" "Symphony in C," Carmina Burana," "The Nutcracker," "Abdallah," and "Giselle." In 1986, LaManna had married Victor Rickman and in 1988, she gave birth to a son, Connor. (Connor followed in his mother's footsteps and took up dance, appearing in Ballet West's "The Nutcracker" several times.)

When she returned to Ballet West, roles were not as forthcoming. She grew disillusioned with the company and left in 1990 over it's artistic direction. But not before she danced the leading role in "Giselle." The Salt Lake tribune wrote on November 11th: "When the ballerina took her final bows there was much applause and more than a few bravos. Her performance was profoundly moving; it was an interpretation marked by maturity and depth."

But leaving the stage was more difficult than LaManna expected. She taught ballet, took yoga and stress management classes, graduated from the U. in health sciences and had a daughter, Blythe, in 1995. But in 1996, she said of her premature retirement of Ballet West: "it was like someone had died. I couldn't believe how terrible it felt." And from then on, she faced other challenges. She always missed dancing. "That was when her heart and soul came together," sid Laird. But she found satisfaction and recently she taught both in the balet and modern-dance departments. "The students really loved her. They felt she was postive with them," said Barbara Hamblin, chair of the ballet department at the U.

"She was a very nurturing person." Looking back on LaManna's carrer at Ballet West, Johann Jacobs, the company's executive director, said,"She was very popular with the public and a highly regarded dancer. She was deeply loved for her warmth and charm." Memorial services or LaManna were held on Thursday (March 9th 2000) at the Rose Wagner Performing Arts Center.