At 99 years old, Helga de Kansky still shows up to teach ballet twice a week at Pasadena Dance Theatre, the same studio where she has instructed dancers of all skill levels for the last 25 years. She began dancing at age 6 in Kansas, went on to become a professional ballerina who performed all over the world, and today she says she is surprised to have made it this far because, in her words, she does not feel 99.
De Kansky's path to the studio floor started far from Southern California. As reported by CBS Los Angeles, she trained in New York before building a professional career on stage. That training came under former Bolshoi Ballet prima ballerina Mme. Anderson-Ivantzova, and it led her to dance professionally with Colonel W. de Basil's Ballet Russe in London and Paris in 1947, according to Pasadena Dance Theatre.
A Soloist Among Legends
From there, de Kansky spent eight years as a soloist with the Grand Ballet du Marquis de Cuevas during the 1950s, taking on major roles such as Queen of the Willis in *Giselle* and Taglioni in *Pas de Quatre*. The same Pasadena Dance Theatre account notes she worked directly under choreographers George Balanchine, Bronislava Nijinska, and Leonide Massine, a pedigree that still shapes how she builds a class. Her tour programs and featured roles from that era are also preserved in the Marquis George de Cuevas Collection at the University of Texas at Austin, per records cataloged by Texas Archival Resources Online.
Her rise nearly took a different turn entirely. According to a June profile in the Los Angeles Times, French reviewer J.C. Vérots predicted in 1953 that de Kansky would become a famous star after seeing her perform in *Les Sylphides*, praising her over some of the better-known postwar stars of the era. Instead, she chose to step away from international touring to raise a family, a decision that set her on a different, decades-long path in Southern California.
Building a Family and a Home in Sierra Madre
De Kansky is now a wife and mother of four and a grandmother of six. In 1954, she married French-born artist Igor de Kansky, a painter and sculptor known for architectural lacquer murals, and his artwork still lines the walls of the couple's midcentury home, according to Claremont McKenna College. That home sits on Sunnyside Avenue in Sierra Madre, where de Kansky has lived for nearly six decades.
Her long tenure in that neighborhood put her directly in the path of the January 2025 Eaton Fire, which tore through more than 14,000 acres of foothill communities. LA County fire officials determined in August that the blaze was ignited by an out-of-service utility tower, according to PBS. De Kansky submitted public comments to Sierra Madre planning officials in January describing the smoke and dust restoration work needed at her home in the fire's aftermath, records from the City of Sierra Madre show.
Still Teaching, Still Dancing
Long before her quarter-century at Pasadena Dance Theatre, de Kansky was already a fixture of the local dance scene. Historical newspaper records show she was choreographing and presenting original works in the San Gabriel Valley as early as September 1985 at the Monrovia Arts Centre, according to the Pacific Citizen. Pasadena Dance Theatre itself, where she now teaches, was founded in 1958 by Evelyn LeMone and stages an annual production of *The Nutcracker* at the historic San Gabriel Mission Playhouse, per Voyage LA.
Today, de Kansky teaches intermediate ballet at the studio's Adult Division, where open single classes run $25 and are held on Tuesday evenings and Saturday afternoons, according to Pasadena Dance Theatre. Fellow instructor Oksana Sanderfur said de Kansky's combinations and choreography remain creative, new and fresh, a testament to a teaching style still evolving after 25 years in the same classroom, per CBS Los Angeles.
A bout with pneumonia landed de Kansky in the hospital and slowed her down somewhat, her family reported to the outlet. But she has no plans to stop dancing ballet, and she will turn 100 in December. Asked about her longevity, de Kansky said she loves dancing and looks forward to living as long as possible and making life worthwhile.
