Transitions.

Willam Fair Christensen, recognized as one of the leading pioneers in American dance, passed away in Salt Lake City, Utah, on October 14, 2001, at age 99. There is an old saying that could have been written specifically for him--"Don't go where the path leads, rather go where there is no path and leave a trail." Mr. C., as he was affectionately known, was a trailblazer if ever there was one.

Born into a Mormon pioneer heritage and a family steeped in music and dance on August 27, 1902, Christensen was first relentless in his quest for a greater knowledge of the art of classical dance and later resolute that it should be popularized and become a part of the culture of the western part of our country. He was highly successful on both counts.

Christensen and his younger brothers, Harold and Lew, were influenced at an early age by participation in their Uncle Pete's dancing school, a combination of ballroom dance and ballet. These three brothers from a small Utah community were to alter the landscape of American dance.

Under Willam Christensen's leadership, the brothers entered into a professional career in vaudeville in the 1920s. They criss-crossed the country with an act based on classical ballet, albeit popularized and stressing male virtuosity.

In 1932, Christensen returned to the West, where he settled in Portland, Oregon. Establishing a dance studio, he soon brought his considerable entrepreneurial talent into play organizing a student ballet company.

Christensen joined the San Francisco Opera Ballet in 1937, and by the following year was ballet master for the company and director of the ballet school. SFOB was reorganized in 1938, and Christensen began to create a new repertoire for the company. History was about to be made. During World War II, Christensen and Harold bought the ballet school and the San Francisco Ballet was born.

The San Francisco Ballet was the first major ballet company in the western United States, but that was just the beginning of firsts for Willam. It was here, in 1944, that he choreographed the first full-length version of The Nutcracker in the United States. He was also the first American to choreograph full-length versions of Swan Lake and Coppelia, not to mention a score of original works, the most enduring of which were filled with humor, emotion, and drama.

Leaving the San Francisco Ballet and school in the capable hands of Lew and Harold, Christensen returned to Utah and once again made dance history. In 1951, he founded the first ballet department in an American university, the University of Utah, and in 1957 formed the University Ballet Theatre, the first ballet company to be incorporated into a university. In 1963 he founded Ballet West under the name Utah Civic Ballet, which, under his direction, became a well-respected ballet company.

Christensen created a great American dance dynasty. He leaves a trail of devoted and dedicated dancers, teachers, choreographers, and directors. Each carries memories of his vital, energetic teaching, his contagious humor, his enthusiasm, and his unceasing dedication to excellence.

Christensen is survived by his wife, Florence, of Salt Lake City, Utah; daughter, Roxanne Lazzara, of Park City, Utah; son, Lee Christensen, of Stockton, California; four step-children, nine grandchildren, and three great-grandsons. He was preceded in death by his three brothers, Guy, Harold, and Lew.

--Barbara Crockett

Marc Wilde, a San Francisco Bay Area ballet teacher and choreographer, died September 18, 2001. He was 71 and the cause was liver cancer, according to his widow, Jackie.

Wilde, a native of Oakland, California, was mentor and childhood buddy to Ronn Guidi, Oakland Ballet's former artistic director. They danced together in the San Francisco Opera's Hansel and Gretel in 1954.

Wilde's early training was with Raoul Pause at the Oakland Academy of Ballet. Wilde founded the Ballet Players' Guild in 1955 and the Pacific Ballet, with Alan Howard, in 1960. Noted for his inventiveness and artistry, Wilde was principal choreographer for the Marc Wilde Ballet from 1965 to 1969. He was also resident choreographer for the Santa Barbara Ballet Theatre and worked with the Valerie Huston Dance Theater.

Wilde choreographed more than eighty ballets, including The Miraculous Mandarin; Something Is a Wonderful Thing (for the Players' Guild); Structures (one of the first ballets set to rock music, which premiered May 1967); Gift of the Magi; Sibelius Symphony No. 6 (for the Marc Wilde Ballet); and The Mannequins, Boxes, and The Glass Heart (for the Joffrey Ballet). He set at least fifteen works on the Oakland Ballet; the best known were La Valse and Bolero, which appeared in the repertoire from 1974 to 1999.

Major dancers and teachers in the Bay Area speak of him with great affection, citing his ability to shape dancers to his dynamic conceptions. Debra Isaacson, who danced in Wilde's own Afternoon of a Faun with Oakland and now teaches at Berkeley's Shawl-Anderson Dance Center, said, "Marc deepened my understanding of what artistry in dance meant." Local dancers and choreographers with whom he worked include Grace Doty, Ronn Guidi, Carolyn Goto, Michael Lowe, Gina Ness, Ron Poindexter, Catherine Sim, Sally Streets, and former student Kyra Nichols of the New York City Ballet. In a tribute to Wilde written by his widow, she says he will be remembered for "his inspiration, his supportive kindness, and cogent dance imagery."

--Joanna Harris