Elissa Minet Fuchs Memorial Fund

Elissa Minet Fuchs

By the time Elissa Minet Fuchs came to Greensboro in 1976, she’d already had quite an impressive career as a ballerina, radio actress and choreographer. Born in New Orleans, Louisiana, in 1919 to a Jewish American family, Fuchs left at the age of 16 to pursue a professional dance career in Chicago, where she’d heard opportunity awaited. A grand jeté of faith? Perhaps, but from there she pirouetted into professional dancing and teaching for years to come, including work on Broadway, with Ballet Russe, a 12-year stint as a soloist and corps de ballet member at the Metropolitan Opera in New York City, and the founding of the Baton Rouge Ballet Theatre.

When her husband, Dr. Peter Paul Fuchs, took on the role of Greensboro Symphony and Opera conductor, Fuchs began serving on the board at the Greensboro Ballet, where she would later choreograph and teach — well into her 90s! In 1981, Fuchs and director Maryhelen Mayfield decided to bring The Nutcracker to the Gate City. It remains a long-standing tradition today. Fuchs died in February 2023 at the age of 103. On her obituary page, one word reappears in the comments left by those who remember her: legend.

FROM "A CULTURAL HERSTORY" - O.HENRY MAGAZINE - MARCH 2024

Story by Cassie Bustamante. Photo above by JVL Studios. Photo below by Sam Froelich.

DONATIONS BY GREENSBORO BALLET ALUMNI FOR THE

Elissa Minet Fuchs Memorial Fund

In its 2023/24 season, Greensboro Ballet launched a multi-year plan to celebrate 60 years of excellence in the art of dance in 2027. We are bringing together the Triad community (parents, donors, and audiences) and alumni from around the country, over the next three years in preparation for this momentous event.

We are continuing our three-year campaign with a fundraiser for the Elissa Minet Fuchs Memorial Fund. Our beloved Ballet Mistress, teacher, and choreographer, Mrs. Fuchs, who passed away in February 2023, just shy of her 104th birthday, trained generations of young dancers to always be resilient, strong, and graceful.

The Elissa Minet Fuchs Memorial Fund will honor her legacy by providing resources for initiatives that will sustain Greensboro Ballet’s level of artistic excellence for the next 60 years. We remain committed to rigorous ballet training, diversity, representation, and community building. These funds will be used to continue this commitment by supporting scholarships and student professional development at the School of Greensboro Ballet.

We hope to raise $5,000 each season from alumni in memory of Mrs. Fuchs. If you were ever in the Waltz of the Flowers in The Nutcracker, or you witnessed her unforgettable performance of Carabosse in The Sleeping Beauty, or were simply inspired by Mrs. Fuchs in any way, please consider a gift in her honor.

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2023/2024 UPDATE

Greensboro Ballet is pleased to announce that because of the generosity of our alumni, we were able to raise $3,138 for the Elissa Minet Fuchs Memorial Fund!

This season, these funds were used to bring in a guest choreographer, Mary LeGere, who choreographed and staged her version of "Fancy Nancy and the Mermaid Ballet" on our Student Company, Youth Ballet, and other dancers for our March 23rd performances of Storybook Tales. We also performed this popular children's story for our School Show version on March 22nd, which included in attendance over 400 Title-1 students (at no charge). Thank You GB Alumni!

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Elissa Minet Fuchs Memorial Fund