Pho tos by David Br
Charity gala, celebrates 25 years of Wince excellence.
DIANA LIEBERMAN
Special to the Jewish News
W
hen Susie Kellerman, 26, was a young
girl growing up in Huntington Woods,
there were weeks when she spent more
time at Annette and Company School of Dance
than she did at home.
"Our slogan back in the day was 'blood, sweat
and tears,"' she remembers. "We danced our
hearts out and it was our way of life."
Kellerman, now a performer, choreographer and
dance teacher based in New York City, is one of
more than 50 former Annette and Company stu-
dents who'll be returning to Metro Detroit next
week. They are coming from Ann Arbor, New
York, Florida, California, Colorado, Arizona,
Illinois, Massachusetts and Washington, D.C., for
a gala performance celebrating the 25th anniver-
sary of the studio that nurtured their talents —
and honoring the woman who made it all possi-
ble.
Annette Bergasse, the child of Holocaust sur- •
vivors Joseph and Renee Winkler, was only 4 years
old when her family came to the United States.
An accomplished dancer by the time she was in
her teens, she decided to expand her horizons as
a theater major at Wayne State University in
Detroit. A career in New York City ended with
her marriage and the birth of her two "wonder-
ful children."
"New York wasn't conducive to raising chil-
dren, so we moved back to Detroit," she says.
Today, son Joshua Bergasse, 32, is a Broadway
dancer, choreographer and teacher. Immediately
after the anniversary gala, he'll return to New
York, where he's been chosen by Stephen
Schwartz, composer of Godspelh Pippin, Wicked
and other Broadway hits, to choreograph his lat-
est musical.
Mark Bergasse, 27, of Southfield, also a
dancer, teacher and choreographer, is assistant
artistic director at Annette and Company.
Both brothers performed in the 1998
European touring production of West Side Story.
Their mother went to Germany to see them. It
was her first visit to Germany, the birthplace of
her parents (she was born in an Italian camp for
HONORING ANNETTE on page 53
Dancers await their cue.
Top: Sara Spalter of Farmington Hills, Laura :Langberg of est
Bloomfield Amanda Zipser of Farmington Hills, Lindsay Shane
of West Bloomfield Megan Klimecki of West Bloomfielch Alex
Barnett- of Bloomfield HZ, Michelle Meier of Farmington Hills,
Alyssa Maiseloss of West Bloomfield and Britanny Turner of
Bloomfield Hilts listen to Annette and Company School ofDance
founder Annette Bergasse
JN
1/20
2005
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