Anna Saunders

Anna Saunders was born and began her ballet training in East Lansing, Michigan. She studyied ballet in France at L'Ecole Superior de Danse et Musique, under the guidance of Madame Chasson, former principal with the Paris Opera Ballet, and spent a summer at Rosella Hightower's Ecole Superior de Danse Rosella. Anna trained and performed with the Greater Lansing Ballet Company and Academy before continuing her dance training through Butler University as a dance major. Anna received her B.S. degree from Indiana University's Ballet Department, where she worked with world renowned instructors and choreographers including Violette Verdy, John Clifford, Julie Kent and Susie Pillar. Additional formative teachers included Leslie Peck, Jacques Cesbron, Marek Chowlewa, Norman Walker, and Mark Godden. Anna danced as a trainee in Madrid, Spain with the Victor Ullate Ballet Nacional de Madrid and El Ballet Carmen Roche. While in Madrid, Anna also studied various styles of Spanish dance including samba, flamenco, bolero, and tango. Anna is currently completing work as a graduate student in Physical Therapy at the University of Southern California. She joined Pasadena Dance Theatre as a soloist in 2004.