Goodbye to a ballet legend

Laguna Beach resident Lila Zali died from natural causes on

Saturday at South Coast Medical Center. She was 84.

Born on July 22, 1918, Zali was an icon whose contributions to the

world of dance will live through her teachings, students and

invaluable contributions.

Her roots in ballet had been firmly planted even before she opened

her ballet studio in Laguna Beach in 1959 and started the well-known

Ballet Pacifica in 1962.

Born in Russia, her family moved to the U.S. when she was 3. She

started her official dance training at age 7 in Washington, D.C.

She graduated from the Kirov Ballet School, was a soloist with the

Imperial Russian Ballet and was accepted to what is now known as the

American Ballet Theatre.

Besides teaching and performing, Zali loved choreography and

started a group called the three Debs, which performed around the

West and in the USO.

She started choreographing on a more serious level when she came

to Laguna with her cellist husband, Kolia Levienne.

Zali worked with choreographer greats such as Gene Kelly, Fred

Astaire and Charlie Chaplin.

She and her husband founded what later became the Los Angeles City

Ballet.

Over the years, she guided many to became professional dancers.

She said she has had so many positive experiences in her life that

she couldn’t name a specific time or event in her life as her

favorite.

She said that she loved Laguna Beach and had fond memories of

getting up in the early morning and fishing with her husband at

Victoria Beach.

Funeral services will be held at 9:30 a.m. Saturday at Pacific

View Memorial Park in Newport Beach.