Anne Belle was born in
Chile on June 10, 1935, but grew up in
Canada and
Morocco. Also living in
Great Britain Belle studied ballet in
London. She then moved to
New York City and worked as a writer and editor. She attended New York University Graduate Institute of Film and Television where she graduated with a master's degree in Fine Arts in 1968. Belle began working on documentary films. Her first two were shown on
PBS. She created a series of films about ballet dancers. There was one on a group of dancers,
Maria Tallchief,
Mary Ellen Moylan,
Melissa Hayden,
Allegra Kent,
Merrill Ashley and
Darci Kistler, working with
George Balanchine. Her film about
Alexandra Danilova was in 1987. Her 1996 film about
Suzanne Farrell was nominated for an
Oscar. Belle co-directed the film with
Deborah Dickson. Her films were shown in festivals around the world. Belle had been working on a documentary about ballet teacher
Stanley Williams at the time of her death.
Personal life Belle was married to architect John Belle with whom she had two children, David and Antonia. She had several stepchildren as well. Belle had a heart attack and died June 18, 2003, in Los Angeles, California. ==Sources==