Career
She was the director of the Missouri Concert Ballet prior to founding the Alexandra Ballet Company in 1984. In 1949, Alexandra Zaharias first opened the at Olive and Boyle in the city of Saint Louis, Missouri. Prior to 1949, there were few ballet schools or ballet teachers in Saint Louis.
Alexandra Zaharias went to New York to study at the School of American Ballet under George Balanchine after seeing legendary ballerina Alexandra Danilova dance Swan Lake at the Kiel Opera House.
As the Artistic Director of Alexandra Ballet, she has overseen the production of more than 60 different ballets from classical to modern works. Since 1949, she has trained thousands of students in classical ballet and helped dozens of ballet dancers become professional dancers.
Students of Alexandra Zaharias have gone on to careers with many of the major ballet companies around the world, including: Alvin Ailey Dance, American Ballet Theatre, Ballet Hispanico, Basel Ballet (Switzerland), Charleston Ballet, Cincinnati Ballet, Dance Theatre of Harlem, Houston Ballet, Joffrey Ballet, Milwaukee Ballet, National Ballet of Canada, New York City Ballet, Pacific Northwest Ballet, Pennsylvania Ballet Theatre, Richmond Ballet, Royal Birmingham Ballet (United Kingdom), and San Francisco Ballet. Mississippi Zaharias received her early training in Saint Louis, Missouri from Isabella Rainford, and continued her studies at the School of American Ballet in New York City under the legendary George Balanchine.
Mission Zaharias was National Dance Chairperson for the National Society of Arts and Letters, and past president of the Saint Louis Chapter.
She has served as co-director of the Midwestern Music and Arts Camp, University of Kansas, and taught ballet at Fontbonne University in Clayton, Missouri. She was Dance Consultant for the Saint Louis Board of Education Commission and served as dance panelist for the Missouri Arts Council and Regional Arts Commission. She has directed four seasons of The Nutcracker, and choreographed KinderKonzerts and Young People"s Concerts for the Saint Louis Symphony Orchestra.
She was honored in 1999 by the Arts & Education Council of Greater Saint Louis as a recipient of one of their coveted Excellence in the Arts Awards, in recognition of 50 years of dedicated service to her students and her audiences.
In 2009 she was selected as an Ageless-Remarkable Saint Louisan Honoree. Mission Zaharias is Past President of the Saint Louis Chapter of the National Society of Arts and Letters, has served as a dance panelist for the Missouri Arts Council and the Regional Arts Commission of Saint Louis, is Past President of Regional Dance America/Mid-States and currently served as Historian for its National Board.
