I met Anne and Nick when I was 13 years old at the school of Houston Ballet. It was the first time in my life in ballet that I met actual professional ballet dancers. I remember being equally enamoured and terrified of them. I also remember realizing the difference between liking to dance and becoming a dancer. The fact that Nick had been part of the Marquis de Cuevas company and had danced all over the world with artists like Rosella Hightower and that Anne had worked directly with George Balanchine in Geneva was for me like meeting movie stars. And yet they were both so incredibly generous with their knowledge and their passion. Anne took me to buy my first proper pair of pointe shoes and taught me Balanchine variations and Nick "tortured" me with his relentless Vaganova exercises. They instilled a combination of joy and rigour into my understanding of ballet that I have carried with me all my life.
One of my favourite memories was meeting Anne's parents when, thanks to the guidance and support of Nick and Anne, I was able to study with Rosella Hightower at L'École Internationale de Danse in Cannes. I was 15 and I flew to Nice where M. et Mme. Saint-Pol picked me up and took me to their apartment overlooking the Baie des Anges in Nice. I ate my first madeleine (which has remained my favourite pastry since then) and we went for tea at the Hôtel Negresco. They dropped me off in Cannes a couple of days later where I had the most amazing set of experiences including taking class from incredible European teachers as well as from one of my idols Patricia Neary! Anne and Nick opened up the world to me.
I was also very lucky to be invited to babysit for their extraordinary son Alex. Often my "babysitting" was just so that they could make dinner which I was then invited to partake in. Alex was a lively little kid who loved Prokofiev and would run in wild circles if we put on the Ballroom scene from Romeo and Juliet. Dinner always included some of Nick's fabulous Russian delicacies and some of Anne's delicate French cuisine. It was mesmerizing.
I left Houston to join San Francisco Ballet in 1979 but my parents remained in contact with Anne and Nick and valued their insights into what the life of a dancer offered. Anne and my mother remained close for the rest of my mother's life. I am eternally grateful for that. I have had the privilege of a life as an artist and I can say that it is thanks to the extraordinary training, kindness and generosity I received from Anne and Nick. May their stars shine brightly together forever.
With love — Eda Holmes
I can't recall the very first day I had Anne and Nick as my teachers, but I do remember Anne being part of my life during the Houston Ballet days when James Clouser was director. Anne once said I was the serious one and Lauren Anderson was the silly one—we were two peas in a pod. Our first performance together was as clowns in The Nutcracker when we were about eight or nine years old.
In 1977, I truly began to know Anne and Nick—and little Alex running around the studio on West Gray. At the time, I was frustrated with my pointe work at Houston Ballet. Gil Rome saw me and remembered me from years before, and Anne believed in me. She realized there might be something she could do to help. I'm so thankful she did. She found the medical help I needed for what turned out to be an os trigonum and taught me how to cut down my pointe shoe shank and work in old shoes to build flexibility and strength. Without Anne, I would not have had the ballet career I've enjoyed.
Nick had faith in me too. He encouraged me to lighten up and pushed me to be my best. His "No excuse" mantra reminded me I could always do more—jump higher, turn more. He made me laugh, and he loved to cook!
Every summer, Anne and Nick hosted pool parties. They were my dance family. The food was always amazing, and I recently found the Houston Dance Center cookbook with the Swedish Meatballs recipe on page 39.
Some of my strongest friendships came from Houston Dance Center—Mylene, Agelia, Christine, Laura, Manuel, and many more. Karen, Eda, Keith, Glynis… even if we don't keep in touch as much, we're still connected.
I remember coming home one year to dance with Houston Dance Center on the sister city tour to Nice, France. Anne and Nick made sure we experienced the culture—quick visits to the Louvre and Versailles, and a dinner in a small town where family and friends prepared an exquisite meal and made us feel so welcome.
I was fortunate to see Anne and Nick several more times after they moved to Florida. I taught one summer at their school in Jupiter and saw Alex playing drums. Later, I visited them when they worked for So Danca and Anne was still teaching locally. I even met Alex's daughter.
For me—and for many others—they will always be in our hearts. The lessons, the skills, and even my productions of Peter and the Wolf and Carnival of the Animals carry Anne and Nick's influence. Their legacy will live on for generations to come.
Training with Anne and Nicholas Polajenko in the late 1970s and early 80s was one of the great gifts of my early dance life. I was thrilled to have both a male and female teacher—each offering something distinct that shaped me deeply. Nicholas pushed us with power, strength, and expansive movement; his classes demanded boldness. Anne, equally challenging, brought a refined quality: finesse, transitions, and the nuanced artistry that elevated everything we did. Together, they gave me balance—force and delicacy, drive and detail.
Those years were filled with wonderful memories and friendships, as well as opportunities to learn from remarkable artists. I'll never forget when they brought in Alexander Minz from ABT to teach for three months. Their willingness to bring guest teachers into the studio showed how deeply they believed in exposing their students to the best, and it meant so much to me.
A particularly special moment came when Anne traveled with me to Salt Lake City for my first Ballet West audition. I was terrified, and she knew it. She helped me choose what to wear, encouraged me the whole way, and made me feel cared for and supported—regardless of the outcome. I didn't get into the company, but the experience remains beautiful because she walked through it with me.
Now, after 21 years of dancing professionally and more than 40 years of teaching—over 23 of those in higher education—I often hear their voices in my own classroom. The corrections, the stories, the values they instilled continue to live in the way I teach and in my love for understanding the human body and shaping dancers into strong, expressive artists.
Anne and Nicholas invested in me in ways I couldn't fully appreciate at the time, and I carry their legacy with deep gratitude. Their influence remains a part of everything I do.
