learned about mastering the basics and perfecting art through practice and love of technique. She advanced through each performing level with exposure to the great masters, Robert Joffrey, Edward Villella, David Howard, and Violette Verdy. Ann Marie was written up in Dance Magazine and received scholarships to the School of American Ballet (Julliard and the Joffrey Ballet. Each summer, Frankie would bring her dancers to New York to expose them to the most accomplished in the dance world. Frankie will also be remembered for bringing guest artists from around the world to enrich Augusta’s art life- thriving to this day. Ann Marie enjoyed travel and performed for functions with the South Eastern Ballet Association, but she loved most performing on the Augusta Stage in lead roles in Pas De Quatre, Hansel and Gretel, and Augusta’s Christmas classic, The Little Match Girl. Upon finishing Aquinas High School, the Spoleto Festival and academics brought Ann Marie to the College of Charleston. Her Junior year at the College of Charleston, Ann Marie studied abroad at the University of Grenoble in France. A highlight was briefly touring Europe with the Danse Conservatoire performing Peter and the Wolf. In spite of being away for a full calendar year, Ann Marie was recognized at graduation for her contribution to the College of Charleston by being awarded the Alexander Chambliss Connelly for the most unselfish contribution to the student body. Service is in her blood. Ann Marie learned first-hand the importance of perseverance and compassion from her father. She saw her father in the trenches helping his clients make the best decisions based on circumstances. The power of changing economic tides seared this into her psyche: Protect your clients’ interests from the present or future events as best you can. She was the first of all four of her siblings that her father Noel was able to send through college by selling homes when the interest rates were 18 to 21%!
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