Pianarosa, Rosella

Rosella Pianarosa, or Zell, as she was known, was born in New York in 1902. From 1961 through 1972, she lived in Pittsfield, Massachusetts; Bonita Springs, Florida; and Becket, Massachusetts, the site of the Jacob's Pillow Dance Festival. With her husband Peter, the Pianarosas made donations to Jacob's Pillow and were friends of Ted Shawn and Ruth St. Denis. Zell Pianarosa died in 1995.

Modern dancers Ted Shawn (1891-1972) and Ruth St. Denis (1879-1968) met in 1914, married, and opened Denishawn, a dance company and school focusing on dance forms that incorporated theatrical and ethnic traditions. The Denishawn Company paved the way for the legitimacy of modern dance in America and fostered the early careers of Martha Graham, Doris Humphrey, and Charles Weidman. In 1929, Shawn and St. Denis parted both personally and professionally.

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