Burch Mann; American Folk Ballet Founder

Burch Mann, 87, founder and director of the American Folk Ballet. She was brought up in the Midwest and moved to New York in 1928 to study ballet. She began her career as a choreographer for nightclubs there in the 1930s and later worked in the same capacity for films and television. In 1962, Mann established the folk dance troupe called American Folk Ballet and toured internationally with it. In 1982, she set up the dance department at Southern Utah University and retired a decade later as its distinguished artist in residence. A current pageant at the university, “The West: America’s Odyssey,” was choreographed by her. On June 25 in Cedar City, Utah.