Remembering Anita Friends and colleagues comment

FRIENDS, COLLEaGUES COMMENT

Anita Lin has been a cultural giant in the Valley for many wonderful years. Please add my name to the list that Anita has introduced to very enjoyable experiences with the arts, particularly interaction with the extraordinary Ballet Western Reserve! Anita Lin has been a difference-maker for so many. I wish her great happiness in her future endeavors.”

JIM TRESSEL, head football coach, The Ohio State University

Anita was a force of nature when it came to dance and the arts community. She had the enthusiasm of 10 people when it came to the BWR. My daughter danced for her for 14 years and the discipline she required from her dancers manifested itself in kids that excelled in school and life. The arts community was so lucky that she found her way to Youngstown, to share her talent with so many kids.”

State Rep. ROBERT HAGAN, D-60th

Anita Lin has served our community for decades with great distinction as an artist in the field of dance; just as important she has served the young people of this region by applying the discipline of dance to the teaching of discipline in life. Many people will be forever in her debt for that service.”

DAVID C. SWEET, president, Youngstown State University

Anita and I shared a common love for the young people in the community with aspirations for the performance world. ... She stayed out of the limelight for the most part but on stage she was dynamite! ... Her accomplishments with the BWR will forever be a testament to the dedication of this woman!”

MAUREEN COLLINS, Easy Street Productions

Anita Lin will forever be linked to the Mahoning Valley and what is the best about our community. Her devotion to the education of young people, the advancement of the art form we know as dance and her innovation are legendary and will always be a part of the fabric of the community. It was a privilege to collaborate with Anita Lin and Ballet Western Reserve...”

PATRICIA SYAK, executive director, Youngstown Symphony Society

Anita Lin was a driving force not just in the dance scene, but the art world of Youngstown and surrounding communities. ... I have a feeling that although she will be living in New York, she will be close by in spirit for a long time.”

RICHARD DICKINSON, artistic director, Ballet Western Reserve

Anita Lin not only brought visibility to the Ballet Western Reserve but she also gave key visibility to the art of dance to our community. Her professionalism and dedication to the art of dance defined her years here. ... Youngstown will miss Anita Lin, but her good work will surely live on.”

LOU ZONA, executive director, Butler Institute of American Art

Having been her business manager at Ballet Western Reserve for the past four years, it’s very clear ... how she ran a nonprofit arts organization in Youngstown, Ohio, for 25 years – with total fearlessness and great agility. I love Anita, and I always will…”

JIM McCLELLAN, business manager, Ballet Western Reserve

Anita Lin has been at the forefront of Youngstown’s cultural renaissance since her arrival here almost 30 years ago. Under her tenure, the Ballet Western Reserve has become a source of beauty and hope that transcends any negative perception about the Valley.”

DENISE DEBARTOLO YORK

“Anita Lin and I have known each other for over 20 years. From the early 1990’s we worked together for our organizations, culminating with the opening of the Morley Center in downtown Youngstown. The Ballet Western Reserve, under Anita’s capable hands, led the way with fundraising and garnering community support. The Oakland followed and the result is the current configuration on Boardman Street.

From the first time we shared space (on Fifth Avenue in the former Temple Emanuel), I watched Anita work with young students in her extraordinary fashion, treating all students with equal care, teaching them not only the rudiments of ballet, but enriching them with the joy of working hard and adhering to discipline. Over the years students returned to see her and thank her for what she gave them. Not all of these kids have become professional dancers, but all of them feel their lives were strengthened by what they learned from Anita Lin.

On a more personal level I would say that I have worked with few more professional artists in my career. I always knew that.

Anita would enter a project prepared and ready to work hard, but she also knows how to have fun and share that with her colleagues. I feel blessed to have had Anita in my life, both as professional colleague and friend. — Alexandra “Sandy” Vansuch, co-founder and former director of the Oakland Center for the Arts in Youngstown.