Prima Ballerina Janet Sassoon is so much more than that. She is a rare combination of stunning exotic family history, unstoppable passion and diligence, and a first rate cook with a collection of time-honored traditional middle-eastern recipes. Add to that her significant talent at the piano.
Her Baghdadi Jewish community is the basis for so much she holds dear, the basis for the Jewish customs she has never abandoned and in which she takes enormous pride.
She was born in 1934 in the Dutch West Indies to French and British parents of Sephardic Jewish background, her father an heir to the Sassoon merchant dynasty. She arrived in San Francisco at 18 months old and was, first off, diagnosed with pneumonia.
She knew as a young child she was a dancer. After having achieved the highest possible grades in high school, she was ready to forgo the standard university studies and marriage with children for what the world of dance held for her. At 16, in opposition to what her father wanted for her, she left home to study ballet in Paris. Diligent and passionate and talented as she was, she was invited to join some of the most prestigious international ballet companies and her career from then on soared. Her life took her from one world stage to another. She thrilled audiences and became what she knew she was meant to be. To see her talk about all this is such a joy!
To hear Janet talk about her upbringing in her most unique home and with parents she adored, is, I think, pure joy. Truth be told, her life encompasses much too much in too many areas to include in one conversation, but she has written a book entitled Reverence, exquisite and riveting from cover to cover, where you can join Janet on her journey. To take part in an up-close look at the family there are several books: The Sassoons, The Last Kings of Shanghai that kept me paying attention from the first page to the last.
Her love letter? Turns out she has them right handy and if you ask me, they would be a book of historical interest. And, yes, she has those recipes tucked away as well.
And with all that she is, she is one of the most down to earth, compassionate, emotionally generous, and loving women of all time. Who could ask for anything more?