Bruce Arthur Bain January 26, 1932 - July 30, 2009 Bruce Bain was born in San Pedro, CA, and began the study of ballet at age 13. He performed with L.A. Ballet, and with The National Ballet of Mexico. He joined San Francisco Ballet in 1960 as a dancer, performing many leading roles, including the lead in Lew Christensen's Filling Station; he also contributed ballets to the company repertoire, most notably Structures. He was an original 1970 member of Carlos Carvajal's San Francisco Dance Spectrum, and performed solo roles in many Carvajal ballets, including the King of Winter in Wintermas; and the role of Death in Totentanz at SF's Grace Cathedral; and choreographed ballets for the company, among them Rite of Spring. He performed with and choreographed for Pepper Smith's Arabesque Concert Dance from 1975-1990s, creating many ballets, among them The Awakening. He choreographed three versions of The Miraculous Mandarin, one each for SF Ballet, SF Dance Spectrum and Arabesque Concert Dance. In the 1980s, he worked with Merriem Lanova's Pacific Dance Theater. He taught for SF Dance Spectrum, Smith Studios, and Lanova's Conservatory of Ballet. He performed, choreographed, and taught/coached for many other Bay Area groups and schools; and was also in demand as a set and costume designer. In his earlier years, he appeared in movie musicals, among them Damn Yankees, The Pajama Game, and My Fair Lady; and performed in Las Vegas cabaret shows. His ashes will be scattered at sea, and a celebration of his life will be held at Carlos Carvajal's home on August 8th, at 7PM. The address is 1349 Masonic Street; San Francisco. Donations in his memory may be made to the dance company/charity of your choice. The dance community is richer for his life and work, and he will be missed by all who knew him.

This article appeared on page Z - 99 of the San Francisco Chronicle