Melinda Ray Witham, 68
Melinda Ray Witham passed away on October 13, 2023 in Stuttgart, Germany. She was the former ballet mistress of the Stuttgart Ballet Company in Stuttgart, Germany and is now in the Lord's Ballet in heaven.
Survivors include her former husband, Dieter Zimmermann, two children, Lena-Louise and Jeff, one grandchild, Louis, her sister, Cora Lee (Cookie), her brother, William L. Witham Jr., and numerous nieces, nephews, and aunts and uncles.
She was born on December 29, 1954 in Mobile, Alabama to William L. Witham Sr. and Helen Witham who predeceased her.
Services and internment will be graveside at The Waldfriedhof, Stuttgart, Germany and a memorial performance shall be performed in her honor by the Stuttgart Ballet.
Melinda or Mindy as friends know her best, studied ballet at the early age of five, including studying at the Marion Tracy Dance Studio, Dover, Delaware. Her training culminated with a Ford Foundation scholarship at George Balanchine's School of American Ballet. Her development continued a the American Ballet Theater and the Boston Ballet. In 1973, she left the United States having been hired by the famous director of the Stuttgart, Ballet, John Cranko to begin her long, and illustrious career in Stuttgart, Germany. She danced both modern and traditional ballets to include John Cranko's Brouillards, Initials R.B.M.E., Jeu de Cartes, Holberg Pas de Deux, and Opus I. She danced the roles of the Lilac Fairy and Carabosse in The Sleeping Beauty. Her portrayal in Jiri Kylian's Forgotten Land as well as the roles created for her in Forsythe's Love Songs, Time Cycle, Whisper Moon are unforgettable. In Giselle, Melinda danced the Queen of the Wilis, a role created especially for her. She travelled with the ballet to many countries around the world. After the birth of her children, she began to focus her energies exclusively to her duties as ballet mistress. In this position she was responsible for the repertoire of contemporary ballets, ranging from the neoclassical works of George Balanchine to Christian Spuck's early creations. In addition, she returned to the stage as a character artist. She took over many character roles such as Countess Capulet in Romeo and Juliet, Madame Larina in Onegin, the queen in Swan Lake as well as in The Sleeping Beauty.
Her loving family in Germany and America will miss her greatly and know we all will meet again.