Mary Spilsbury Ross was born with the creative gene starting at an early age reciting poetry, dancing, making up plays, and singing with her sisters. She has had an exciting life, onstage and off and surviving multiple cancers. In a telephone interview, the vibrant octogenarian speaks of fitness and health, shares her passion for the arts, her latest novel and future projects.
Mary’s introduction to dance began at age six. “My grandmother, bless her heart, took my two sisters and me to a Christmas pantomime, Babes In The Woods and I was smitten,” she remembers fondly. “As the final curtain came down, I can remember dying to be on that stage and not in the audience.”
Dancing professionally began in her last year at the University of British Columbia studying theatre.
“While dancing in a UBC production of Bye Bye Birdie, I met the vivacious choreographer Grace McDonald and she offered me a summer job singing, dancing and acting at Theatre Under the Stars (TUTS) in Stanley Park Vancouver. That was it, and come fall, I was on my way to Europe to forge a career on stage.”
The Swinging 60s was spent dancing modern jazz in most major cities of Europe, Egypt, Lebanon, Greece and Iran. The new, modern choreography was difficult, physically and mentally demanding, much like an athlete training: endless and exhausting but exhilarating.
“I really believe that the strength, discipline and technique of dance was key to my survival when I was diagnosed with ovarian cancer,” says Mary. “By that time, I was married with two children and given six months to live. My whole life turned upside down and I put all my energies into surviving and raising my children. Dancing professionally made me strong enough to tackle anything life has thrown at me.”
About this time, Mary started writing recipes enjoyed while she was on tour with the Ballet that would in turn become her first cookbook, Frugal Feasts. Spicy pilaf from Turkey, lamb dishes from Lebanon and Iran, chickpeas from Greece and unusual pasta from Sicily, all on a budget of two dollars and fifty cents a meal. It was a bestseller.
Turning back to the ’60s, Mary was inspired to co–author a non-fiction book with a British dancer who now lives in the south of France.
“It was enormously fun and nostalgic to reread letters written to our moms and try and put them into some order,” she recalls. “It inspired me to write on my own, a mystery novel of stolen Nazi artworks that are mysteriously connected to a travelling ballet troupe as it performs throughout Europe and the Middle East. No Intermission was completed in the middle of the pandemic and published by Pina Publishers in the US.
“I dedicated it to my late husband who did an enormous amount of historical research but, sadly, he did not see it finished.”
Mary’s next writing project is Dining With My Dog, a budget cookbook for 2023, stories, jokes and anecdotes about famous dogs.
“The book is co-authored by Pepper, my Jack Russell terrier, who has decided opinions of what tastes good and why,” she laughs. “I tried to draw some illustrations of dogs but will have to leave that to the professionals.”
Mary has been an amateur artist for many years, “I love watercolors and sketched many places travelled with my late husband. I adore street scenes and would stand in the middle of traffic in Paris, Rome and Florence, drawing. Oil portraits are especially challenging. I’m drawn to painting dancers and am working on one now. It is very humbling. For inspiration, I watch classes with the dancers of Ballet Victoria. They are beautiful, dedicated, talented young people.”
Staying fit and mentally stimulated is Mary’s ultimate goal as she ages.
“Every morning I wake up thinking, you have ONE more day. Fantastico! Music goes on an old-fashioned tape recorder, and I begin to dance, starting with a classical ballet barre, a little cardio from Jane Fonda Fitness tapes and whatever inspires – belly dancing, a little boogie, the twist. Pepper and I hope to dance ’til I drop.”
No Intermission available on Amazon, Kindle and local bookstores.
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“Every morning I wake up thinking, you have ONE more day. Fantastico! lol, love it!