Stevensville – Elenita M. Brown, 83, danced to the other side on Friday, August 5, 2016 at her home in Stevensville, Montana, circled by her family. Elenita was born October 28, 1932 in Buenos Aires, Argentina to Swiss parents Helene (Hofer) and Jean-Pierre Roulet. Elenita truly danced her way through life. At the age of four she was a student at the Argentine branch of the British Royal Academy of Dance. She studied piano and attended school at the Lycee Francais in Buenos Aires. At an early age she was fluent in Spanish, French, German and later, English. She grew up in both the vibrant city of Buenos Aires and the open spaces of the Argentine pampas, where she rode horses alongside gauchos and befriended their families. This experience infused her with a lifelong love for the outdoors and nomadic, indigenous cultures.
When Elenita was 12, political unrest in Argentina prompted the family to move to Switzerland during WWII. In the course of their immigration, the family had a layover in Barcelona, Spain, awaiting a safe passage to Switzerland. During this time, Elenita studied traditional Spanish/Flamenco dance with local gypsies. This experience inspired a lifelong passion for learning, teaching and performing Spanish dance. In Switzerland, the family resided in Chateaux D’Oex, and at 15, Elenita attended the Ecole de Ballet du Theatre de Lausanne as student and performer. Her family also lived in the Swiss alpine village of Grimentz, where Elenita and her brothers backcountry skied in winter and hiked the Alps in summer.
Elenita met her future husband Joseph Epes Brown, in Lausanne, Switzerland, and they were married March 1st, 1952 in Neuchatel, Switzerland. Throughout the couple’s life, they moved and travelled extensively. Elenita devoted her life to beauty and creativity through dance and the arts; as student, educator, choreographer, performer, and visual artist. She truly believed that all art forms are part of a whole. Elenita and Joseph began married life on the coast of Maine where Joseph, a student, writer and scholar of Native American Religious Traditions, completed his book “The Sacred Pipe”, while Elenita apprenticed in ceramics. In Albuquerque, New Mexico, Elenita took graduate classes at UNM in sculpture and design. During this time she also sold her ceramics and formed a Flamenco dance duo. Elenita and Joseph taught at Verde Valley School in Sedona, Arizona where three of their children were born. At V.V.S., Elenita taught performing arts and ceramics, and was co-director and camp cook for student cultural tours to Indian Reservations, Mexico and Europe. Inspired by the light, color and textures of the Southwest, Elenita learned to weave and became a self-taught batik artist. Her highly expressive batik art and clothing design has been exhibited throughout the United States, including Museum West [MOMA branch] in San Francisco.
In 1960, the family lived in Safi, Morocco, where daughter Malika was born. After a year in Northern California, the couple taught at Prescott College in Arizona for three years, and Elenita had a dance studio in downtown Prescott, AZ.
In 1969 the family lived in Stockholm, Sweden. While Joseph pursued his PHD in Native American Religious Studies, Elenita attended the Stockholm Ballet Academy, taking professional instruction in all dance styles. After two years in Bloomington, Indiana where Elenita continued to teach dance, the couple and their four children moved to Stevensville, Montana in 1971. Joseph was a professor in the Religious Studies Department at U of M and Elenita pioneered the art of dance throughout Montana, with studios in Missoula, Stevensville, Hamilton and Darby. Elenita was a dynamic and inspiring instructor and shaped numerous lives. Many of her students received scholarships and continued with a professional career in dance. She choreographed and performed many styles, including ballet, jazz, character, modern, Spanish/Flamenco, ethnic, and African dance. Elenita introduced Montana to Spanish/Flamenco dance, where it currently flourishes through her former students. She was a presenter for Young Audiences of Montana, MDAA, and her students performed for International Days at U of M for over 20 years. Annually, she produced a spring dance recital for over 40 years. With her two daughters she co-directed and taught for Kootenai Creek Ranch Summer Day Camp, an interdisciplinary youth camp combining horsemanship, dance and art. A life-long learner, Elenita continued to be a student throughout her life, and never stopped learning from the best teachers in the field, including yearly attendance to the Flamenco International in Albuquerque, NM through 2015.
In addition to dance, Elenita and her husband raised bison and Polish Arabian horses at their family ranch in Stevensville. An accomplished horsewoman, Elenita would say: “Horses and dancing are complimentary; the rhythm, movement, focus and discipline. But with dance, you are both your own horse and rider.” She often went hunting with her husband and loved to hike, garden and harvest her own food. In the summer her home was surrounded by beautiful flowers and colors. In winter she skied regularly at Lost Trail until the age of 81. Regarding skiing and all actions in life, one of her last instructions was, “Carve beautiful patterns and fly until you feel you are not you anymore!”
Elenita is survived by four children: son Alexander Brown of Stevensville; daughters Marina Weatherly and husband Christopher of Stevensville and their daughters Elena Kunkle (Joey) and Lara Weatherly (Mark Tomov); Malika B. Coston and husband Tom of Stevensville and their daughters Alexia and Sylvie; Veronica Brown of Bozeman; and great-granddaughter Ayla Elenita Kunkle; a brother Remy Roulet, two nieces and one nephew of Switzerland, and many dear friends from all corners of the world.
Elenita gave her final Flamenco performance at the U of M in 2015 at the age of 82, dedicating it to thankfulness. Elenita lived a colorful life with incessant curiosity, courage, passion, contrast, movement and light, inspiring so many with her presence. Elenita’s creative and artistic spirit will forever shine.
Arrangements were respectfully made by the Whitesett Funeral Home. There will be a memorial potluck celebration of Elenita’s life on Saturday, Aug 27 at 2 p.m. at the family ranch in Stevensville, MT. In lieu of flowers, the family suggests a donation to the Elenita Brown Dance Memorial Fund, Farmers State Bank, P.O. Box 280, Stevensville MT, 59870, to provide a scholarship for young dancers to pursue their passion. Condolences and memories may be shared with the family at www.whitesittfuneralhome.com.