Cynthia Anderson was discovered by Robert Joffrey at a Regional Ballet Festival. He awarded her a scholarship to the Joffrey Ballet School, where she studied prior to joining the Joffrey II Dancers, and then the main Joffrey Company two years later. From there, she quickly assumed a remarkable range of leading roles by nearly every choreographer in the company’s eclectic repertoire: Sir Frederick Ashton, Gerald Arpino, John Cranko, Robert Joffrey, Kurt Jooss, Juri Kylian, Jerome Robbins and Glen Tetley. Following her years at The Joffrey, she performed with the Washington Ballet, working with the chorographer, Choo San Goh. She concluded her performing career with American Ballet Theatre under Mikhail Baryshnikov’s direction. At ABT, she performed classical roles in all the full-length ballets, dramatic roles in the Tudor and de Mille ballets, and modern roles in Paul Taylor, Twyla Tharp and Mark Morris ballets. Ms. Anderson was acclaimed for her extraordinary jumping capabilities, her fluid classicism, her musicality, and her dramatic sensitivity.