Gretl (Benson) Hafer

Margaretha Christina Hager, more commonly known as “Gretl” or “Miss Gretl” to her students, was born on January 17, 1927, in Vienna, Austria, to parents Karl and Auguste Hager. She started dancing at age four and joined the Vienna Opera Ballet at age fourteen. In approximately 1941, she joined her oldest sister, Auguste “Guky” Hager, twelve years her senior, as a professional dancer. Taking advantage of their look-alike appearance, they performed classical ballet, tap, and jazz in theater, films, variety shows, and nightclubs, including the Neroth Orchestra of Vienna. During WWII, they met American military police officers who, after two years, became their fiancés, and they left war-torn Vienna for a new life in America.

Gretl and Guky Hager arrived in New York City by plane on June 5, 1947. Gretl’s fiancé, William “Bill” Benson, was from New Hampshire, so the four-some spent time with his family and then moved to Seattle, Washington. On August 6, 1947, the couples were married in a double wedding ceremony at Central Lutheran Church in Tacoma, Washington. In 1950, Gretl and her husband, a construction contractor, left Washington for Anchorage, Alaska, a young but growing town which promised plentiful job opportunities. They drove up the Alaska Highway and lived in Spenard and Government Hill before eventually settling in the “Turnagain by the Sea” neighborhood. Guky and her husband followed them to Anchorage some time in 1950.

Gretl and Guky left Vienna, but they did not leave dancing behind: In the spring of 1951, they started Rhythm School of Dancing, the first dance studio in Anchorage. They taught ballroom dancing lessons for adults and teenagers, and offered young children tap and acrobatics taught by Guky, and ballet taught by Gretl. Rhythm School of Dancing first operated from the Legion Log Cabin on 5th and G Streets, then spent many years in a studio near the intersection of Fireweed Lane and Spenard Road.

One of their students was Jana Ariana Nelson who described in an article for the Anchorage Centennial how exciting it was to take dance lessons in the small but growing city of Anchorage in 1954. Gretl also taught dance to Jana’s granddaughter, Cassandra, in 1988. Another one of their students in the late-1950s to mid-1960s was Alice Bassler Sullivan who became the Artistic Director of Alaska Dance Theatre. Rhythm School of Dancing students performed at various events around Anchorage, adding to the entertainment opportunities for residents of this young city. Dance was a welcome activity for youngsters and the dance community started to grow. Lynda Lorimer created The Conservatory of Dance in 1958 and Gretl assisted her with this school since its creation.

Although dancing remained a constant in their lives, the mid-1960’s brought many personal changes to Gretl and Guky: In 1965, Gretl and her husband divorced and she married John Richard “Dick” Hafer. They had two daughters, Tina (born 1965) and Diana (born 1967); Guky found out she had cancer, retired from dance, and in 1967 she and her husband moved to Phoenix, Arizona. In December of 1970, Gretl and her family moved to Phoenix to be near her ailing sister. While there, Gretl continued to teach ballet, tap, and acrobatics at Linkletter Totten Dance Studios (owned by Art Linkletter), in after school programs at Hopi and Tavan Elementary Schools, and in her living room on Saturday mornings. Both of her daughters enjoyed taking lessons from their mother and performing in recitals.

In May of 1975, several years after Guky died, Gretl and her family moved back to Alaska. She joined the Conservatory of Dance teaching staff where she taught at both the Anchorage and Elmendorf studios. She also worked with the Anchorage Civic Ballet/Ballet Alaska as an Assistant Choreographer, primarily with the annual production of The Nutcracker where she choreographed the Russian dance, mice, spiders, toy soldiers and her favorite part, the Buffoons. She also performed in The Nutcracker as an apple vendor and Madame Buffoon, and with her adult students at the Alaska State Fair. Gretl danced and/or taught dance throughout her life. Her other teaching credits in Anchorage include organizations such as the YMCA, TOSS (Treasures of Sight and Sound, which met in the Central Jr. High School Music Room), many Child Care Centers (Tanaina at Anchorage Community College, Elmendorf/Ft. Richardson, Little Red Schoolhouse, and Bayshore Clubhouse), and Community Schools (Rabbit Creek, Chugach, North Star and Sand Lake Elementary Schools). Gretl retired from teaching dance in 1992, but never sat out if an opportunity to dance presented itself. She enjoyed gardening, traveling with Dick, and dancing with her four grandchildren (Tina’s children: Henry, Hayden and Claire Arend; and Diana’s son, Alec Hutchison). She died at home in Anchorage on December 23, 2004.

Dance was a life-long passion for Gretl which she passed on to both of her daughters who danced in The Nutcracker–Tina in 1976 as a Licorice Swirl; and Diana in 1976 as a dream soldier and mouse, and in 1977 as a boy in the opening act. Gretl’s granddaughter, Claire Arend, started dancing at age five and danced in Oregon Ballet Theatre’s 2008 Nutcracker production in Anchorage presented by the Anchorage Concert Association. She was cast as a Bon Bon, the equivalent of the buffoon children, Gretl’s favorite! Claire is currently enjoying salsa dancing in Arizona.