Graciela Daniele was born in Argentina, in 1939, where at seven she was enrolled in the Teatro Colón to study ballet. Daniele moved to Paris to continue her dance studies, but when she saw a performance of West Side Story, she was stunned by the jazz-inflected choreography of Jerome Robbins. She got herself to New York City. More study, now with Martha Graham, Bob Fosse, and Merce Cunningham, and then it was on to her own amazing choreographic and directing career, her list of hits including Ragtime (1998). The musical The Gardens Of Anuncia—with book, music, and lyrics by Michael John LaChiusa—tells a story inspired by her life. It doesn’t center on career highlights; rather it’s about growing up with artistic ambitions under Juan Peron’s fascist regime. Tending to her garden, an artist named Anuncia reflects on her youth and the three women who raised her. Daniele directs and co-choreographs. —Jensen Davis