Borbála Klára (Gergely) Bunnett
March 20, 1976 – August 10, 2023
A life of grace, brilliance, and dance — shared across continents, communities, and generations.
The Borbala Bunnett Top Female Teacher Award
The Borbála Bunnett Top Female Teacher Award was created to honor the extraordinary spirit, dedication, and excellence that defined Borbála’s life in dance. Presented annually at the Ballroom Beach Bash, this award recognizes the female instructor whose professionalism, generosity, and commitment to her students best reflect Borbala’s own values. In addition to this prestigious recognition, the Top Female Teachers at the Ballroom Beach Bash will receive total prize money of $17,000!
Through this award, we celebrate Borbala’s legacy by uplifting the teachers who inspire, empower, and elevate others -- just as she did throughout her remarkable career.
Borbála
Borbála Klára (Gergely) Bunnett of Southlake, Texas peacefully passed away on August 10th, 2023, at the age of 47, after valiantly fighting pancreatic cancer and its effects. She was born March 20th, 1976, in Budapest, Hungary, to László Gergely and Veronika Marton—later becoming a big sister to her brother, Bálint.
From her earliest years, she moved gracefully between countries, languages, and cultures — weaving together a life that was as expansive as it was deeply focused on the people she loved and the passions she pursued.
Early Years & Discovering Dance
Following daycare and kindergarten at an old villa in the hills of Buda, her father was assigned to the Hungarian Trade Mission in Moscow. After starting at the Hungarian Expatriate School, she transferred to the No. 104 Moscow Elementary School of the Soviet school system, where she continued evening classes at the Hungarian Expatriate School.
It was here, at the age of 6, that she began to show a defining trait of her life — handling multiple cultures, languages, responsibilities, and assignments simultaneously. When given the choice in the USSR system of compulsory after-school activities — chess, choir, or ballroom dance — Borbála chose dance, launching her life-long pursuit of dance exploration and excellence.
Returning Home in a Changing World
After a 5-year expatriate life in the Soviet Union, Borbála returned to Hungary. Thanks to her hard work in two school systems simultaneously, she was able to join the local Arató Emil Hungarian school without missing a year — with full language and academic proficiency. She continued her dance training at Bonzo’s dance school — he remained her lifelong close friend among the many close friendships she formed in the dance community.
As a 13-year-old, she experienced the fall of the Iron Curtain, the Eastern European revolutions, the declaration of the Hungarian Republic, and the Opening-to-the-West as part of daily life. Her experience of empty store shelves, limited consumer choice, and official storylines inconsistent with reality shaped her life — she saw clearly.
"Personality is everything in art and poetry."
--Johann Wolfgang Von GoetheStories and memories from Borbala's fellow dancers.
Academic Excellence Across Continents
At age 14 (1990), Borbála was admitted into the highly selective Berzsenyi Dániel High School based on her academic grades, where she started studying English. For the next two years in Hungary, she prioritized her ballroom dance practice, competing frequently across the country. She and her family enjoyed their first trip to the West — Italy and Austria — an experience that had been unimaginable before the system change.
At 16, she continued her record of excellence in her third country, culture, and school system at the Sacred Heart International School in Tokyo, joining the International Baccalaureate (IB) program when her father was assigned to the Hungarian Embassy in Tokyo. She continued her dance development in Japan with her dance partner, Hiro, collecting trophies at many competitions while also catering Embassy receptions and dinners at the Hungarian Embassy of Tokyo.
She graduated from High School in 1994 with top grades in both her High School and International Baccalaureate Diploma exams. From 1994–1995 she enjoyed her first full-time employment as a daycare teacher at the Sacred Heart International School in Tokyo, where teachers and kids bonded with, and loved, Miss Borbála.
From Cardiff to Bryn Mawr & Deloitte
At 19, Borbála began university at the University of Wales in Cardiff, her fourth new country, culture, and school system. After her first year, she returned to Tokyo to work full-time to earn money for college, ultimately applying and gaining admission with a full scholarship to Bryn Mawr in Pennsylvania, one of the Seven Sister colleges in the United States.
Thanks to credits from her International Baccalaureate Diploma and her year at the University of Wales, she needed only two years at Bryn Mawr. While there, she completed summer internships at Deloitte & Touche. She graduated from Bryn Mawr in 1999 with a BA in Economics, following in her father’s footsteps, and began a consulting career at Deloitte that would last the rest of her life.
At Deloitte, she embraced a variety of roles, traveling to China, India, and the UK. She led the 140+ person Client Relationship Executive (CRE) community as CRE Chief of Staff; was a founding member and later leader of the 150+ person Client Account Management (CAM) community; and ultimately moved to Texas for her dream role in Deloitte University’s Texas Greenhouse Labs, helping the world’s largest companies find solutions to their intractable problems.
Impact in Every Room
Colleagues, friends and family remember Borbala’s creativity, passion, and the joy she brought to her work and at home.
Meeting Robert & A Life in Ballroom
On a whim, she met Robert Bunnett at the Holiday Ball & Dance Camp in San Francisco between Christmas 2002 and New Year’s Day 2003, while she was applying to the University of Chicago and the London Business School for graduate programs. She was living in Philadelphia; he was living in Newport Beach.
As described by Jonathan Marion in his book Ballroom – Culture and Costume in Competitive Dance, “Seeing each other nearly every weekend at competitions across the United States, Robert and Borbala ‘dated’ from 3,000 miles apart until they became engaged.” She moved to California and was accepted into UCLA’s Anderson School of Business even after enrollment had closed, commuting 100 miles a day to attend classes while building a life with Bob in Orange County and often spending her drives on the phone with her beloved grandmother, Mamus.
Borbála and Robert won many Amateur Championships and were finalists in the United States Amateur Championships in both Smooth and 9-Dance. At Robert’s suggestion, she turned professional in 2007, competing with Paul Cloud and later David Weise. Often practicing until midnight after a full workday at Deloitte, she embodied a level of commitment that defined her approach to life. In 2009, that dedication culminated in winning the American Smooth World Rising Star title — fulfilling one of her heart’s desires.
That Which Interests My Wife, Fascinates Me
-- Robert Ernst BunnettSelected moments from Borbala’s Amateur dancing with Robert, Professional dancing with Paul Cloud and David Weise, friends, family, enjoying travel, interests, and her two children.
Family, Home & A Life Well Lived
Borbála married Robert at Rancho Las Lomas in Silverado Canyon, Orange County, California in 2005. While traveling extensively, dancing competitively, and creating meaningful impact for their clients, they built a wonderful family life together — living in Newport Beach, Redwood City, and Irvine, California, before Borbála found her heart’s home in Southlake, Texas.
She became a happy and beloved member of the Bunnett family, hosting and attending many family events and building special lifelong bonds. She and Bob created memories of a lifetime through their travels; life on the coast and in the hills of California surrounded by magnificent views; and the many events they shared.
Her most enduring legacy is her family. She is survived by her husband, Robert Ernst Bunnett; daughter, Sophia Ilona Bunnett; son, Benjamin Robert Bunnett; parents, László Gergely and Veronika Marton; and her brother, Bálint Gergely.
In Real Life
A glimpse of Borbála’s unmistakable spirit — her warmth, playfulness, and the genuine joy she shared so naturally with everyone around her.
Her Legacy
Borbála will be remembered by many as a person of great intellect, unbounded generosity, steadfast determination, and perseverance in any situation. She was always ready with a helping hand or a gesture of care, meeting challenges with resilience and endurance, and approaching life with unwavering optimism.
She is greatly missed by the many people who loved her and whose lives she touched — in classrooms and ballrooms, in boardrooms and embassies, and in the quiet moments of family and friendship.
