‘Uniquely remarkable’: Ballet West’s first Ballet Mistress dies at 88 years old
SALT LAKE CITY (ABC4) — Ballet West‘s first Ballet Mistress, Bené Arnold, passed away Thursday at age 88.
Arnold is recognized as one of Utah’s women pioneers of dance, influencing the lives of hundreds of dancers through Ballet West’s history and the University of Utah’s dance program, according to Ballet West.
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She joined the San Francisco Ballet School in 1948 where she rose to the rank of soloist. In 1964, she joined Ballet West as the first Ballet Mistress for William Christensen, the founder of the company.
In 1975, Arnold joined the Department of Ballet faculty at the University of Utah but remained involved with Ballet West as a rehearsal director for young dancers in The Nutcracker, as well as directing the Ballet West Academy.
In 1984, Arnold received a citation from the Utah State Senate recognizing her contribution to the state. In 1997, she received the Chamber of Commerce and the Governor’s Award for the Arts, according to Ballet West.
Additionally, Arnold was given the College of Fine Arts Excellence award in 2001 and, upon her retirement, was named Distinguished Professor Emerita, according to Ballet West.
Arnold worked closely with William Christensen, staging his works for Ballet West and the Cincinnati Ballet. She also choreographed works for the Utah and Arizona operas. In 1985, Arnold recreated the role of Fatme in Ballet West’s reconstruction of Abdallah, which reportedly began her career as a guest artist in various roles with the company.
Ballet West Director of Education and Outreach Peter Christie, who has been with Ballet West for more than 40 years, said Arnold was “instrumental in guiding and shaping the lives of hundreds, if not thousands of dancers through Ballet West’s history and University of Utah Dance Department.”
“The amount of passion that she brought to sharing and developing dancers and the art form was uniquely remarkable,” Christie said.
Retired Dance Educator Sharee Lane said Arnold inspired a lifelong learning in her and to many of her students, “not because we adhered to any prescribed teaching method, but because we saw what she loved to do with her life.”
“[Arnold] dared courageously to take risks, some that succeeded and some experiments that failed. However, these risks were innovated and made me rethink how to nurture growth in challenging and diverse students,” Lane said.
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