When dancer, artist, musician, and choreographer Marta Becket passed away in 2017, Christine Fossemalle was heartbroken. Fossemalle, the director of the Fossemalle Dance Studio in Santa Ynez, was a longtime friend and admirer.
“I think the bond was both our passion for ballet,” she said. “I wanted to do this anniversary celebration because of what she has given to me.”
The anniversary Fossemalle referred to is what would have been Becket’s 51st season at her Amargosa Opera House in Death Valley Junction. To commemorate the special occasion, the board of directors of the opera house invited Fossemalle’s studio to create a special program of celebration in honor of Becket. On Feb. 16, Fossemalle’s troupe of dancers will travel to the Amargosa for the special one-night performance.
Dancers Citlaly Alvarado, Saray Duran, Isabella Hartley, Camryn Kemp, Taylor Kemp, Ella Raffo, and Amanda Russell will perform seven choreographed pieces during the evening. The performance will also include a video with highlights from Becket’s life as well as music from the Wildflower Trio.
For Fossemalle, it’s an extremely personal event.
“I wanted to honor her passion for the beauty of art,” she said. “To say thank you for how she changed my life and how she changed many others’ lives.”
To that end, the dance studio has dancers performing numbers that represent some of Becket’s favorite musical works and composers. One of Becket’s favorite composers was Frederic Chopin, so Fossemalle and her team put together a ballet performance set to one of Chopin’s waltzes.
Becket started her dance career at the age of 14, performing ballet at Radio City Music Hall and eventually landing a part in the Broadway musical Showboat. Fossemalle said Becket had a deep love for animals, especially cats, which they also created a jazz-themed dance for.
“We are going to do one of the top numbers from [Showboat],” she said. “Every theme, every ballet we are doing is tied to what she loved or what she has done her whole life.”
Beyond her own passion for honoring Becket’s legacy, Fossemalle said she also hopes to pass on to her students many of the lessons Becket gave her.
“It’s a unique, one-time opportunity for them,” she said. “I’m so happy to bring in a new generation of youngsters that can realize what passion can do for you. My girls are not all going to be ballerinas. That does not matter. It’s the passion for something that will carry them through their lifetime.”
The performance is also about having a bonding experience with her dancers, as they explore the town and learn more about Becket and her famous theater. The Amargosa started out as an office for a borax production company in the 1920s. By the time Becket first saw it in 1967 (when she and her husband found themselves stranded in Death Valley with a flat tire), it was known as Corkhill Hall. The hall was a community center used for everything from funerals to movies and even theater.
The dancer was immediately awestruck. She reportedly loved the adobe building so much she referred to it as the other half of herself. She renamed it the Amargosa Opera House and spent the rest of her life dedicating herself not just to restoring it but to making it a center for ballet and performance in the region.
Fossemalle said she also hopes that by introducing them to Amargosa, her dancers will be inspired to keep Becket’s legacy and memory alive, hopefully by bringing their own families and children back to the theater to see it for themselves.
“First and foremost, I feel it’s an honor and a privilege to perform on that stage,” she said. “Because when you step in this theater, you experience a unique ambiance. I hope they carry it on, because that is how it will remain strong.”
Arts and Lifestyle Writer Rebecca Rose is twirling into infinity. Contact her at rrose@santamariasun.com.
This article appears in Feb 14-21, 2019.