Ida Arbeit Obituary (1909 - 2011) - Saint Paul, Minnesota

Ida Arbeit, the last living member of the original group of modern dance pioneer Helen Tamiris, died in her sleep on March 15th at her home in St. Paul. She was 101. Under her maiden name Ida Tarvin or stage name Ida Little, Ida danced with Tamiris from 1928 until 1941, including performances on Broadway and a stint with the WPA's Federal Dance Theatre. She lived most of her life in New York, where she raised a family, and worked and volunteered in nursery schools until her mid-90s. Throughout her life, she touched people of all walks of life with her love, energy, and positive outlook on life. In 1991, Ida was brought back to her dance roots by choreographer Dianne McIntyre, who was recreating the influential Tamiris piece How Long Brethren, for a retrospective on the WPA Theatre at George Mason University in Virginia. The dance, which graphically depicted conditions of slavery in the South, had not been performed in half a century. Ida worked closely with the Ms. McIntyre and her dancers to bring life to still photographs that were the only available documentation of the piece. Since moving to St. Paul in 2008, Ida has been working until recently.with the intergenerational dance company Kairos Dance. Her last performance on December 6, called Take Me Back to Hip Harlem, also featured 91-year old St. Paul saxophonist, Irv Williams and vocalist Fred Steele. Her involvement with Kairos has been featured in the Star Tribune, KSTP TV, and web blog The Egg. A segment about Ida is currently in production for the TPT program Minnesota Original. Ida was preceded in death by her husband George and daughter Ruthanne. She is survived by her son David of St. Paul. A celebration of her life will take place at The Wellington Assisted Living on Saturday, March 26, from 2 to 4 pm. The family requests that Ida's legacy can be honored through a contribution in her name to Kairos Dance at http://www.kairosdance.org.