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- Ballet patron Clara Noyes dies
Clara Rideout Noyes, 90, the founder and patron of an Indianapolis ballet troupe, died Friday. Mrs. Noyes co-created what is now Ballet Internationale in 1973 after joining the Indianapolis-based Civic Ballet Society in the 1960s. As a loyal board member, volunteer and donor, Mrs. Noyes used passion and persuasiveness to keep the company alive through periods of financial hardship, her friends and family said Saturday. “To say Clara was passionate about ballet is not enough,” said Eldar Aliev, the company’s artistic director. Aliev said he spent hours in Mrs. Noyes’ library going through books about dance and talking with her about the craft. Her interest was rare, Aliev said, because she was never a dancer. Mrs. Noyes’ son, Dan Noyes, said his mother always had an artistic bent. She grew up in San Francisco, the daughter of novelist Henry Milner Rideout and Frances Reed Rideout, who was the daughter of an Episcopal priest. “She could hear a tune and play it on the piano by ear,” Noyes said. His mother also was fond of jazz, he said. “But she enjoyed ballet the most, because she felt it was a great combination of artistic and athletic endeavors, and a great discipline for young people,” he said. Mrs. Noyes came to Indianapolis after meeting her husband, Evan Lilly Noyes, in San Francisco. He was stationed with the USS Louisville before World War II. They were married on Jan. 3, 1942. Mr. Noyes, who died in 1958, was a descendant of Eli Lilly, the founder of Eli Lilly and Co. Today, Ballet Internationale has 28 dancers from more than 10 countries and performs worldwide. It also puts on four performances a year in Indianapolis. In 2003, Ballet Internationale established the Clara R. Noyes Academy of Ballet Internationale to help train young dancers. Aliev said the company “has become what Clara always dreamed it could be.” Ballet Internationale’s performances of “Le Corsaire” on Friday and Saturday will be dedicated to Mrs. Noyes. Mrs. Noyes is survived by her sister, Cecily Rideout McNeil; children Evan, Nick, Dan and Linda Noyes and Kathy Canada; 18 grandchildren; and eight great-grandchildren. A memorial service is scheduled for 10:30 a.m. Saturday in St. Paul’s Episcopal Church, 10 W. 61st St. Visitation will begin at 8:30 a.m. Memorial contributions may be sent to Ballet Internationale and marked for support of the Clara R. Noyes Academy.
(The Indianapolis Star, Indianapolis, Indiana, Sunday, April 17, 2005)
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1915 - 2005 (90 years)
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