A legacy to future dancers: the Tabetha Fox Clark Memorial Dance Scholarship
We celebrate and remember the life of the amazing Tabetha Clark, who we lost in November 2018 in a hard-fought battle with lung cancer. Her passing was a devastating loss for the Bellingham community, as her deep love of dance manifested in every interaction and relationship she encountered.
Tabetha was a dreamer, a wife, a mother, a teacher, and an incredible role model for her colleagues and students. Tabetha's fierce magic and passion for life will not be forgotten. Her friends, colleagues, and family have established a scholarship for Western Washington University Dance students.
“Tabetha would be thrilled for this scholarship, funded by WWU, her friends, family, fellow dancers, even strangers. It helps future dance instructors/performers meet their educational goals. Your big heart in supporting Performing Arts carries on, Tabi!”
--Arlene Fox
About Tabetha
Tabetha Fox Clark was born July 11, 1983, and raised in Spirit Lake, Idaho.
When asked at the age of six what she wanted to be, she always responded with "dance teacher." She held steadfast to that idea, spending 40 years of her life dancing. She studied and performed modern, jazz, lyrical, ballet, and tap at the University of Central Oklahoma and Grossmont College, where she received her degree in dance in 2008.
She was a certified instructor in Tap and Jazz through Dance Masters of America. She spent five years studying rhythm tap and performing with the California Rhythm Project under the direction of Pam Thompson, working on original pieces as well as pieces choreographed by the like of Eddie Brown, Honi Coles, and Fred Astaire. She also had the pleasure of performing in San Diego with Jean Isaacs San Diego Dance Theater.
In Bellingham, she danced for four seasons with the Bellingham Repertory Dance Company and worked as an active choreographer in the arts community creating pieces for places like the Mount Baker Theater. Her love for dance was only overshadowed by her passion for teaching others. While she focused on teaching technique, language, and the history of dance, she wanted dance to be a way to nurture each individual's creativity. She truly believed dance should be available to everyone, from beginners to the most seasoned.
She was a dancer, teacher, choreographer, competition director, and judge in Oklahoma, South Carolina, and California, but it was Bellingham, Washington where she saw her dream realized when she became a studio owner. She opened ABCDance Bellingham in 2015. Dance Education allowed her to see the joy, self-confidence, creativity, and energy that dance could bring others in a positive and fun environment. This scholarship is intended to honor her love for dance and inspire others to follow her passion for Dance Education.
