Marta Becket died Monday. A ballerina who drew audiences from around the world to an abandoned Mojave Desert stage she adopted after being stranded in the area by a flat tire in 1967, Marta purchased the Amargosa Opera House, began dancing in 1968 and continued every Monday, Friday, and Saturday, whether the house was full or empty—as if thousands were watching. In 1968 her only patrons were the three Mormon families who lived in the isolated town of Death Valley Junction, twenty-three miles from the nearest town; yet as time went by the 114 seats were filled, and on special occasions extra chairs were brought in.
Ms. Becket wrote songs and dialogue, sewed costumes and painted sets. She spent six years drawing and painting imaginary fans on the walls, painted the ceiling with a blue sky, dancing cherubs, clouds and doves."It's mystifying," she said, "I feel as if this is what I was intended to do."
She continued flitting across the stage in her iconic performances well into her 80s although health problems slowed her in later years. In 2012 she turned the theater over to a nonprofit group.
The coroner said Wednesday that the cause of Ms. Becket's death at 92 had not been determined. She died at home in Death Valley Junction. (Source: The San Francisco Chronicle)
There is so much to learn by watching others and the way they live their lives.