Retired Higham Dance Studio Director of Shelley has died
SHELLEY – Long-time resident Rehle Higham has passed away, leaving behind a legacy of artistry, dance, and poise.
Rehle Higham loved teaching dance, and she loved the students she taught. For 50 years, Higham Dance Studio taught dance to children from ages four to eighteen and even some adults. A dance recital was held at year’s end, allowing families to see their children perform what they learned.
“We taught tap, ballet, jazz, and ballroom,” Ann Winders said, 37-year Higham Dance Studio instructor and collaborator. “We even taught an etiquette class.”
Higham started teaching dance while living in North Carolina. After moving to Shelley, she taught dance in the reception hall of the old L.D.S. First Ward Church until she and her husband constructed a dance studio behind their home on North State Street, according to her obituary.
Higham taught dance for thirteen years alone before asking Winders to join her in teaching dance.
“I started taking dance from Rehle in the third grade,” Winders said. “I would babysit for her to have money for dance lessons.” Later, Heidi Malin and others would join the teaching staff.
Higham was proficient at dance and art as well. “She studied art at the University of Utah and studied under acclaimed Utah landscape artist La Conde Stewart,” Winders said. “She would say, Ann, you need to know more about art. We were always going to art galleries. She always wanted others to learn what she had learned.”
Most of her early paintings were landscaped oils. Later, she transitioned into watercolors. She was a member of the Idaho Falls Art Guild, Plein Air Painters, Museum Artists, and the Bonneville Art Association. According to her art profile, in 2006 and 2007, she was in the top 100 in Paint America.
“She always took classes, trying to learn more about art,” Winder said. “She was a self-learner and always wanted to be better than she was at everything she pursued.”
Higham took piano lessons and dance lessons from John and Janice Nelson of the Ballet Society, in Idaho Falls, even after closing her studio, Winders said.
“She always strived for excellence, and she always wanted her students to be the best they could be,” Higham Dance Studio instructor Keri Payne said. Payne now owes and operates Elite Studios, the largest dance studio in the community.
Higham’s drive to continually learn and improve herself manifested itself in her accomplishments.
“She won grand prizes at the Eastern Idaho Fair for her art,” daughter Celeste French said. According to Shelley Pioneer, she won the National American Mother’s art competition in 2011.
Higham loved to learn and share her learning with others, whether in dance, art, or any other aspect of life.
In an artist profile of herself, she wrote, “I have done an independent study with many professional artists throughout my life, and I have learned from all of them. I strive to make my paintings loose and painterly and am continually trying to improve. It has been and still is a wonderful journey. I look and learn and visit galleries and art shows whenever I am able. I enjoy the accomplishment of others as well as my own. I love my artist friends as we have a lot in common. Collecting original art from other artists and friends has added much enjoyment to my home. I find it most fun to be called an artist.” – Rehle Higham.
Rehle Higham touched the lives of many who grew up in Shelley and called it home. She blessed the lives of young people who came to love the art of dance through her teaching and performances. We are a better community because of her.
Because of her love and zeal for the arts, the Shelley Supporter of the Arts is creating the Rehle Higham Scholarship Fund. “This scholarship will be awarded to those who excel in any area of the arts,” SSA Co-Chair Jacqueline Wittwer said. “Donations for this scholarship can be made at the Bank of Commerce in Shelley.”
