Obituaries : Robert Emile Bell; Ballet Dancer, Teacher

Robert Emile Bell, a ballet dancer, teacher and choreographer, has died at the age of 91.

Bell, who died Thursday of pneumonia in a Thousand Oaks hospital, had been a Ventura County resident for six years.

Bell was born Oct. 9, 1904, in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, and began his career with the Paris Opera Ballet School when he was 13. In 1923, he danced in Igor Stravinsky’s “Petrouchka” and led Stravinsky onstage at a curtain call.

Bell choreographed and danced with Gene Kelly and Fred Astaire, and trained Rita Hayworth and Cyd Charisse in Hollywood, and he appeared regularly at the Hollywood Bowl from 1930 to 1934, said Fred Kuri, a longtime friend.

He toured with de Basil Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo until World War II, when he served as a seaman second class with the U. S. Pacific Fleet. He also participated in commando raids on the coast of Yugoslavia with the French Foreign Legion. In 1946, he rejoined the Ballet Russe for his final year of dancing.

Bell taught ballet at his studio in Oklahoma City until his retirement in 1972. He also had been a guest teacher at the University of Texas, Kansas University and the University of Utah.

A memorial Mass will be said at 6 p.m. Thursday at St. Paschal Baylon Catholic Church in Thousand Oaks. A reception will follow at Castle Hill Retirement Village in Thousand Oaks, his home for the past six years.

Bell will be buried in France alongside his wife, Genevieve.

Arrangements are under the direction of Pierce Brothers Griffin Mortuary of Thousand Oaks.