City to Dedicate ‘Miss Persis Place’ Honorary Street Sign Toppers at Ceremony Nov. 18, 2023
The community is invited to celebrate the dedication of new “Miss Persis Place” honorary street sign toppers in Downtown Arlington in honor of the late Ms. Persis Forster.
The dedication ceremony is set for 11 a.m. Saturday, Nov. 18, 2023, at Miss Persis Studio of Dance and Performing Arts, 222 W. Main St. In June, the Arlington City Council approved a community stakeholder request to install the toppers near the dance school along South Oak Street between West Main and West Abram streets. Honorary street sign toppers do not change the official name of the street and do not affect addressing, navigation, mailing, or deliveries.
Ms. Forster, who died in 2021, established Miss Persis Studio of Dance in 1954. The Arlington institution has offered dance and cotillion classes and community performances for nearly seven decades since. Those who plan to attend the Nov. 18 dedication ceremony are asked to RSVP by email to [email protected]. All are welcome to attend.
As a professional actress, Ms. Forster has appeared in leading principal roles at Casa Manana, Lyric Theatre in Oklahoma City, Carousel Dinner Theater in Ohio, Lyric Theatre in Irving, Theatre Arlington, Gown Town Theatre and Garland Summer Musicals. She attended North Texas Agricultural College, which later became The University of Texas at Arlington and graduated from the University of Texas with a bachelor's degree in radio/television.
Past honors include the Chamber of Commerce Citation for Service Award, the Friend of Youth Award and the Distinguished Alumnus Award. Ms. Forster was honored with the Women’s Legacy Award for Arts in Tarrant County in 1999 and with the Dallas Dance Council’s “Texas Tap Legend” award in May 2006.
Ms. Forster was also a past president of the Texas Association Teachers of Dancing and the UTA Alumni Association. She taught in the UTA Drama Department for more than 18 years. Additionally, she founded Dance Theatre of Arlington in 1981.
“She was ahead of her time in a lot of ways. She volunteered for everything and she made a lot of things happen for the betterment of the community,” said her daughter, Persis Ann Forster. “At a time when the arts were not a priority for people in Arlington, she made them important. She supported them and she brought in dance people and theatre people to work on projects and conventions to help promote the city. I’m proud that all of the things she did for the city are going to be remembered and that it is going to be part of the history of Arlington.”
Downtown Arlington, City Council District 5, History
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