A Mississippi native who began studying dance at age 2, she settled in West Palm Beach in her late 20s and began teaching. In 1973, she founded Ballet Arts Theater of Palm Beach, which grew to a four-productions-per-season schedule and a school with 300 students and a record of placing graduates in some of the world’s top troupes. In 1986, Hale reconstituted BAT as Ballet Florida, one of the few fully professional dance companies in the state. – Dance Magazine