In a career that lasted half a century, Prue (Prudence) Skene, who has died aged 81, experienced much change in the role of the arts administrator – from keeping companies going in a rather makeshift manner to a formal career in which fundraising skills and the understanding of governance were crucial. She was an architect of a great deal of this change, becoming one of the best connected figures in the arts network in Britain and one who constantly aimed to improve the lot of arts leaders and practitioners.
Her time as chair of the Arts Council of England (ACE) dance panel between 1992 and 1995 proved challenging: the dance scene was changing, with the rise of many smaller companies resulting in the need to axe larger organisations.
