Driving force at the 92nd Street Y: Joan Finkelstein approaches her tenth anniversary as director of the Harkness Dance Center, and the Y has cause to celebrate.

Imagine sitting opposite a Modigliani woman with her long, strong neck, oval, almost ascetic face, slate blue eyes. Imagine her crossed with Duchamp's Nude Descending a Staircase: all action, keeping several themes vibrantly alive as she talked, her fingers flashing five rings as they accented her words, her torso contracting and curving, adding the ultimate accent.

When she came to my home to discuss New York's 92nd Street Y and its dance projects, Joan Finkelstein talked almost nonstop for five hours. Her thoughts were orderly and logical; they also crackled with ideas for the future.

It was easy to see why Finkelstein has brought a special brand of vitality to the 92nd Street Harkness Dance Center and why she has restored--and in some ways gone beyond--the prestige it enjoyed from 1936 to 1969 under founding director William Kolodney. His fertile mind and his willingness to listen to his consultants created a prestigious--and possibly the only one in the country--modern dance concert series at the Y's Kaufmann Concert Hall (or Theresa L. Kaufmann Auditorium, as it was initially known). He also developed a school in which Martha Graham, Doris Humphrey, Charles Weidman, Hanya Holm, and Anna Sokolow played impressive early roles; New York Times dance critic John Martin was a valued consultant, as was composer Louis Horst, Martha Graham's music director.

Under Kolodney, Doris Humphrey taught her uniquely commonsense approach to choreography, and Lucille Nathanson and Bonnie Bird developed a creative method for teaching children. Fred Berk pioneered classes in Israeli folk dance for adults and young people. The Merry-Go-Rounders, a dance company whose repertoire was for children, used the Y as home base but also toured extensively for twenty years. And a variety of artists, such as Carmelita Maracci, Sophie Maslow, La Argentinita, Carmen Amaya, Pearl Primus, Valerie Bettis, Janet Collins, Rosario and Antonio, and Hadassah performed there.

The curriculum of the dance center received a major boost in 1984 when the Harkness Ballet School closed. The Harkness Foundation for Dance began to subsidize ballet teaching and a few other projects at the Y. But the Y's most influential activity, its dance subscription series, had received a major blow in 1977. The Kaufman Concert Hall was unionized and became too costly for most dance companies.

A strange pattern also turned up in the administrative area. Between 1976 and 1992, the dance center went through five directors: Susan Schickele (1976-78), Sharon Gersten Luckman (1978-86), Jane Kosminsky (1986-88), Ilona Copen (1988-91), and Cathryn Williams (1991-93). It looked as though one of New York's most important dance environments had slipped out of the mainstream. When Williams, the fifth director, was about to leave, heading her list of recommendations for the job was Joan Finkelstein.

AT THAT TIME, FINKELSTEIN WAS at loose ends. She had two small daughters to care for, and her husband, Alan Kifferstein, was building a new business. The prospect of administrative work was not especially appealing to Finkelstein, who had danced since early childhood. As she described it, "Sitting behind a desk, who wanted it? But you don't realize how creative it can be. It put me right back into the center of the dance world."

At a very early age, Finkelstein was introduced to piano, Dalcroze eurythmics, and ballet. She embraced them all with unusual skill. Her ballet teacher, recognizing her talent, suggested that she transfer to the Ballet Theatre school. But her mother felt the required four classes a week were excessive, and the ballet lessons were discontinued, much to Finkelstein's sorrow. She tried to fill the void by attending as many dance performances as possible.

One of these was at the Delacorte, an outdoor theater in Central Park. Jean-Leon Destine and his Afro-Haitian Dance Company were appearing, and she found herself mesmerized by the sinuous style. How exciting it would be to study with him!

A few weeks later, she visited the New Dance Group, a school that provided inexpensive classes principally for working people. Who was on the staff but Destine? She plunged into his work.

She also enrolled at New York University Tisch School of the Arts and was stimulated by the varied roster of guest teachers. Two of them, Elina Mooney and Cliff Keuter, invited her to join their companies. Finkelstein remained with them for six years; she also met her future husband, who was Keuter's company manager.

Then a different style of movement began to intrigue her. Don Redlich, who had trained with Hanya Holm, "knew how to carve space," as Finkelstein put it. She became a member of his company.

It was a happy time. Because the National Endowment for the Arts was so generous in the 1970s, the company had a good spate of touring, and the Artists in the Schools program gave its members ample opportunity to work with children. They also had a two-year teaching and performing residency at the Y, and they spent the summers in the Rocky Mountains working with Hanya Holm at Colorado College. By the '80s, dance touring had begun to dry up. So when Finkelstein was offered a summer of teaching at the University of Wisconsin, she accepted it and left Redlich's company.

THE NATIONAL ASSOCIATION FOR Regional Ballet (now Regional Dance America), through grants from the Monticello College Foundation, awarded fellowships each summer to its choreography conferences. They were for emerging choreographers in the organization's member companies, but occasionally a New York-based professional was added to the roster. In 1983, Finkelstein was included. Result: two invitations to set works, one on the Atlanta Ballet and the other on the Dayton Contemporary Dance Company.

With dancer Brian Hanna she had formed a small New York company called Moving Pictures. But the birth of her daughter, Sonia, made her decide to leave dance. The arrival of her second daughter, Marina, found her staying at home for two years. Then along came the Y's offer. Although the performance series no longer existed, there were other interesting projects supported by the Harkness Foundation, such as space grants and two studio performance series that needed a shot in the arm.

One day, the Y's executive director, Sol Adler, invited her to lunch with Ted Bartwink, director of the Harkness Foundation. Adler asked Bartwink what he felt was missing among the Y's varied programs. Without hesitation, Bartwink replied, "Performances." Knowing that the Kaufmann Auditorium was no longer available, Bartwink added, "Find a theater, and then let's talk." Finkelstein came up with Playhouse 91, a 300-seat theater close to the Y. The Foundation offered a seven-year grant, and the series called Harkness Dance Project was on its way. The first season, in 1994-95, consisted of a total of nineteen performances by the Bebe Miller Company, Robin Becker and Company, Peter Pucci Plus Dancers, Doug Varone and Dancers, and a program narrated by Ernestine Stodelle tracing the legacy of Doris Humphrey and including the Jennifer Muller Company, Mezzacappa/Gabrian Consort, and Nina Watt of the Limon Company. The house had to be almost entirely papered, but Bartwink was patient.

The series now takes place at The Duke, a black-box theater on West 42nd Street. This season features twenty-five performances consisting of Nicholasleichterdance, Keely Garfield's Sinister Slapstick (in a return engagement), Chamecki/Lerner, Sean Curran Company, and Irene Hultman Dance.

Meanwhile, back at the Y, changes have been bouncing into place. The Harkness Space Grant Program, which provided free rehearsal space for choreographers, had stagnated; often people did not use the space they had reserved. The booking mechanism has been changed, and last season 3,000 hours of space served more than fifty artists.

FRIDAYS AT NOON, FREE BROWN-BAG concerts by emerging choreographers, had been attracting virtually no audience. Now administered by staff member Amy Kail, it is an outreach program for junior high and high school students. More aggressive publicity helped it as well as Sundays at Three, a studio showcase for established choreographers. To be seen in coming months are Andrew Jannetti, Molly Rabinowitz, Lynn Parkerson, Jerry Blumenfeld, Barbara Mahler, and Heidi Latsky.

The Harkness Workshop Series for professional dancers offers technique and repertoire led by directors or members of outstanding modern companies. Remaining for this season are members of the Parsons and Lar Lubovich companies, Doug Varone, Sean Curran, and Latsky. Deborah Zall will offer a workshop on creating a character in dance.

Although the Y had a reputable school, not much was done about performing opportunities for the children. For the upper level of the modern dance division, Finkelstein initiated the Young Masters Repertory Ensemble. There is now a ballet performing group called the Harkness Youth Ballet. And this past year a jazz and pop company called Fresh Y Crew was started for boys only.

Close to Finkelstein's heart is the Dance Education Laboratory, a teacher-training program for dancers who wish to make a transition into teaching and for teachers who are in need of a fresh approach. Now in its seventh year, it even includes conflict resolution through dance.

Daily classes, most of which are not for professionals, include ballet and modern, several types of conditioning, tap dance, ballroom, Afro-Caribbean, flamenco, Middle Eastern, Isadora Duncan, jazz, funk, and Israeli dance.

With all this activity around her, it is inevitable that Finkelstein misses dancing herself. She admits that now and then, if a studio stands empty, she slips away from her desk and indulges in a bit of improvisation.

As for the future, it would be wonderful if the Y could again house its own theater for dance. In the meantime, Finkelstein says that her biggest challenge is serving the field she so dearly loves. "To do that," she says, "you have to be willing to let your program go through changes."

Senior Editor/Advisor Doris Hering has been writing and reviewing for Dance Magazine since 1945.

For Information about programs at the Y's Harkness Dance Center, call 415-5552.

To learn more about the history of the 92nd Street Y, read Converging Movements: Modern Dance and Jewish Culture at the 92nd Street Y by Naomi M. Jackson. Wesleyan University Press. ISBN: 0-8195-6419-2.

Some Dance Magazine articles from over the years:

"Not Legend-But Fact: Modern dance--its role in the curriculum of the 92nd Street YM-YWHA in New York under dance director Doris Humphrey," by Martha Coleman, January 1948, page 40.

"The 92nd Street Y and Its New Policy." January 1954, page 4.

"New Dance/Spaces: Here, there and everywhere: oases for modern dance," by Louise Pastore. April 1974, page 62.

"Jane Kosminsky's 92nd Street Y Solution--Mission: Possible," by Gary Parks, March 1988, page 71.