Gertrude Hallenbeck: top-level instruction thrives in upstate New York.

"I never go to sleep at night without reading something from a book or an article about dance."

Boundless enthusiasm combined with a no-nonsense, articulate approach to teaching several forms of dance--this is the way Gertrude Hallenbeck's students would describe their outstanding teacher. Hallenbeck has been bestowing her gifts on young dancers at her Albany, New York, school for over fifty years. And she shows no signs of slowing down or retiring, vowing, "I want to go in the middle of a deep plie or a shim-sham."

The Hallenbeck School of the Dance, one of America's longest-established, was founded in 1920 by Gertrude's father, Oscar J. Hallenbeck, and his sister, Helene Hallenbeck Barnard. The program book for the school's June 1995 diamond Jubilee program reprinted a part of its 1926 brochure that contains, along with other now quaint-sounding information, the fact that in that year semiprofessional class tuition was three dollars per month and that there was a registration fee of fifty cents. More contemporary--and impressive--are a laudatory proclamation from Albany's Mayor Gerald D. Jennings and congratulatory letters from New York State Governor George E. Pataki, Congressman Michael R. McNulty--and President Bill Clinton. Hallenbeck is no stranger to national recognition, having received, along with many other honors, the 1993 Kennedy Center Imagination Celebration Award for "distinguished leadership in dance education." In January 1996 she was installed as president of Dance Educators of America (DEA).

Standards are high at the school, reflecting Hallenbeck's own excellent background of training: School of American Ballet in its pioneer years; the Vilzak-Shollar school; many summers at Jacob's Pillow; and continuing work with many of the greatest masters in jazz and tap, such as Gregory Hines, Savion Glover, and Brenda Bufalino. Eventually she chose to work beside her father at the family school in Albany rather than pursue the sometimes grueling life of the professional dancer in New York City. Oscar Hallenbeck died in 1982, but the tradition of quality carries on. Today the school offers graded classes in classical ballet and pointe work, jazz, tap, ballroom, musical theater, and Tappercize to more than two hundred students, ages four to eighty. Hallenbeck herself teaches all of the ballet classes as well as many tap and jazz classes. The other faculty member is Dick Feldman, a performer, choreographer, and educator, who teaches an adult workshop entitled "American Musicals--the Dancers' Heritage."

Gertrude Hallenbeck states her philosophy clearly in the school brochure: "As dance educators we feel that the training of dancers demands a single standard--excellence! We are honored and privileged to be entrusted with the training of a dancer--whether . . . working toward professional goals or simply toward dance as an educational and recreational part of [life]. Personal attention and analysis of a student's abilities, progress, and achievement are all important factors.... " This serious attitude is further reflected in matters such as pointe work. In keeping with authoritative opinions on the subject, students under age eleven are not allowed on pointe, and only then if they have had at least three years of study with a minimum of two classes per week. To avoid distractions, parents are permitted to observe classes only twice during the year. Regulation dance attire is prescribed--adults are advised to wear dark, solid-color leotards, for example--in order to maintain a professional approach. Furthermore, students are expected to master the correct pronunciations and spellings of ballet terms, a necessity sometimes omitted by otherwise conscientious teachers.

Hallenbeck's alumni have put her training and advice to use in many fields, dance-related and otherwise. Most recognizable will be Lila York, a former luminary of Paul Taylor Dance Company, who has embarked on a successful career as a choreographer, winning rave reviews for her ballet Rapture, first staged at Juilliard and later with Pacific Northwest Ballet; and the late former Joffrey Ballet principal Philip Jerry, also a choreographer and ballet master, whose Our Town was commissioned and premiered by Albany Berkshire Ballet and later presented by other regional companies. (American Repertory Ballet of New Jersey presented it in New York City at the Joyce Theater in February.) Jerry was also an inspiration to dancers who wonder about life after performing: He was graduated cum laude from Princeton University at the age of forty and became special assistant to the director of the Brooklyn Academy of Music. Hallenbeck fondly reminisces: "Philip entirely changed the way I teach. He demanded to know why one step followed the other--not just how." Other former Hallenbeck students include television producer George Vosburgh; actor Barry Gordon, who was president of the Screen Actors Guild from 1989 through 1995; and daytime soap opera actress Tricia Brooks. Still others are active in dance and theater education and in dance journalism.

Hallenbeck had the good fortune to study with some artists who played important parts in dance history. At Jacob's Pillow, for example, she worked with Agnes de Mille, Bronislava Nijinska, Mikhail Mordkin, and Anton Dolin. She recalls George Balanchine's remarkable memory for individual dancers as well as for precise details of dance. Apparently, he rarely forgot anything. As a young student, Hallenbeck had tried to impress him with a double pirouette at the barre and didn't quite make it. Some years later, encountering her again, Mr. B remarked, "You the girl who fall down!"

Hallenbeck was also an early United States advocate of Labanotation. In her student years, living in Greenwich Village, she was the roommate of future Labanotation authority Ann Hutchinson Guest, and later on she published some of her own choreography for children in dance notation. She has also written two dance books, A Touch of Ballet and To Teach Is to Learn Twice.

A firm believer in the benefits of sharing knowledge, Hallenbeck has been active in dance teachers' organizations throughout her career. Before her election to the presidency of DEA, she held several other high posts within the organization and proudly displays a photograph of herself taken along with the late Charles "Honi" Coles when they were both honored with the DEA Life Achievement Award.

Always eager to promote dance awareness, Hallenbeck organized the Albany Civic Dance Association, which presented ballet and modern concert dances. Ted Shawn even came over to Albany from Jacob's Pillow for the opening event in May of 1955. Dancers from her school have often been recruited for various local productions, including, at one time, outdoor performances during Albany's annual tulip festival and musical programs at the city's Institute of History and Art.

When not teaching at her studio or traveling in her various educational capacities, Hallenbeck--an exceptionally youthful great-grandmother--relaxes at home with her husband of more than forty years, M. Robert "Manny" Cashvan, and their dog, Shim-Sham, a fluffy white bichon frise who would fit easily into a ballet blanc. She is also an expert at needlework, doubtless utilizing her dancer's sense of fine detail.

A great musician was once asked what he did when he wanted to forget about music for a while. He replied, "But I don't want to forget music." Gertrude Hallenbeck's feelings are similar. She never wants to forget dance.

Doris Perlman, a New York-based writer, is Web site editor of Dance Magazine.