Giacobbe Academy of Dance.

When the Giacobbe Academy of Dance celebrated its golden anniversary onstage at the New Orleans Theatre of the Performing Arts in 1993, then-governor Edwin W. Edwards proclaimed that "by teaching thousands of young people and adults the art of dance, the Giacobbe family has played a vital role in the cultural advancement of Louisiana."

On that special evening, it was clear that the Academy had made impressive leaps from its humble beginnings in a backyard of Metairie, Lousiana. When their two eldest daughters, Maria and Georgie, completed their dance training with Gerry Fenasci of New Orleans in 1943, Leona and Lawrence Giacobbe felt that the teenaged girls were too young to continue their studies in New York. So the family's backyard made room for the Giacobbe School of Dance. Neighborhood children, along with little sister Lee and brother Joseph Giacobbe, were among the first of the now thousands of students to study at what would become a major dance academy with three studios--in Metairie, Slidell, and Mandeville.

The legacy of the Giacobbes' commitment to dance education is evident in the success of their alumni. Over the years, the Academy's students have won numerous scholarships--to the School of American Ballet, Harkness House, the Joffrey School, and Houston Ballet, to name a few. In addition, they have gone on to dance with Joffrey Ballet, London Festival Ballet, Houston Ballet, Boston Ballet, and San Francisco Ballet, among many others. They have also appeared with Delta Festival Ballet and New Orleans Youth Ballet, for which the academy is the official school.

Interviewed on a recent morning at his home in New Orleans, the veteran teacher and choreographer was enjoying a rare respite between classes and preparations for the Academy's annual student concert showcase, the premiere of Delta Festival Ballet's Alladin, and rehearsals for the upcoming Andrea Chenier at the New Orleans Opera, for which he is resident choreographer.

A charming and affable man, Giacobbe always steers his conversations back to his love of dancing and the education and the discipline it requires. "All of the family shares this devotion, this addiction to the art from," he says with a laugh.

The Academy, now in its fifty-third year, has 575 students currently enrolled in classes and a faculty of eleven teachers. The school's foundation is classical ballet; its syllabus is based on Italian and Russian methods. "The main thing," says Giacobbe, "is to provide unmannered, uncluttered training so that the dancer may adapt to any style or choreographer."

The Lower Division training begins with Kinder Dance, designed to offer children ages three to five instruction in preballet, tap, and basic gymnastics. Rhythm, coordination, class deportment, and self-expression are taught here in preparation for classical ballet training.

Basic ballet positions and movements as well as familiarity with French terms are important components of the Primary Level (ages five to seven), which also continues tap training to help with rhythm and timing.

Elementary Level, for ages seven and above, challenges students with attention paid to body, feet, and arm positions as well as correct barre and center technique.

The Upper Division students also take a weekly class devoted to pointework. Pointe shoes, however, are not allowed until students have had sufficient training to strengthen feet, ankles, legs, and body. Jazz and tap classes round out the curriculum.

"Early training is essential so that bad habits are not formed," says Giacobbe. "Quality by the advanced level is high; so are the expectations. Dancers cannot perform if they don't keep up." The school doesn't officially promote students from one level of training to the next but relies on natural attrition. "The greater the discipline, the more advanced a student becomes," he says.

The two-semester system at the academy runs from September through June; summer workshops are five weeks. Recordings are used for most classes, although a pianist enhances Saturday sessions.

When asked about future plans, Giacobbe immediately proclaims, "More space!" as he reflects on the school's continued growth and its need for a bigger studio.

After his early training at the family studio, Giacobbe continued dance studies during his high school years in New Orleans and Chicago, where he developed special interest in flamenco. He met his wife, Gwen Delle Bernadas, in the advanced dance class at Tulane University, and they went on to perform together as soloists in Teresa y su Compania Espanola at Jacob's Pillow and with the New Orleans Opera. Maria Giacobbe, who was choreographing a show at Loyola University, met her husband, dance partner Tony Alessandra, at that time and later taught and choreographed in a number of schools while continuing to work at the family academy. Georgie retired from the school in 1973 to spend more time with her family and Lee was forced to abandon a ballet career following an ankle injury. After a career dancing in musical comedies and teaching, she relocated with her family to New Orleans in 1993 and rejoined the academy faculty.

Today, in addition to Joseph and Maria, who direct the Academy together with Gwen, the faculty includes Lee Giacobbe Facenda, Mary Monro, Ben Bagby, Richard Rholdon, Denise Oustalet, Mary Monteleone, Maria Garrity, and Maria's daughter, Toni Alessandra Lovejoy, who represents the family's third generation.

A testament to the academy's success is found in the playbill for its 1993 Golden Anniversary gala. Among the former students who returned to celebrate their school's golden jubilee were 1979 IBC (Jackson, Mississippi) medalist and now Zurich Ballet soloist Gretchen Newburger and former Joffrey Ballet soloist Jerel Hilding, who joined several other nationally recognized dancers, choreographers, and teachers in saluting their alma mater.

As the official school of Delta Festival Ballet and New Orleans Youth Ballet, the Giacobbe Academy presents area students with a number of performance opportunities, including showcases and the Discovery Series--a collaboration between Delta Festival Ballet and the Louisiana Philharmonic. Auditions are open to academy students and all young dance hopefuls in the New Orleans area.

Students in the Youth Ballet and throughout the state--as well as East Texas and Mississippi--gain stage experience with Delta Festival Ballet's Nutcracker production, whose participation in this project has had the happy has result that more than 400,000 people have seen this production since its 1981 premiere.

Along with family and faculty, Giacobbe finds each beginning filled with "love of ballet, devotion to the art form, hard work, and persistence. I treat each class as if it were the most important thing for each student."