The Kehl School of Dance

By Jo Jean Janus

A Continuing Legacy

Each day members of the Kehl family put on their happy feet and smiles and set out to educate and inspire young dancers as they have been doing for 125 years in America. Since the seventeenth century, Kehl family members had devoted their lives to dance and related arts in Europe; here the Kehls continue the tradition as fourth-generation family members operate a successful dance school in Madison, Wisconsin, and a fifth generation is waiting in the wings.

My grandfather, Frederick W. Kehl, was born in Germany in 1862. As a boy of twelve, he and his six siblings were sent to live with his uncles after the death of their father and mother (who was a French ballerina). In Wolf, Germany, the children had a home, a church, and a new family—but they were not allowed to dance! Frederick ran away, hopped a ship to America, and managed to support himself working, while studying dance in New York City, then in Chicago, finally settling in Madison, Wisconsin.

In 1880, Frederick established Kehl’s Dancing Academy. Because Madison was then only a small city, professionalism and grace were welcomed and encouraged in the community. My grandfather met and married Barbara Hoeveler, daughter of a talented family of musicians and dramatic artists. Frederick assisted his father-in law in a furniture and undertaking business until he could devote himself fully to the more cheerful business of dance instruction. In 1898, Frederick built the Kehl’s Dancing Academy, which became the scene of many elaborate town-and-gown balls, cotillions, family parties, proms, and public dances. As a recognized dance master, he was sent to Berlin in 1908 to help originate uniform international standards for dancing. The sixteen countries represented adopted his waltz method and two-step. Members of the German imperial family asked Kehl to instruct them personally. His contributions to dance were noted around the world. In recognition of his achievements, “Professor Kehl” was made an honorary member of the prestigious Imperial Society of London. In 1912, he was elected president of the American National Association of Dance Masters, which was later to become the Dance Masters of America. He helped to originate the DMA Normal School for the training of dance teachers and was its principal for many years. Members of the dance community fondly referred to him as “The Professor” or “Daddy Kehl.”

My grandfather brought his love for dance to more than fifty communities in Wisconsin. He taught at the Hillside Home School in Spring Green for 30 years and had a studio designed for him by his friend and noted architect, Frank Lloyd Wright. After a lifetime devoted to dance and to this community, Frederick retired to Florida. Instead of leisurely pursuits, he opened and personally conducted a school there for fourteen years. He died in 1938.

Frederick’s youngest son, Leo, was one of nine children, and it was he who followed in my grandfather’s footsteps. He was dancing on the boards of the old Fuller Opera House at age three in 1903. Leo learned quickly, developed great style, and loved to dance. He studied in New York where he graduated from the Stefano Mascagno School of Dance and the Vestoff-Serova Russian School of Dance; in Canada, where he was awarded an Imperial Gold Medal as outstanding teacher of the Russian method of Classical Ballet; in Cuba and Mexico, bringing back the Latin and Spanish dances; and with the local Indian tribes, to learn their native dances. Returning to Madison, he took over the Academy in 1922 and changed the name to Leo Kehl School of Dance and Related Arts.

My father, Leo, quickly became known around

the country with his innovative choreography and his enthusiastic spirit. He loved youngsters, and doted on his children and grandchildren, charming their classes with storytelling, music, jokes, and games. Mr. Monkey, his hand puppet, came along to nod his head, clap his hands, and bow with the littlest students. (Still a delight to the children, Mr. Monkey is now 75 years old.)

Like his father, Leo T. Kehl received worldwide recognition as a dance master through affiliations with the Dance Masters of America (DMA) and the Chicago National Association of Dance Masters (CNADM), serving as president of both. His excellence in tap and acrobatic instruction attracted many notable dancers: Ralph Bellamy, Melvin Douglas, Fifi D’Orsay, Vera Ellen, Joan Taylor, and Gene Kelly—all who become stage and cinema luminaries. He choreographed the famous drum routine, later performed by Shirley Temple in the movie The Little Colonel. He assisted in founding the Dance Masters of Wisconsin, serving as its president for 40 years, and in 1951, he founded the World Federation of Dance Educators, which claimed membership in 54 countries around the world.

Leo’s health began to fail in the 1960s and his wife, Genevieve Kehl, succeeded her husband as owner when he died in 1967. Determined to maintain the Kehl legacy, mother remained devoted to the students who called her “Grandma” until her death in 1991. Her daughters continued the Kehl School of Dance as it finally became known.

The Kehl daughters, Virginia Lee (Kehl Mackesey,) and the twins, Jo Ann Kehl McDermott and Jo Jean Kehl Janus (me), received dance and teacher training from many dance masters. We taught classes in seven locations, collected degrees from several major dance organizations, and served as faculty members and officers of many educational organizations. Virginia danced often as a soloist and was a graduate of the University of Wisconsin (UW) Dance Department under Margaret H’Doubler and Louise Klepper. She performed with Orchesis Dance Company and traveled in Europe. With her modern dance skills, many liturgical dance numbers were added to the Kehl School repertoire. Jo Ann, my identical twin, and I have performed together since we were two. We graduated with honors from the UW School of Business.

Our mother, over the years, cared for thirteen grandchildren in the baby bassinet that was kept in full view in the office window.

As dance styles began changing at a rapid pace, the Kehl family stayed abreast of the new, while remaining firmly grounded in the fundamentals. I became director of the Kehl School of Dance in 1991 and began to focus on training instructors in the finer points of teaching dance. As a result, many of our students went on to open schools of their own, including our cousin, Coleen (Kehl Barraza), who operates a successful performing arts school in nearby Stoughton, Wisconsin.

Of my five children, four remain in the dance world. My daughter Jenny (Janus Hiltbrand) took over the reigns of

the Kehl School in 1997, assisted by Jeanne (Janus Keeler) as office manager, and Jo Ann (Uhalt Janus) as a full-time teacher/choreographer. Daughter Julie Janus danced with the Joffrey Ballet for seventeen years and now conducts a ballet school with her dance partner and husband, Tyler Walters, in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. Now, at age 68, with a 50-year record of teaching and being supposedly retired, I find myself doing Fun and Fit classes for the elderly, putting on hula shows for them, and assisting the fourth generation in carrying on the Kehl tradition.

Today, the Kehl School of Dance continues to produce happy, successful students and instructors, many of whom stay and teach part-time. With three locations and eighteen instructors, the Kehl School continues to be a pillar of dance in the community. Jenny follows the tenants of business she learned from her grandparents and parents: “the customer is always right” and “good communication is a necessity.”

“It’s hard to believe I am following in the footsteps of my ancestors,” Jenny says. “I love to dance, I love teaching, and I love to perform.”

The Kehl’s 125th Anniversary celebration will be held June 11, 2005, onstage at the Wisconsin Union Theatre, with a reception at the Wisconsin State Historical Society in Madison. We are all eager for dance associates, friends, and students—past and present—to share in this momentous occasion. Contact us at www.kehldance.com

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