By Marsha Proser Cohen

“Things were different back then,” Ray said. “The conventions were workshops with classes being taught by outstanding professionals, and at the end of the convention, we had student showcases.”

H & H Dance Troupe offered classes for students, but focused on classes that could enhance teachers’ skills in their own studios including methods for teaching technique, effective approaches for incorporating creative exercises and routines for both class work and performance.

“The production aspect of the conventions today is very high tech,” Ray said. “Years ago it was a ballroom, a banner and some great teachers. There are a lot more bells and whistles now. But there have to be. We live in a generation of young people who have fast access to everything, so the approach to teaching and inspiring them becomes different.

Today, Ray says, “it’s all about the competitions.” “They do make it look pretty darned good,” Ray chuckled, “but the foundation, the pure dance form, is not there. The competitions have, to an extent, elevated the level of training dancers now need.

“To address that need, teachers should put good dance study first before they diversify with the more contemporary styles. Teachers want to go with what’s current, but if they are good, they will love the art of dance and will be able to communicate that to their students.”

With his own students, despite the “new wave” of MTV style dance and his appreciation of its value, Ray exposes the students to classic jazz and tap styles along with some of the new moves.

Ray can easily boast a long list of former students who have gone on to become professional dancers, and his students, teachers and friends seem to cherish their own special memories, all of which demonstrate the warmth and caring of a gentle man.

Cindy Scott-Joyce, a former student and teacher, calls Ray “motivational.”

“He allowed me the opportunity to begin assisting him. I learned to teach, and when I was ready, he gave me my own studio. My first teacher told me I would never be a dancer, but Ray believed in me,” Scott-Joyce said. “He just makes people feel good about themselves and motivates them to follow whatever dreams they have.”

Angelo Moio, teacher, choreographer and competition judge, said, “One word

to describe Ray is ‘classy.’ I would like to conduct myself as he does. Ray has been a marvelous dance educator and inspiration to young dancers and teachers. He has a passion for dance that has never faltered. He treats students and teachers with respect and encourages them to keep learning and improving.”

By inviting guest artists from around the country to teach master classes at his conventions, Ray has continued to train solid dancers and teachers. This, Moio says, “is Ray’s greatest contribution to dance.”

But more than just his dedication to dance, Ray’s nurturing, his humor, his kindness along with his gift for making his Dance Troupe teachers and staff feel as if they were family have endeared him to them. After a recent seminar while sharing stories, Cathy Roe, master teacher and creator of Cathy Roe Productions, said, “[Ray] used to tell us he was so handsome as a young man that women used to chase him and try to tear off pieces of his clothes. Then he would wink and take a sip of Scotch while Cindy just looked on amused.”

Those were good times. “Lots of funny stories,” Ray said, “but none I suppose we want the public to hear. But I do remember twin boys who taught for our conventions. Seems as if they were always out of cigarettes and bumming them from me. I think they’ve gone on to make a name for themselves…Gold, I think was their last name.”

Robin Kelley, former student and master teacher who works for Ray, said his love of people is projected in everything he does.

“I had been taking class from Ray at seminars since I was 10 years old,” Kelley said. “His [class] was always the most difficult and had such a great style. I hid in the back of the packed ballroom hoping that some day I would be good enough for him to notice and bring to the front. When I opened my own studio and starting bringing my students to H & H Dance Troupe seminars, Ray noticed me through my students’ performances in the student showcases.

“One day he asked me to meet him and Dobbie in an empty ballroom to audition to teach for their seminar. I was so nervous but made it through. Soon afterward, I was contracted to teach one junior jazz class, and by the time I was 21, Ray would sit in on my classes, watch me work, then say, ‘Come on, honey. Let’s go have a beer. You deserve it.’

“The one incident that stands out in my mind,” Kelley said, “ and probably the most

meaningful was my 25th recital. I invited back former students and had one special dance we dedicated to Ray. It was his choreography of “Bad.” Ray had never attended one of my recitals until that year. I came out on stage and nervously tried to make a speech. I introduced the dancers and continued to tell the audience about Ray and how I got my start. Ray was crying when I introduced him to the audience, and while I knew he was proud of me, that moment said it all and touched me for the rest of my life.”

Roe said when she first met Ray at a convention, she knew she was in the presence of asouthern gentleman. “And just when I thought a guy couldn’t get any classier, Ray showed up behind the podium to emcee the dance competition in a white tux. A tux!

“But what really put Ray in the upper echelons of class, was not his dress or his charisma, but his sincere warmth and genuine caring for children and their spirits. When he called teachers up to the stage, he kissed them on the cheek as he handed every teacher a trophy. He would go out onto the stage and put his arm around a distressed child when the music didn’t start, comfort and escort the child off the stage, and then he’d let the child start again.”

Ray is unquestionably talented. “He could sing and dance,” Moio said, “and while there are still some who can do that effectively, I wonder who will be our next Gwen Verdon, Juliet Prowse, Frank Sinatra, Gene Kelly...Ray was one of those entertainers who did it all, and his type is just no longer around.”

But more than an exceptional talent, Ray is an exceptional teacher and human being. His legacy is the love of dance and the passion to inspire others as he inspired them. He has created a legion of dancers and teachers in his own style, a style that exemplifies the best in what a dance teacher should be.

“ I love my life in dance,” Ray said almost reverently, “ and I am appreciative

of the talent God gave me and hope I’ve achieved something no one else has.”

 

	Comments
	Story Ideas/Submission

The Goldrush Magazine. Subscribe now!