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General News: Fmr. Joffrey Dancer Teaches Next Generation
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| Mel Johnson talks about his life as a dancer. |
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| A character performer and mime, Johnson is funny and engaging in his role in "Peter and the Wolf." |
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| A portrait of the artist as a young man. |
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| Johnson as a Civil War re-enactor. |
July 30, 2009
When the young ballet dancers from Dance Design Studio take the stage at Storm King School on Friday in a production of “Peter and the Wolf,” among them will be a veteran dancer who brings his years of experience to the dancers in training.
At age 61, Mel Johnson can be seen in the village of Cornwall-on-Hudson, walking or riding a bicycle, but always dressed in style with a suit jacket and, perhaps, a bowtie and suspenders. Johnson grew up in the village and has lived here all his life but in a recent conversation he revealed that he has traveled far and wide in the cultural world as a dancer with the world famous Joffrey Ballet.
Early Influences and Training
His interest in the arts, Johnson said, began right here in Cornwall Landing, where as a child he was influenced by a group of artists that included Harry Wickey and by frequent trips he took with his mother and her friend, Edna McGuinness, to museums in New York City.
Johnson began studying dance while a youngster and his talent was soon recognized. He received a scholarship to the Lee Toon School of Ballet in Cornwall-on-Hudson, where, he said, Lee worked hard on him and straightened out his feet. He was soon attending regional dance competitions and after he graduated from Cornwall Central High School in 1965, he was dancing in Rhode Island and at the Yale Drama School.
With the Vietnam War-era military draft looming, Johnson enlisted in the U.S. Air Force in 1969. Between training and maneuvers, he managed to keep dancing and from the Homestead Air Force Base in Florida, he was able to perform with the Miami Ballet.
Johnson Joins the Joffrey Ballet Company
After four years in the air force, Johnson headed to New York, where he was hired as a dancer with the Joffrey Ballet Company, which was shaking up the dance world with its performances of original and classic ballets.
During that time, Johnson also worked as Robert Joffrey’s assistant, a position that brought him into close contact with the luminaries of the dance world. Despite the glamour of the Joffrey Ballet, Johnson still lived most of the year in Cornwall-on-Hudson. “I didn’t need bright lights,” he says today.
At Home With History
When he left the Joffrey in 1976, Johnson pursued another interest in addition to dance, that of a museum specialist. He was an early participant in the Hudson Highlands Nature Museum and in 1977 was hired at Washington’s Headquarters in Newburgh where he is an historic site assistant. He discovered re-enacting while at the headquarters and found that the Civil War re-enacting shares the theatricality that he practiced on the dance stage.
Johnson never gave up dancing, however, and shared his talents with students in the drama department of the Cornwall School district. He studied dancing at the Dance Design School, where Aggie Kimple, the school’s director, offered him a position teaching. Johnson says he works with the male dancers at the school, several of whom are successfully pursuing dance careers at conservatories around the country.
With nearly 50 years as a dancer, Johnson sees his role now as a person who can preserve and pass on the fundamental techniques that are the foundation of a good dancer. “It’s very enjoyable to pass along what you’ve learned,” Johnson said when explaining that ballets are literally handed down from one troupe of dancers to the next. “It’s a lot of fun. Now I know how ballet lasted.”
If you would like to see Mel Johnson in his role as the grandfather in "Peter in the Wolf" on Friday, you may attend any of the three shows that begin at 1:30 p.m. at the Walter Reade Jr. Theatre at Storm King School. Tickets are $4.
Comments:
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I worked with Mel briefly during my stint in the parks department. His knowledge of history is quite impressive. That, coupled with his engaging manner as a performer makes him an invaluable presence here in the community. Thanks, Mel, for sticking around.
posted by Kate Benson on 07/30/09 at 8:39 PM
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What a coupe for the Dance Design School.
posted by Edie Irwin on 07/31/09 at 11:17 AM
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