Meet Debbie Ehrlich, dedicated Dancer/Teacher/pediatrician and CBG Board Member

How long have you been part of the CBG dance community?

 I have been very involved with CBG for four years.  I take almost all the classes offered. I joined the board as Treasurer.

 What is your previous experience with dance?

I started dancing at the age of 14 at the Carol Walker Dance Studio.  My teachers were Carol Walker and Bobbi Neiman-Begley.  I studied modern and ballet predominantly.  I also wanted to give tap dancing a try, so I briefly took classes from Lorraine Chase.

Debbie at the barre

Carol Walker Studio dancers

I continued to pursue dance at the University of Iowa with Francoise Martinet, one of the original members of the Joffrey Ballet.  I received my master’s degree in 1983.  Although I really enjoyed performing, my true calling was to teach.

After graduation I moved to The Netherlands where I taught in several dance studios. I then opened my own studio where I was able to create a curriculum that featured a variety of classes. I taught creative movement to small children, jazz dance to teens, and a gentle stretch class for adults with various restrictions stemming from Polio, post-surgical issues, and arthritis.  I truly enjoyed teaching that adult class.  

I returned to the US to continue teaching in a university setting.  This proved quite difficult due to the lack of tenure-track positions.  I was in one job while seeking another, which was exhausting. 

What is your profession outside of dance?

Having a father and brother in the medical field, it was suggested that I try taking just one chemistry class.  I loved the class!  Six years later I graduated from medical school and went into Pediatrics. The more I worked in Pediatrics the more I found joy in caring for kids with special needs. 

From 1987-2016 I had left the dance world behind. 

What brought you back to dance class?

I returned to dance when I ran into Lynne Chervony-Belsky and Lisa Gold. They had founded The CBG Institute for Dance and Health.  I knew of Lynne and Lisa because they took class with Carol Walker. Coincidently, Lorraine Chase is the tap teacher at CBG.  Retrying tap has been a wonderful challenge for me.

Debbie in Lorraine’s CBG tap class

I occasionally sub for Lisa and Lynne when needed.  I also taught at a special needs facility with both adults and children.  This to me, was a true melding of my two careers.

Deebbie shares her love of dance and teaching with her special needs students

How have CBG classes positively impacted your health and wellbeing?

After recent knee replacement surgery I found that CBG classes provided the gentle rehab I needed to regain strength and stability.

How have you been able to keep dancing during the pandemic?

The newest development is Zooming dance classes.  I take CBG classes at home in my basement.  It has been extra special for me because Carol Walker, Bobbi, and Lorraine all take classes too.  I can reconnect with people from all over the United States.

How has CBG made a difference in your life?

CBG is like coming home.  It’s a friendly, safe environment where one can nurture one’s soul while improving their memory and health.

Debbie and friends dancing in the virtual world

Meet Eunice Lehrer, Retired Teacher/CBG Dancer, Performer and Proud Dance Mom

Dance is for everyone, no matter what your age! Eunice, who is 85 and new to dance, appreciates the health benefits and sense of community she gets from taking CBG classes via Zoom

How long have you been part of the CBG dance community?

I began dancing with the CBG dance community three years ago. Our home is in Florida, but we spend four months a year, during the summer, in Chicago. This is when I can experience in person the joy of dance with CBG.

Eunice on stage in Florida

What is your previous experience with dance?

I have had no personal dance instruction, either as a child or as an adult. However, I have always been moved by music to dance and sing. I have learned vicariously while taking my daughter to dance lessons and performances. I was the oldest “groupie” dedicated to the Joffrey troupe, following my daughter as the company toured the country.

As an adult student, what brought you to dance classes, or brought you back to dance?

When I had the opportunity to take real dance instruction for older students with no prerequisites, except a passion to dance, I jumped at the chance. At 85, I am a late bloomer.

How have CBG classes positively impacted your health and wellbeing? Has it made a difference in your life?

Dancing has improved my balance, my energy and my happiness. 

What do you enjoy most about coming to class and what motivates you to keep dancing?

I attend three classes a week, whenever possible. At my age, when most of my contemporaries are sitting for hours playing card games, I am moving to beautiful music. I hope to continue as long as I live. And I have met old friends, which is a bonus.

Eunice taking a CBG ballet class via Zoom

What is your profession and hobbies outside of dance?

I was a third grade teacher and continued tutoring after retiring. In my retirement community, I sing in the chorus and am part of the Drama Club. We produce large scale shows for the community. I have danced in all three productions.

Eunice performing with her Florida Drama Club

This year would have been our fourth production, and I wrote the play. After months of rehearsals, with tickets sold, Covid happened and they postponed the show indefinitely. The silver lining of this terrible cloud was the Zoom CBG dance classes. We are a dedicated group and these classes now add another dimension. I believe dancing regularly has preserved my sanity.

Although I leave this revelation for last, my greatest joy during dancing with CBG is watching my daughter, who I still envision as that little girl who loved to dance. Lynne is still as close to perfection as a teacher as she was as a Joffrey dancer. This is Mom.

Eunice is the proud dance mom of CBG co-founder, Lynne Chervony Belsky (pictured above dancing with Lynne and granddaughter, Julia)

Meet Toby Nicholson, Seasoned Actor/Teacher/Dancer and CBG Student

How did you become part of the CBG dance community? 

Several years ago I was looking for ballet classes for seniors, and I saw Lisa Gold's class at the Northfield Senior Center. I took class that summer, and I loved it. But when fall came I had a scheduling conflict. I found CBG Institute for Dance and Health, and I signed up for classes with Lynne Belsky. I’ve been taking ballet class with Lynne ever since, and through CBG even had the opportunity to dance Clara's father in Lisa Gold’s Northshore School of Dance production of The Nutcracker in 2018. 

Toby in action in Lynne’s CBG ballet class

 What is your previous experience with dance?

Growing up in Baton Rouge, Louisiana in the 1940s-50s boys didn’t dance. At least no one I knew or heard of. My first introduction to learning dance came when a touring company of Aida came town, and a neighbor’s class was asked to dance in the show. My neighbor taught me the dance her class performed, which I can still do today.

In addition to dance I always had an interest in theatre. So when my dad brought me a marionette from his business trip, I was on my way. I teamed up with a girlfriend down the street. By fourth grade we were doing shows for birthday parties, library events, and many projects at school. It was a great introduction to theatre. There was no fear. The marionettes were doing the talking, dancing, and acting.

By junior high school with the encouragement of my mom who had been a tap dancer as an undergrad at the University of Chicago, I auditioned for Hansel and Gretel for the Baton Rouge Children's Theatre. The director was Jean Star Wicksell, who had been the children's theatre director at the Goodman Theatre in Chicago. She said I was too old looking as an eighth grader, but did I want to understudy. I jumped at it and didn't miss a rehearsal. Noting this enthusiasm, she called me the next three years offering me parts.

My senior year in high school, my dad moved us to New Jersey (EXXON). The show at Summit High that year was Brigadoon. A real musical with dancing!! I wanted to play Harry Beaton, the acting and dancing lead, but was cast as Mr. Lundie, the old man. The local town dancing teacher was hired to choreograph. I noticed that Mr. Lundie didn't appear in the script until scene seven, so I asked the director if I could dance in the first scene, and change costume after. Yes! Three of us guys were the male dancers for that scene. I was in heaven. Later that year he asked us three to dance in his school recital, we did a scene from Graduation Ball, and a dance for just us guys. I was totally hooked on dance by then.

I attended college at Northwestern as a theatre major. There was no dance program there in the late fifties. I went into Evanston to take classes with Gus Giordano, who had just come to town after dancing on Broadway in Pal Joey. For ballet I went into Chicago and studied with Edna McCrae.  After sophomore year, I did summer stock as an intern in a tent theatre outside Buffalo. I made and painted scenery and got parts in three shows. I learned a lot. At the end of my junior year, I was tumbling and moving as a devil in Don Juan.  I got a message someone wanted to see me after the performance. (Chicago modern dance legend) Sybil Shearer and her friend Helen Balfour Morrison ask me to audition for Sybil's dance company.  I did, and danced with the company for the next 20 years. 

While at Melody Top I was friends with the guy across the hall, Micky DeFiglia. He later changed his name to Michael Bennett and created A Chorus Line. I had a great summer. I managed to pay rent and eat on my salary of $25 bucks a week.  At New Trier I taught dance, drama, and musical theatre, creating two dance classes for guys only. 

What drew you to dance classes?

As a child, I loved to move. But my only training was the trapezes and tightropes I had hooked up in the back yard. When I played the Scarecrow in the Wizard of Oz, Mrs. Wicksell said," You move so well, I should make a dance for you."  Never happened. I learned the munchkin dance for fun.

About 10 years ago, I had torn meniscus snipped in my right knee. I asked the doctor what I should give up so that I could walk when I was ninety. He said rollerblading and ballet. I did. A few years later my knee started bothering me again. My internist sent me to Victoria Brander who shot a gel in my knee. And she said go back to ballet. 

What do you most enjoy about coming to class, and what motivates you to keep dancing?

Lynne's classes are fun and challenging. You have to stay alert. Combinations are always changing. Aerobic, so you heart gets a workout, too. What could be better than to have a doctor as your ballet instructor? I always look forward to attending class at CBG. 

Young Toby savoring the joy of being on stage

Toby in performance with Sybll Shearer (photo credit: Helen B Morrison. Morrison-Shearer Foundation)

Toby dancing with his future wife, Juanita in Sybil Shearer’s company (photo credit: Helen B Morrison. Morrison-Shearer Foundation)

Toby in character

Meet Lorraine Chase, CBG’s Tap Instructor Extraordinaire

I was born during the “Shirley Temple” era. My mother worked, played violin in an all-girl band, and played piano for silent movies. I had long curls, an aptitude for tap dancing, and a loud voice for a three year old, so she enrolled me in tap classes. In those days it was common to tap dance on pointe, so that’s what I learned to do. I still have my pointe shoes with taps!

Lorraine’s tiny tap shoes

My teacher asked my mother to let me stay after class so I could stand in the back of the advanced tap classes to see what I could pick up. I began performing in lots of shows at the dance school, and in competitions in movie theaters. The contestant who got the most applause won a cash prize. I was pretty little, but I do remember my Dad would change bills into coins so I could drop them into a slot in a very large bottle that stood on the floor, so I guess I won some. 

I stopped tap dancing when I was in high school. I got married when I was 19 and raised three children who attended tap classes in Chicago. In the early 1960s we moved to Highland Park and I found Eric Braun’s dance studio. Tap dance classes weren’t offered at that time, so I took modern and met the wonderfully talented Carol Walker who kept me interested in modern dance.  

Carol Walker and I became and remain great friends. For years we choreographed and performed in original musical variety fundraisers for Kennedy school with PTA parents, including tap numbers. The revival of the musical “No, No, Nanette” came out about that time and brought renewed interest in tap dancing, so a lot of people wanted to learn.

Lorraine and Carol ice skating in the 1970s

Lorraine and Carol today

Lorraine and Carol at the barre after Lynne’s CBG ballet class 2018

Having had my family share this whole experience leaves precious memories for me. My husband Norman was my best beginner for 25 years. My children Beth, Paul, and Leslie danced in a variety of Carol Walker’s shows. They all were good tap dancers, too. Leslie even performed with me in a show. I always kept canes and top hats in the trunk of my car because it was a family tradition to celebrate being together by dancing “Tea for Two”. We even performed it at Bar Mitzvahs and weddings! All were invited to participate, whether they knew the dance or not. 

Lorraine’s and Norman’s head shots

Lorraine and Norman in costume for a show

When Carol opened her studio she asked me to teach tap. I wanted to sharpen my ability by taking lessons before teaching them, so I looked for a teacher. I found Jimmy Payne, a very well-known dancer and teacher. I took private classes with him at the Fine Arts Building in Chicago. He was an exceptional teacher, and we worked really well together.

I began my career as a tap teacher when I was 40 years old. I worked at the studio under the ownership of Carol Walker, then Rory Foster, and then Lisa Gold, who was a student at the studio when I first started teaching. I retired after 25 years. I will forever be grateful to Carol for the opportunity to tap dance with all these fun-loving people of all ages for all those years. We became “family.”

Lorraine teaching class in 1989 at NSSD in Highwood with her “best beginner” Norman

After I stopped teaching I took a few falls. I broke my ankle and both legs on three separate occasions, and needed surgery each time. I knew I needed to strengthen my body and gain better balance, both physically and mentally, so I started taking Lynne Belsky’s ballet class at CBG. The class was a real challenge for me because I had never studied ballet. Lynne is an outstanding teacher and dancer whom I had the pleasure of seeing perform at the Auditorium Theatre with The Joffrey Ballet when she was a teenager.

Lorraine teaching Lynne “Tea for Two”

One day, Lynne asked if I would stay after ballet class to teach her some tap steps. That’s how I came out of a 20 year retirement to again teach at Lisa Gold’s studio, where I now teach people age 50 and older. Dance is fun: it’s cardiovascular, it teaches coordination, and gives you a feeling of well-being of body and mind. 

Teaching our over-50 CBG students is wonderful because they come to class with a common interest, and really want to learn. They want to take apart every combination to make sure they’re doing it correctly. They pay attention and will speak up when they need help, which I love, and everyone has a great sense of humor which makes classes fun, too.

During quarantine I learned you can dance anywhere, no matter how large or small the space. I teach my class online, and take Lynne’s ballet class and Lisa’s Modern class online, too. I definitely feel better and certainly more fit when I dance three times a week.

Lorraine, Norman, Randy Duncan, and Leslie doing “Tea for Two” at Leslie’s wedding 1986

Dancing together brings out the best in everyone and we always have a lot of fun.

I’d like to thank Lisa Gold for making me a part of the dance world once again.

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