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An artist of many talents from a young age, nineteen-year-old Marcia Weary opened her own school of dance in Carlisle, Pennsylvania, in 1955. With an equal investment from her sister, the two bought a barn to serve as the school with the adjacent home to be used both as home and office. Heavily influenced by George Balanchine, often referred to as the father of modern ballet, Marcia would work tirelessly to grow children interested in learning to dance into real dancers. After twenty years of running the school as a small family business, the school was renamed in 1976 as the Central Pennsylvania Youth Ballet and incorporated as a non-profit. Several people were instrumental in the success of the CPYB, including three men who originally started as fathers of students: Andre Drosselmeyer, Ken Laws, and Bob Gregor. Along the way, the school was supported by many others, including famous choreographers and costume makers. The school would eventually expand and partner with local colleges as well as being granted permission to perform exclusive dances choreographed by George Balanchine. Dancers from the school would work and dance all over the world, and many working, professional dancers were trained by Marcia Weary and the CPYB.
Jurgensen’s book about the CPYB is more focused on the supporting staff than the history of the school and those who attended it. The work is best described as a collection of biographical profiles of these influential contributors. Stylistically, it comes across more like the conversational journalistic style of something like Wallace’s Consider the Lobster than the more omniscient style of a work like Capote’s In Cold Blood. For example, Jurgensen, when talking about the kitchen in the house often used as the office, will write, “The word ‘office’ is used here with your permission – and with no apology.” His narrative voice fades in and out as these personal profiles are presented to the reader like an extended Who’s Who with a tour guide who likes to occasionally provide his own interjections. Some of this is presumably the natural result of Jurgensen having personally interviewed those he represents in this work.
Jurgensen’s writing is clean from grammatical mistakes and easy to read. The book’s organization is a bit atypical, and the style of the reporting may or may not resonate depending on the reader’s personal preference, but the book has obviously been carefully written and edited. The work seems primarily targeted towards a gift shop audience visiting the CPYB or possibly to those the CPYB may be approaching for monetary gifts or board recruitment. However, the story of a small-town studio driven by a teacher’s unwavering dedication to her students becoming a world-recognized producer of professional talent echoes the spirit of the American dream. Generalist readers who have always found the lives of people who work behind the scenes to support, guide, and develop their organization’s stars—whether those stars be dancers, musicians, athletes, etc.—will find this book captivating and educational. Those students or parents of future students who would like to know more about the history of the CPYB and the people whose contributions and support made it highly successful will find this book a good source of information.