Center for Modern Dance Education Founder Shirley Ubell Has Passed Away

Shirley Ubell, modern dancer, dance therapist, and founder and longtime artistic director of the nonprofit Center for Modern Dance Education (CMDE), in Hackensack, New Jersey, died on April 11 in Lafayette, Calif., at the age of 93. Over more than five decades at CMDE, she created and fostered innovative programs based on her belief that the joy and benefits of dancing should be available to all, whether aspiring professional or amateur, young or old, able or disabled --and irrespective of ability to pay.

Shirley Leitman was born March 26, 1928, in NYC. She earned a bachelor's degree in psychology from Hunter College and a master's in movement therapy. In 1949 she married Earl Ubell, science and medical reporter for the New York Herald Tribune, WCBS-TV, and Parade magazine. He pre-deceased her in 2007. She is survived by a daughter, Lori, a son Michael, three grandsons, and seven great-grandchildren, as well as her brother David and Allan.

Shirley came to dance late and began her studies with Maya Kyla, followed by training at the Martha Graham School, the New Dance Group, and with Mary Anthony, in whose company she also performed.

What Shirley began in 1951 with a handful of neighborhood children in her suburban home basement grew into a beloved community resource, serving hundreds of children and adults in Hackensack, and in outreach programs throughout Bergen County, including year-round programs for youths at risk. CMDE has received support from The National Endowment for the Humanities, The New Jersey State Council on the Arts, The Geraldine R. Dodge Foundation, the Puffin Foundation, Bergen County Dept of Human Services and private donors.

Luminaries from the dance community who have served as guest instructors or performed under CMDE sponsorship have included Miriam Cole, of the Martha Graham company, Mary Anthony, Irving Burton ,The Merry-Go-Rounders, Claire Porter, Jose Limon', Ann Vachon , Doris Rudko, Rennie Harris PureMovement, Heidi Latskey Company. Shirley and her husband Earl Ubell were the first to present modern dance to NJ audiences including performances by the companies of Jose Limon, Eleo Pomare, Kathryn Posin, Doris Humphrey and Alvin Ailey. They also supported the use of Labanotation, a written method of scoring dance works, and taught it at the school.

Other CMDE alumni include Dian Dong, co-founder and associate director of H.T.Chen & Dancers/Chen Dance Center, in NYC; Josie Mosley, currently on the faculty of the Portland Ballet; Javier Ubell, of the Staatsoper Hannover Dance Company in Munich; Shirley Black-Brown who has danced with the Alvin Ailey company, Eleo Pomare, and on Broadway; Linda Mensch founder and director of Linda Mensch's Moving Company; and Marya Warshaw Founding Executive/Artistic Director of BAX/Brooklyn Arts Exchange.

In her own choreographies, Shirley brought lyricism to the universal subjects of youth, love, and motherhood. Showing a different side, a dazzling solo, "Frustration," vividly expressed what it was to be wife-mother-dancer-teacher. For many decades, she performed in chamber concerts in her studio, in Greenwich Village, and in concerts in New Jersey and elsewhere. She started giving what she thought were her final performances when she was in her 60's but continued into her 80's. At 74, she performed with other veteran dancers, including former Graham company member Stuart Hodes, in a gentle spoofing comment on aging by Claire Porter, "It's About Time." In 2007, Shirley was featured in H.T. Chen's '"Apple Dreams'' presented at Winter Garden at the World Financial Center in NYC. She performed at CMDE's 50th Anniversary Gala in 2012 and in studio performances.

Of teaching, Shirley would often say: "Every student is important. No two are the same. Like snowflakes, their souls twirl, dip and soar across the stage."