Teaching the next generation of dancers in Blair County

ALTOONA, Pa. (WTAJ) — A 91-year-old dance school owner is still teaching lessons at her Blair County studio.

Her name is Pauline Baker Rodgers, or as her students call her, Miss Pauline. She started teaching dance in the 1960s, and 63 years later, she still is. Then, Miss Pauline began having her own recitals and shortly after the school became the Pauline Baker Rodgers School of Dance (PBR).

“I started dancing when I was nine years old, and I loved it ever since,” Miss Pauline said.

Eventually, she passed on the dancing bug to her daughter Mary Ellen Everhart.

“I actually started teaching dance for the Altoona Area School District. I taught there for 33 years in the Physical Education Department and taught dance most of those years. Then about 27 years ago, I started the competition team here at the studio, and about 22 years ago I became the director of the studio,” Mary Ellen said.

So it was only natural for Mary Ellen’s daughter to follow in her footsteps, which she calls a unique experience.

“We have a lot of fun. We inspire each other. My grandmother has always inspired me in teaching dance and dancing and my daughter dancing. So it’s really wonderful to see us all come together and support each other through this and the foundation that my grandmother, Ms. Pauline, has set for everyone, for the entire dance community, is so inspiring and we’re really proud of her,” Rachel Monahan, Manager of the PBR Duncansville Studio said.

That’s three generations of dancing, and it shows in her students and the teachers she’s taught over the years.

“I’ve been dancing at PBR since I was three. I’ve been Teen Miss Dance of Pennsylvania in 2023, and I’ve held national encore titles through the competition encore DCS, and I’d like to dedicate that success to both my teachers and Miss Pauline, as Miss Pauline has taught both them and I, growing up,” Makaehla Beckel, a dance student at the studio said.

Miss Pauline said she continues to dance and teach because she loves it, and she’s glad her family does too.

“Oh, it makes me feel so proud because they are so successful and all they do. And so I’m happy with that,” she said.

At 91 years old, she’s proving that age is just a number.

“You don’t quit dancing because you grow old. You grow old because you quit dancing,” Mary Ellen said.

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The Pauline Baker Rodgers School of Dance is preparing for the new season and accepting dancers. If you want to enroll your child in the school, visit their website .

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