Sarah Tayir will live on as a legend in ballet. Here are some recollections and anecdotes, shared by a few of the countless people who loved her and appreciated her gift of both ballet and teaching, describing some perspectives on her life as it unfolded.

Sarah Tayir described her early training and career in very humble ways to Sara Jane Gould, professional dancer, coach and student in Miss Sarah's class for many years.

Sarah was the youngest of four kids. Recalling her first memory of hearing music, she was sitting in someone's lap, listening to a Brahms piece. (Decades later, Miss Sarah used the music of Brahms often in her classes). At the age of 3, when she "could barely reach to turn on the radio," she just "fell in love" with music. She would dance around and "it felt so good it had to be wrong."

Jocelyn Vollmar was born in San Francisco, California. Her mother was an actress in silent films, before the Hollywood movie studios were developed. In those days they filmed in Hayward, California. Jocelyn had an extensive and impressive career as a ballerina.

She grew up in the West Portal district of San Francisco. The homes there were tall, classic and impressive. They exuded quality, charm and character. She began dancing with San Francisco Ballet at the age of twelve, under the direction of William Christensen. She started out performing in small roles. At the age of seventeen, she joined the company. She was well known by locals for dancing the Snow Queen in their Nutcracker in 1944.

Angela Bowen, an influential dancer, dance teacher and activist, passed away last week at the age of 82 from Alzheimer's disease.

Early in her career, Bowen toured with the Jazz Train, a musical revue about black American popular music and dance. Bowen later co-founded the Bowen/Peters School of Dance in New Haven with her then-husband Ken Peters, where she taught primarily poor children—including Tony-winning performer LaChanze—and often for free.

Mary Jane Wolbers, 95, of Temple, New Hampshire, passed away at her home on Saturday, April 14, 2018. She was born September 15, 1922, in Wilmington, Delaware, the daughter of John Donald Marr, Sr. and Marian Lee (Hodkin) Marr.

She is survived by her sons, Charles Paul Wolbers, Jr. and his wife, Donna Hoffman, of South Wayne, Wisconsin, and George Ernest Wolbers and his wife, Ellen Estes, of Matthews, North Carolina; her daughters, Marian Frances Wolbers and her husband, Bruce Dengler, of Reading, Pennsylvania, and Vivian Rose Wills and her husband, Robert, of Temple, NH; her nieces, Debbie Lou and Margaret Ann; her nephews, Don and John Charles; nine grandchildren; and eight great-grandchildren. Mary Jane was predeceased by her husband, Charles Paul Wolbers, Sr.; sister Ruth Elizabeth Marr; and her brother, John D. (Jack) Marr, Jr.

Gina Bugatti Goetchius died on April 27th, 2018, at her home in Mount Vernon, New York. She was born on February 14, 1951, to George Goetchius and Mildred Goetchius. Gina had an iconic, global dance career which spanned nearly five decades. She began her ballet training as a child, and later enrolled in The National Academy of Ballet as a scholarship student under the direction of Thalia Mara. After graduating, she was a trainee at Harkness House, and was promoted to become a member of the Harkness Ballet Company, where she worked with choreographers such as Vicente Nebrada, Geoffrey Holder, Brian Macdonald, Ben Stevenson, Margo Sappington and Norman Walker. She then briefly became a member of The Joffrey II, directed by Jonathan Watts.

Donald McKayle was a legend in dance, with a long list of accolades, awards and accomplishments well-documented after his recent passing. But those of us who were lucky enough to be his students, either in a classroom or rehearsal studio, know he displayed his greatest talent in his role of master teacher.

A dance teacher like no other, he could draw creative expression and physical determination out of his students they didn't know they had access to. He saw it inside them, and he drew it out with grace, command and clarity, as if it were something he simply expected. His approach was never demeaning or condescending; he knew you could do it, only you hadn't tried it yet.

He used to say to the young dancers in his undergraduate performing group, the UCI Etude Ensemble, while rehearsing a particularly challenging section: "I know…Now, do it again and jump higher," all the while smiling and singing to them.