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Henry Doring City of Troy |
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Henry Doring City of Troy |
Professor Doring was born in Hanover, Germany, and was eight years of age when he came to Troy with his parents. His education, which had been begun in Germany, was continued in the Tenth Ward School of Troy, and while still a young man he learned the trade of coppersmith. He followed this occupation for a few years, but eventually the interests of his leisure determined the trend of his professional activity. From childhood he displayed marked musical talent, and in 1875 he became identified with Maschke's Band in the capacity of prompter or caller for dances. He is now the only surviving member of this band. His activity in this conection brought to his attention the possibilities of success in the art of the dancing master, and to prepare himself for the highest usefulness in the work he entered upon a course of training in the foremost schools of the day. He was graduated successively from the Charles H. Rivers School of Dancing, in Brooklyn, New York; the James C. Brooks School, also of Brooklyn; the L. H. Challif School, of New York City, and the Allen Dodworth School of New York. This rarely comprehensive training under some of the greatest masters of the day who had studied both at home and abroad gave to the work of Professor Doring the finished perfection of the artist and imported to his pupils from the beginning the deepest appreciation of the art.
The Doring School of Dancing was established in Troy in 1884, in the old Athenaeum Hall. Removing to his present location, at No. 13 Third Street, he has been active here continuously since 1890, a period of thirty-three years. Professor Doring has kept in closest touch with the movement of the times, and he upholds the highest artistic standards. He teaches ball room dancing, classic and interpretive dancing, ballet and stage dancing, and all forms of artistic expression of rhythmic motion. He has trained many of the most popular artists now in vaudeville and musical drama or comedy, and his reputation in this field is nation-wide. Some idea of the extent of his work may be gained from the fact that in 1920 this school enrolled 1,400 pupils. Professor Doring is a member of the American Society of Dancing Teachers, which he served as president and treasurer for eighteen years, and of which he is still treasurer, trustee and a member of the board of directors, and he is a leading member of the New York State branch of the same body. Fraternally he holds the thirty-second degree in the Masonic order, being a member of Mount Zion Lodge, No. 311, Free and Accepted Masons, and all the Scottish Rite bodies, including the Albany Consistory, and is a member of the Ancient Arabic Order Nobles of the Mystic Shrine. He is a member of the Grande Lodge, Independent Order of Odd Fellows, of
which he is past noble grand, and is a member of the Masonic Club and the German Club. He attends the Episcopal church.
Professor Doring married (first) Emma Ulrich, who lived for only a few years. He married (second) Julia L. Knauff, June 7, 1883, died March 1, 1913, daughter of Florentine and Susan (Klein) Knauff. Professor and Mrs. Doring are the parents of three children: 1. Julia May Caroline, who was educated in the public schools of Troy and the Lansingburg High School. 2. Henry R., who was educated in the Troy High School, Troy Business College, and the New York School of Accountants, is a certified public accountant of Chicago, Illinois, and acts as chief payroll auditor for the Aetna Life Insurance Company for the Western District of the United States, the headquarters of which are in Chicago; he married Anna Knapp, of Brooklyn, New York. 3. Louis E., who was educated in the Troy public schools and the Lansingburg High School, and after a course at the Rennert School of Embalming, of New York, became an undertaker and funeral director in Brooklyn, New York. Louis E. Doring served for ten months in France during the World War. Professor Doring resides at No. 45 Second Avenue.
HENRY DORING�One of the oldest and most interesting institutions in the city of Troy, New York, is the Doring School of Dancing, of which Professor Henry Doring is the founder and still the head. This school is the oldest of its kind in the United States outside of New York City conducted under the same name, and Professor Doring, an artist himself, has graduated many artists from his school who have taken leading places in the world of entertainment. Professor Doring has been a resident of Troy during the greater part of his lifetime, and is a son of Joseph and Caroline (Nolte) Doring, who came to this city in 1864 from their native Germany. The father was a locksmith and machinist by occupation, and for many years was a highly esteemed citizen of Troy.
