“I was walking down Broadway with my friend from China. Everyone...

“I was walking down Broadway with my friend from China. Everyone kept waving at me, and saying: ‘Hi John, Hi John.’ And my friend said: ‘Wow. Everyone knows you!’ I said: ‘C’mon. That’s an exaggeration.’ Right then the door to the Imperial Theatre opened up, and it was an actor friend. He gave me the biggest hug. I said: ‘OK, maybe it’s not an exaggeration.’ Everyone does know me. I’ve been dancing for almost seventy years. It didn’t run in my family. My father was a subway motorman. But when I was sixteen I signed up for lessons with a famous Russian ballet dancer. She was a little lady; told me that I danced like a lobster. Not exactly encouraging, but when I came down the stairs after my first lesson, Eartha Kitt was waiting in the lobby. Not that she was waiting for me; it was for someone else. But I saw it as a sign. I thought: ‘I’m on my way.’ A few months later I made my debut dancing to bagpipes at the Scottish Highland Festival. Then after that I got a gig at the Wine and Cheese Festival. And I never stopped. I wasn’t good enough to do it full time. I had to work as a Spanish teacher for thirty-three years. I was competent; my kids did well on the tests. But I wouldn’t say I was beloved. And when your name is Mr. Bate, the kids are going to call you Masturbate. It’s unavoidable. But each day when that 2:42 bell rang after eighth period; I got on a train and headed to my second life. I’ve danced it all. I was a flamenco dancer. I learned Afro-Haitian, Afro-Cuban, Afro-Brazilian. I danced in the Sambadrome during Carnival. I danced with an Appalachian clogging company. I’ve danced in every major theater on Broadway. My specialty was screwing up the choreography. I’ve actually heard audience members say: ‘Oh no, not him again.’ But I always figured out a way to work. I’ve played every kind of character role. I’ve played Von Rothbart, the evil magician. I’ve played Nutcracker. But the role I loved best was Handsome Haldor. He was a total flop. But in his mind,  he was the most magnificent man in the entire kingdom.”