Herbert KummelBorn May 20, 1923 to Hattie and Benjamin Kummel, died Sept 8, 2021 after a short stint with a big infection. Brother of Ruth (Kummel) Hirsch. Married in 1966 to Marion Kummel and father to Tamar Kummel. Herb cut classes at Tilden High School in Brooklyn, NY and spent summers in White Lake, NY with extended family.

At 18 he enlisted in the US Navy, went into officer's school and studied 158 different majors at Muhlenberg, RPI, Cornell and finished his studies at NYU, where he was head cheerleader. While at NYU, he sang the National Anthem before basketball games, held at Madison Square Garden. He was the editor of the Navy yearbook and was Chaplain's assistant, singing for every denomination of service. He sang and danced with Dr. Shlomo Bardin in California.

At 25 he convinced George Balanchine at the New York City Ballet to let him study there. They put him in with the 9-year olds, and after spending 6 months lifting them all, he moved up, eventually joining the company and performing in the very first Nutcracker.

He was the first American principal dancer of the Israeli Ballet Company. He was a principal for the original Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo, touring the world and signing fake names for every autograph. He danced with American Ballet Theater, NYC Opera, and at Jacob's Pillow.

Herb served on the Board of Governors of the American Guild of Musical Artists and represented professional dancers at the Congressional hearings establishing the National Endowment of the Arts and Humanities. He went on to become director of the Dance Notation Bureau in New York for 10 years. While there, he was on the Today show, interviewed by Barbara Walters.

He ran 3 children's camps: Brandeis, B'nai B'rith, and Lake Fairlee Camp in Fairlee, Vermont. From 1970-2005 he rented cabins at Lake Fairlee Camp, maintaining the property mostly by himself, and with his wife.

In 1982 the family moved to Hanover, NH and he taught at ILEAD (now Osher) at Dartmouth College, mostly on ballet and surrounding topics for 25 plus years, collecting more fans and friends each time.

He is survived by his daughter who inherited his sense of humor and could never live up to his energy.

Graveside service 11am on Friday, Sept. 10th at Pine Knoll Cemetery.