Dr. Klein, who opened her first dance studio in Worcester in 1952, has inspired thousands of students over the years to excel artistically and academically. Many graduates of her Worcester and Westboro dance centers have performed on Broadway, in movies and television, and in national and international touring companies. Regardless of her students’ career objectives, she encourages them to get a solid education, passing along the advice she herself received from a teacher many years ago: “You have to have something in your head as well as in your feet.”

Charlotte began attending Worcester State College in 1952 but suspended her studies to start a family and build her dance studios. She eventually returned to the college as one of its first part-time day students and graduated cum laude with a Bachelor of Arts in Sociology in 1975, the same year her daughter Laura graduated from high school.