If your exposure to the world of dance has been limited to Ralph Macchio’s killer foxtrot on “Dancing With the Stars,” it’s time to get acquainted with the illustrious Jacques d’Amboise. Widely considered one of America’s pre-eminent classical dancers, d’Amboise, whose mother was raised in Lewiston, was a principal with the New York City Ballet for more than 30 years. While under contract, he became a protege and confidante of the legendary choreographer George Balanchine.

After captivating audiences around the world with his performances in Balanchine’s ballets, “Apollo” and “Tchaikovsky Pas de Deux,” Hollywood beckoned and d’Amboise starred in such celebrated screen musicals as “Seven Brides for Seven Brothers” in 1954 and “Carousel” 1956. In 1983, d’Amboise became the subject of the acclaimed Oscar-winning documentary “He Makes Me Feel Like Dancin’,” which focused on his work teaching dance to schoolchildren through his nonprofit organization the National Dance Institute.

In his new memoir, “I Was a Dancer,” d’Amboise, now 76, looks back at a life spent as “a would-be explorer — of ideas, cultures and people.” All of that exploring has involved visits to such exotic locations as Siberia and Ethiopia. Though d’Amboise readily admits that one of his favorite destinations is Maine — which has played an important role in his life. Read on for that, his chance meeting with Eliot Cutler and much more.

You are a certified living legend. Was it your family ties to Lewiston that launched you on the road to success? Of course. Lewiston is where it all began for us. That’s where my (mother’s) family settled when they first came here. In those days, there was this whole slew of French-Canadians emigrating from Canada. That’s why you have all of these neighbors with beautiful sounding last names like Goudreau, Levasseur, Larochelle and d’Amboise. Our family moved to Lewiston because there was this special feeling of community there.

Your mother was a real pistol, whom your father nicknamed “The Boss.” If it hadn’t been for her all-consuming interest in the arts, would you have had this extraordinary career? My mother was determined that all four of her children were going to be well educated. That was her dream — that we should be able to recite poetry, play an instrument or dance She was unstoppable . . . As I say in the book, my mother could have taken the whole family into the Canadian woods naked in midwinter and seen to it that we all came out by the end of the season fatter and dressed in stylish furs.

How did it feel to be the great Balanchine’s muse? I knew that when I was dancing on the stage, I was representing him. When I lifted a ballerina and held her in my arms, I was standing in for Balanchine in a way. He used me vicariously to make love to the ballerinas. Sometimes, he’d come back after a performance and say, ‘You two were so beautiful together . . .’ I’d be standing there exhausted, dripping sweat, and he still wouldn’t let me go. He was on a high and he couldn’t calm down because he had sat in the audience and inhabited — in his mind — my arms and legs and body.

During your time in Hollywood, you were cruised by Rock Hudson and nearly killed by Julie Newmar. When did you find time to appear in one of the greatest musicals ever made? “Seven Brides for Seven Brothers” was one hell of a movie and a great learning experience . . . except, if you look closely, I’m not actually in the last few scenes. The shooting schedule ran over and I didn’t want to miss the premiere of “The Nutcracker” back in New York. . . . So, they slapped a red wig on the assistant choreographer, gave him a duplicate of my costume and he filled in for me in a couple of scenes. Nowadays, they’d just take my photo and digitally morph me into the movie.

As a frequent visitor to Vacationland, what does Maine offer you that you can’t find in midtown Manhattan? Everybody needs a foot in the marketplace and a foot in the wilderness. . . . One thing that’s been lost today is this idea of embracing silence and making time for contemplation and reflection, which is something you can still achieve in Maine. . . . I was on a plane recently and I was talking to this guy who had run for governor of Maine and he’d lost by less than 10,000 votes. We were talking about how extraordinary Maine is. We also got on the subject of China, because he had been in Beijing for a few years and I was impressed with the fact that he had a global outlook and I thought, wow . . . if he runs again, I’m going to tell all of my relatives in Maine to vote for him.

Were there skills that you acquired as a dancer that proved to be helpful to you in terms of getting through everyday life? I wish that I could say that the discipline of the dancer and the hours they put in translates to the way I live my life now, but it’s not so. I’m disordered. I’m mercurial. And I depend on other people. . . . I once had a dalliance with a young woman and I asked her, ‘Why are you so interested in me?’ because there was almost a 20-year difference in our ages. And she said, ‘Oh, aside from the physical stuff, I don’t know anybody better at getting people to do what you want . . . and I want to learn how you manage it so that I can do it, too.’ And I realized that I’m spoiled. I do what I want — but I get everybody to help me do it.

Meet Jacques D’Amboise

When: Wednesday, March 30

* At 4:15 p.m. he will be at Bates College in the Edmund S. Muskie Archives

* At 7 p.m. he will be at the Lewiston Public Library’s Callahan Hall

For additional information on the Bates appearance, call 786-8294 or visit www.bates.edu.

For more on the Lewiston Public Library event, log on to lplonline.org.

The events are free.

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